The Art of Seeing

This week, the Biola Art Gallery is showing the work of three senior artists, Bethany Crossan, Gavin Heilman, and Taylor “Sunny” Petrich. While all three have unique styles, each contributes to the art of “seeing.”

“Artists have an interesting way of seeing the world,” said Crossan, “Some of the worst artists are the ones that don’t see.”

Each artist wants the viewer to see the subject of his or her work in a different light. Crossan gives a fresh perspective on corporations, Heilman on interpretations and Petrich on typography.

Crossan’s “I.D. [revisited]” show integrates painting and graphic design using acrylic and paper collage. Each piece is a landscape combined with commercial logos. They are about response — observation and participation.

“It’s about personal response to the corporate voice and vice versa,” she said. “The way corporations respond to personal needs and use personal needs to profit.”

Growing up overseas in Germany and Turkey has been one of her greatest influences. Her love of traveling and culture has given her a new outlook on corporations and their relation to the world.

“Various faces of corporations in different places [and] global values are always interesting to think about,” she said.

Crossan believes her work is also a call to respond to God in prayer. Each piece takes the viewer through the process of deciphering what prayer is, how we pray, and how God answers.

Heilman’s work in the “Freeverse” show is an interplay between poetry and graphic design. Each piece is a visual interpretation of poetry written by his friend, Bethany Smeltzer. Most of the pieces are about her experiences with people she has known.

Heilman’s goal was to juxtapose what is commonly read and understood with the obscurity of conceptual art.

“The viewer can read the words and interact with it on their own terms,” he said.

He explained that poetry is about experiences.

“I have the greatest pleasure in seeing people’s interactions and reactions to the work,” Heilman explained. “I see what’s going on. … I try to understand what their experience might be that made them react that way.”

Similarly, Petrich enjoyed watching the reactions of his viewers during the opening reception. Many found his work hard to engage and were lost in a sea of letters.

“There is no meaning and no form,” he stated. “Anything that comes out of it is accidental.”

The “stop” show focuses on the beauty of typography, what Petrich calls “the key to understanding design.”

He hopes his work will expose the purpose behind typography.

“Students will read over a billion characters a day and not see the individual letters for their specific beauty,” he explained.

Each piece emphasizes the aesthetic qualities of typography including Rockwell, Times, Gill Sans, and more.

All three students plan to continue their art making in the professional world of advertising and graphic design. Crossan wants to “make it big” in L.A., what she calls the “Mecca of design.” Heilman hopes to incorporate his love for drawing into his skill of graphic design and possibly engage the Hollywood film scene. For Petrich, the sky’s the limit — as long as he is never too far from the ocean.