Exhibit offers unique opportunity to mingle with different kids of artists

Opening today at the Aidekman Art Center is the latest in the Tufts University Gallery's annual series of art thesis exhibitions. The collection features the work of graduating candidates in Tufts' joint masters program with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

The exhibit, which will be on display through April 28, showcases the photography, paintings, and sculptures of nine artists, all of whom will be attending tonight's opening reception in the gallery from 5 to 8 p.m.

The artwork on display ranges across the visual and thematic spectrum, from oversized paintings to colorful photographs to a gigantic wall decorated with white and pink candy hearts (in lieu of wallpaper) surrounding a cabinet full of jars of marshmallow goo.

The entryway to the exhibit is lined with vivid photographs taken by professor Amy Montali. Montali teaches Photography 001 at Tufts and says that she shoots her work with an eye for movement, using tropes of moving images to create stills.

Much of Montali's work is influenced by her experiences in film and theater. Working with dancers and moving images, she finds that she often has to shoot photographs spontaneously. "My work is playing around with a psychological narrative, specifically how it looks when it's photographed," Montali said. "Photography is a subject as well."

Sue Yang has taught at the Museum of Fine Arts for nine years. Her chosen focus is digital photography, blown up in gigantic prints on glass and plastic to make the works appear ethereal.

"When I was a child, I loved watching the smoke rising from the incense lamps at the Buddhist temple," Yang said. "I try to make it more mystical, so the material is more floating and transparent."

All of Yang's artwork relates to her own journey through life. The lotus blossom, one of the symbols of Buddhism, is common throughout her work, and many of the pieces reflect a gradual enlightenment as the subjects move from east to west.

One corner of the exhibit looks far more like it belongs in a comfortable den than an art gallery; two oversized couches face walls lined with photographs, as atmospheric music creates a feeling of familiarity.

These photographs were taken by Sara Seinberg, who uses the music to lend ambiance to her work. "I'm looking at photography as a cinematic representation of music," she said. "If this is a film, then the songs are the soundtrack."

Some of the songs are what Seinberg was listening to when she created the various pieces on display; some simply reminds her of the subjects. Next to one of the couches is a shelf filled with snow globes, each of which represents one of the places where the photographs were taken.

Seinberg's work is entirely natural, with no added lights or staged subjects. "If something's in the way on a kitchen table, I won't move it," she said. "I have to pay a lot of attention to lighting because I don't set anything up. I only use flash. But I'm shooting my life. I definitely play with things like angles, but they have to be representative of moments that happened."

The side wall of the gallery is covered with gigantic paintings, each of which contains the image of an enormous industrial tower. "I use the towers as a symbol of power, a symbol of institution," artist Nathan Lewis said. "The symbol of power is something we try to serve or protect or resist or destroy."

His artwork is vivid and colorful, and the individual pieces are all interrelated, although the artist says that they don't make up "a strict series." Rather, they all use the same image in a different context.

In one, a man is depicted building the tower, creating an interesting interplay as a tree is chopped up and destroyed to create something else. In another, a piece described by Lewis as "Oedipal," a man boxes with an image of his father. A gigantic baseball scene depicts a religious war as hurlers vie with hitters. Each team tries to protect its own tower, the visual representation of their respective institutions, while they attempt to destroy the tower of their opponent.

One of the artist's most powerful paintings depicts a tower floating in an ocean, with drowning figures of men and woman struggling to grab hold in the waters around it. "It represents a biblical flood," Lewis explained, describing the work's allusion to religion. "The institution there is unstable, but it's still the most stable thing there is."

The other masters' candidates who have work on display experiment with narrative photography and paintings in a variety of different mediums. Each individual presents his or her own unique take on the world, and the colorful prints capture off-kilter looks at society and culture. Rare as it is to view so many different types of works at once, the exhibition provides the perfect opportunity to visit with all sorts of talented artists.