Last Monday night, I opened the doors to the Spingold Theater Center to experience one of Brandeis' notable art shows. Each semester, the senior Studio Art majors exhibit their work in the Dreitzer Art Gallery for Brandeis students, staff and faculty. While free snacks (the brie was delicious) and a bounty of wine are offered to goad student attendance, the main purpose of the exhibition is for the Studio Art faculty to evaluate which seniors should receive departmental honors. In the past, students have created original works of superb quality, both in composition and construction. Unfortunately, this show simply didn't deliver. As I looked around the space, I couldn't help but feel that I was visiting an art class in progress. Many works were victims of sloppy construction, and others appeared as if art appropriation manifested itself as art plagiarism. I was disappointed to say the least, but, the exhibition was not a total failure. Taking a second glance around the room, a few choice pieces captured my eye and stole the show.

As my foot touched the last step on the small winged staircase, Jacqueline Fox's canvas stood before me, bearing the same contemplative expression worn on my own face. The oil painting, "No. 9," commanded my attention as soon as I fixed my gaze on the female figure. The large canvass is completely filled with the head of a beautiful young woman. Though this figure is pleasing to the eyes, it took a few seconds to realize why the image was simultaneously haunting. The head of the figure is turned to the right, and a sliver of hair glides across the face to accentuate the painting's angular quality. The paint is applied thick, and the color contrast between the peachy flesh and robust hair and coat is arousing.

Taking this all in, I finally noticed the eyes. Deeply inset within the vast whites are large, black circles comprising both iris and pupil. These black discs show the girl as vapid and hollow. While she is beautiful on the outside, there is nothing within. When asked about this decision, Jacqueline stated that "The painting was meant to serve as a commentary on society's concept of beauty. The female is praised for a beautiful exterior yet her gaze usually lacks connection. It's this appearance of the woman as aloof that drives men to worship her." The work also ties in to a second painting by Jacqueline that is even more striking. Titled "Feed Your Brain," this work is a response to popular culture's perception of female beauty as misogynistic and objectifying. This work contains a cross-section of a head on the right side of the composition while a lightning bolt slices through the left. Jacqueline said that this was a self-portrait in which she paints her idea of individual beauty. This manifests itself as the human brain.

A second artist to make a wonderful impression was sculpture concentrator Rachel Pfeffer '08. Pfeffer's work instantly made me think of the contemporary artist Jeff Koons for its whimsical quality and element of play. Positioned in the middle of the room are her chair, ottoman and rugs, which are collectively titled "Stuft." These works were all made from thrift-store-purchased or found stuffed animals in varying states of mutilation. The chair was made from a $2 chair frame, a sheet of found canvas and the plush toys. The back of the chair starts as upholstered animal heads, and by the seat, it is composed of the toys' dismantled feet. The work is simply eerie, yet humorous. After sitting in it, I noticed the chair's pleasing design and quickly felt guilty, as if this pleasure comes as a result of the stuffed animals' plight and suffering.

I looked up from the furniture and Adie Sprague's '08 installation drew me in from across the room. Though simpy composed of cabernet colored strings knotted to the wall and staircase, "1079" is visually captivating. While walking under it, I felt trapped; yet, the undulations of the string made me feel as if I were looking up at the surface from under the ocean. It took 11 hours to install and is named "1079" due to the presence of 1,079 knots in its construction. Sprague stated that she used red string because of its exhibition in a theatrical building. "The red reminds me of a stage curtain," she said.

Overall, the exhibition left much to be desired. However, the work of these three young artists is promising and clearly displays the strength of the Studio Art department. There will be a lot to look forward to for next semester. I'm sure that these students will deliver on the hype and rise to the challenge.