March 9, 2001

Expression though art

Teacher influences Artist

LAURIE BETH RICHTER

Boredom in class has been known to inspire the artist in many of us. Francisco Borges, however, has a different kind of inspiration for the doodles he calls art. It’s kind of like my form of worship sometimes, said Borges. But he didn’t always feel that way. First introduced to art in fifth grade, Borges became interested in Monet, an impressionist painter. It was one of those classes you were forced to take, he said. Soon after that Borges was stricken with an obsession for drawing cartoon characters. He developed his own character whom he fondly dubbed X-Duck, influenced by the X-Men craze that years ago took elementary and middle school kids by storm. My brothers kept telling me to make the muscles bigger! Make the muscles bigger! Borges laughed. Along with his friends, he developed a team of lethal ducks. They were mean but they were good guys though. The whole comic strip never developed though he and his friends had joked about it often. The characters were retired when Borges graduated to high school and ran across a new inspiration. A certain charismatic art teacher brought out a whole new side of Borges’ artistic talent. She let us know on the first day of school that she was a Christian, he said while giving a high pitched impersonation of the teacher he speaks of so fondly. She let me know that if I gave my talent to God he’d give it right back. And he did. Borges saw changes in his work almost immediately, though his teachers saw more talent than he. His talent was rewarded twice in high school as he place on the state-wide level with Honorable Mentions in the PTA sponsored Reflections Contests. He has the medals and certificates to prove it. It was kinda nice being recognized by the state since I didn’t win Student Gallery, he said. Disappointment at the district-wide Student Gallery competition didn’t keep him down however. Francisco’s divinely inspired portfolio now heaps of 35 drawings in mediums ranging from oil pastel, to marker, and graphite. Borges admits that his works have common threads. Images of lost souls and the crucified Christ are evidence of the Christian theme from which his works are derived. I just want to be an artist, draw and paint, he said. Learn about art. Of course not without God. In ten years, the artist sees himself bouncing from city to city putting on shows. That’d be nice, he said.

Shadows Lurk in the Woods

SHELLY MILLER

Remember those big gray boulders made of foam at playgrounds and parks? You could pick them up and look like you had superhuman strength. They’re back! And hiding in the trees next to the Fine Arts building. In this area you will find several sculptures by students of art professor Phillip Guilfoyle. Space is the reason for this recent display. The sculptures have very different shapes, but are all gray and at night cast mysterious shadows among the trees. One looks the shape of a misguided shooting star. Another could have come from a larger sculpture leaving behind an even more interesting display. Guilfoyle chuckled when asked about the display. “We ran out of space,” Guilfoyle said of how the sculptures mysteriously appeared. They belong to students from his fall semester sculpture class. “They never came back for them,” he said. “And we needed the space to store the bowls for the Empty Bowl charity dinner.” Henriette Emmanuel is one of the students whose art is now on display. “It wouldn’t fit in my car,” she said. And she didn’t mind letting Guilfoyle display it. The sculptures are carved from pieces of foam board glued together, then covered with a cement and sand coating, Guilfoyle explained. “The objective of the project was art that can be displayed outside,” he said. “We could use more sculpture around. Maybe this will induce more art.” Originally Guilfoyle thought this project was a failure. He was trying to get the students to realize the value of their art as more than a flat sketch or painting, something they could display rather than stick into a flat portfolio and forget. He even considered scrapping the project for future classes. Now he is considering taking it a step further. “A collaboration of a whole class on an environmental art project, for a specific area on campus,” he said. Guilfoyle participated in this kind of art project in his college days. He gathered 29 tree branches and painted them different bright colors, then displayed them in the ground. “It was called 29 Poles and a Landscape,” he said. And it received a great deal of attention. The idea of having a contest of sculptures came up during the interview with Guilfoyle and Emmanuel. “Maybe a contest for the best Marlin,” Emmanuel said. They could be displayed on campus, and the students could vote for the best sculpture of the school mascot—who knows? The attention the sculptures have received have made Guilfoyle reconsider the success of this project and spawned ideas for projects drawing even more student participation.

Can you survive the one acts

Theresa Ann Mucci

In a classically formatted drama the viewer is taken on a journey that involves many twists and turns along the path to a final destination. Vehicles for this trip involve numerous settings, costumes, and characters; all of which lead to a final destination... the point of the drama. The impressiveness of one act plays are that they portray the same message as a classical drama would, but without the aids of numerous characters and costumes, and without a single scene change. Wesleyan students had the opportunity to experience these six one-act performances, free of charge, in Hofheimer Theater at 8pm. There are five directing students, Cara King, Martine Green, Kisha Steele, Matt Tefft and Beth Gnatiuk. All students were enrolled in the Seminar production class, as their final project the students are to direct their own One Act Play. The theme that the directors decided on was “Can you survive the One Acts.” “We decide on this theme because it is our first directing experience,” said Cara King. “We are kinda testing ourselves and we thought that it would be a catchy promo that would get people to come to the show.” King, a senior theater major, is excited about the upcoming events her theater class is directing. “I love the class,” King says. “Dr. Shedd is very creative. She gives us insight, yet still lets us make choices on our own.” Rachel Perdue, a cast member in one of King’s two plays, enjoys working on the performance. “Her (King) being excited makes me excited,”said Perdue. “She keeps us pumped.” Another cast member agrees. “It’s going really well,” Nicki Dudley adds. “She’s (King’s) so enthusiastic...it makes me want to be. I look forward to performing.” King, who is directing both plays for her senior project has chosen to direct “Anything For You,” and “The Man Who Can’t Dance,” to portray different relationships.“Anything For You,” said King, “can represent any type of relationship, different from traditional relationships, that are equally important, like homosexual or bisexual relationships.” She also comments how she has enjoyed the experience and how she enjoyed working with her cast “Things are going smoothly with no complaints at all,” King said. With all the hard work and rehearsal time that the students are sacrificing, they are looking forward to what seems to be a promising turnout.