Surely a force to be reckoned with, Shannon Bewley is definitely a driving force in the college art world! If you’re looking for great pieces with deep meaning, Shannon is the girl for you! She has already worked as a teacher and school services intern at the Birmingham Museum of Art, and presented a paper entitled “Uneasy Sensations: Premature Adulthood in Loretta Lux’s The Drummer” at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art here in Auburn. This year, two of her pieces were featured in the Fieldwork Projects, an art department’s auxiliary gallery.
Age: 19
Major: Studio Art and Art History, German Minor
How and at what age did you become interested in art? I’ve always been interested in art. When I was in elementary school I took art classes after school before abandoning them to be a marine biologist. It’s been an interesting loop around!
What do you do as a Biggin Gallery student worker? I help install and de-install the art work, as well as packing everything up to mail back to the artist. I manage the mailing list and distribute posters. Now that I’ve been working here for a while, I’ve been allowed to give curatorial input about the placement and organization of art in the shows, which is very exciting!
What was your favorite art show to work on at the gallery? So far it’s been the Front, an artist collective out of New Orleans. The show, “Are We One?” had a multitude of media from numerous artist. It was definitely a challenge to organize the space in a way that turned the medley in to a cohesive body.
Has your artistic practice changed since seeing what goes on behind the scenes of displaying work? I’m more interested in pieces that are self-referential about the nature of art and viewer interaction. I want to create work that transforms the gallery space. Many of my hanging works utilize unusual methods of hanging, coming off the wall at angles. I’m never worried about the fragility of my work; I know how much care galleries put in to handling work. I’m certainly rougher with my own work than I am with other’s.
What do you plan on doing with your artistic talents in the future? I’m not sure. I can either pursue being an art professor or an art historian through masters school. Working as a curator in a museum would be fantastic, but I would have to get my PhD. Whatever I’m working on at the moment, be it an art history paper or sculpture, captures my interest the most.
Keep an eye out for all the dynamic projects Ms. Shannon Bewley will be creating here at Auburn University. The next exhibit she will be working on is for The BFA Senior Candidate show that opens November 10, 2014 at 5pm in Biggin. The opening reception features FREE food and drink and is open to all. For more information check out the CLA link http://www.cla.auburn.edu/art/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/)