The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Show will be on both online and in-person this year. The artists start the exhibition with the title DISPOSITIONS. This exhibition is the culmination of the BFA students’ academic and studio education at NMSU. To visit in-person, please RSVP here: https://uam.nmsu.edu/timed-tickets/
ONLINE ARTIST TALK
May 13, 2021 at 6:00pm https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0qdO2tpjouE9S_mLnAJ2aHRBvEiZkyrojO
Please go to the link to register for artist talk.
ARTIST
Jesus Del Rio
Land of the free (Left, Nylon, wood, paint, 2021), Diversity (Right, wood, paint, 2021)
Jesus Del Rio is a sculptor based out of Las Cruces, New Mexico. While growing up he experienced the effects the machismo within his family and his culture and discrimination within the American culture. This experience alongside other issues such as poverty and discrimination, has led to Del Rio’s intimate knowledge of the harsh reality of anxiety and depression. His work aims to connect people from differing walks of life over their commonalities. He achieves this by creating installations and sculptures that challenge the taboo and in consequence starts conversations about mental health and sociological issues. While influenced by other artists, he also creates from his unique world view that was shaped by his life experiences.
The themes I convey in my pieces center around my fascination with the sociological and psychological conditions that shape our reactions to the world. Some of the most prevalent topics I have covered are human sexuality, mental health, and the inequalities of this country, particularly as they dominate societal norms and issues. Not only do I address these topics but also challenge them in my own way Although I work from personal experiences, I also create with the purpose of making socially engaging and identifiable art.
Jiyong Kim
Isolation, Archival Prints, 2020
Jiyong Kim is a photographer, currently living and operating in Las cruces, New Mexico, which is merely the latest stop on a journey that dragged him from birth in Seoul, South Korea. He is passionate about photography and specializes in street and portrait photography. After many years of working as a freelance photographer in Maryland, he finally decided to pursue his love of photography. Upon moving to Las Cruces in 2016, he started working as a photographer at College of Education at New Mexico State University. While he is working, he is also studying studio art at NMSU as a BFA student. He has taken his career experience and applied it to his artworks. Taking photos is like keeping a diary for him. Jiyong always reminds himself that the camera is merely a tool. What he has inside his heart matters most. He loves street photography because it is the result of a process that cannot be simulated by artificial manipulation.
Each photograph begins with one idea. A photographer's job is not just to catch the dream but also to turn it into art that is larger than life and beyond all initial expectations. I interpret photography in relation to the lens. My work is defined by the relation between subject and photographer. My process combines the needs of the world of commerce with insights from fine art, spirituality and psychology. To find a way to connect and create caused me to become a photographer. I mainly create photographs for exhibitions and corporations. I consult even with people who need headshots and portraits. I view photography through the lens of relationship. My work is characterized by the relation between subject and photographer. I want to take pictures of value, not just for pleasure. My approach incorporates the needs of the world of business with perspectives from fine art, spirituality and psychology. To find a way to communicate and build inspired me to become a photographer. I also focus efficiently on elemental form, rhythm and pattern allowing for visual impact to be accomplished with simplicity. When everything is in harmony, my photography will be complete.
Blanca Martinez
Blanca Martinez creates multimedia digital works with old family photographs collaged with contemporary photographs and illustrations. As the 2020 pandemic raged on Martinez used this time of isolation to create pieces that related to the outside climate of isolation and distance. This related to Martinez overall theme of distance with her sense of identity and relations between her family members. Martinez continues to explore her identity and family relations through color, photo combination, and layers of illustrations.
Family relations and emotions are the primary focus within my newest work. I explore the complexities of how the vices within my parents have created the people my sister and I have grown into. I create this by using illustrations and creating a domestic living space for these illustrations to lay in. By bringing these vices to life I create a conversation about how families interact with one another in a home space and how emotions can carry onto future generations.
