The Tennessee Soybean Festival has partnered with UTM’s Department of Visual and Theatre Arts to present the 5th annual “Guitar as Art” exhibit.
As the name states, the “Guitar as Art” exhibit features an assortment of vibrantly designed guitars, coinciding with the musical Soybean Festival that takes place in Martin.
Thirty artists participated in the event this year, making it the largest “Guitar as Art” exhibit yet. From agriculture and nature, to beloved children’s stories, to social justice challenges, each guitar showcased the artist’s personal style and presented themes that were important to them.
Violet Durden, a junior Art Education major from Memphis, won the People’s Choice Award for her piece titled “Corner of Lindell and Main Street.” Durden’s guitar features a wooden wall art style with multi-colored windows and a bright blue door at the bottom of the guitar’s body. A brown flower pattern sits at the bridge of the guitar just below the fretboard. A small man sits at the top of the guitar’s body, leaning against the fretboard. Green and red window curtains drape off of the sides of the body.
Kaitlyn Frandsen, a senior Art Education major from southern California, won Best in Show with her piece titled “Flower Child”. Frandsen’s predominately white acoustic guitar was covered in intricate flower designs that beautifully contrasted against the white background of the body. On either side of the guitar, the faces of two women adorned in flowers face each other. The strings on the guitar come right in the middle of the space between the two faces.
The exhibit managed to convey all different kinds of art and even political messages. A common theme among the guitars is the celebration of the annual Soybean Festival. Nature and animals were also common among the decorated guitar bodies.
The exhibit, which is in the Fine Arts Building’s gallery on UTM’s main campus, opened its doors to the public on Sunday, Sept. 2 and will be open until Sunday, Sept. 22. Admission is free for everyone, not just students. The exhibit is open from 2-4 p.m.
Soybean Festival activities extend through Sept. 9.
Martin officials, UTM faculty and Chancellor Keith Carver stand with the winners of “Guitar as Art”. | Photo Credit/ University Relations
