Melisha Polk and Kalen Simone presented their senior art exhibitions Sept. 25-Oct. 6.
Polk is a senior Studio Art major from Ripley. Her thesis exhibition was titled “My Life: Past, Present & Future.”
The show focused on using Polk’s family members, mostly women who have overcome obstacles in their life, to represent her past, present and future.
Many of Polk’s drawings are of older family members who represent her in different stages of life.
Polk used her grandma to represent herself 50 years from now, her mother to represent herself 30 years from now and she used her sister to represent herself in high school.
“[With] me being a senior, my future’s right in my face and I’m constantly thinking about what’s the next step in life,” Polk said.
Polk used a charcoal medium in her drawings, allowing her to depict facial expressions in the dark versus the light contrast of the drawings.
“I hope the viewer saw the expression in each picture and it made them think about where they see themselves now and in the future,” Polk said.
After graduation, Polk wants to get a master’s degree in either education or sculpture.
Simone, a senior Studio Art major from Jackson, presented a thesis exhibition titled “Written in Black and White,” which focused on racial differences in America and its history.
Simone’s exhibition is categorized by four events: slavery, reconstruction, Civil Rights and mass incarceration.
“I hope viewers take away a new perspective. It’s not even about changing their mindset, whatever that may be, but just to allow themselves to step out of their own experience or their personal beliefs and really just analyze the show,” Simone said.
Simone used a mostly achromatic palette so that the viewer would focus on the themes of the pieces rather than the bold colors.
She used acrylic on board, which is the medium she is most comfortable with, but she also branched out and used different mediums as well, such as readymades and ceramics.
“I’m very influenced by not just history, but art history and so I wanted to explore things like readymades and ceramics because they were apart of my learning here at UTM,” Simone said.
After graduation, Simon wants to focus on her family and herself.
For more information about upcoming exhibitions, check out www.utm.edu/department/ finearts.
“30 Years From Today” Melisha Polk |Pacer Photo/ Emily Wilson “Angela Davis” Kalen Simone.|Pacer Photo/Emily Wilson
