Tomorrow, Lyric Morris and Emilee Berry will have a public reception for their senior art show, “Redirection.” The duo has come together to present a show using everyday items in hopes of stimulating a discussion.
Back in December of 2014, seniors Berry and Morris submitted a proposal for their senior art show. Little did they know they would be paired together to present their artwork. Though every senior has a show, this presentation will be unique in several ways.
“We were actually freshman year roommates,” Morris said. “It’s just ironic because we thought we were total opposites in everything, including our artwork, then we got paired to work together for this art show.”
Berry chose to create her art from nontraditional materials. The show features several sculptures, floor-to-ceiling height, constructed entirely out of paperclips. She was inspired by a trip to Greece last summer.
“I was really inspired by how architecture and nature worked together in Greece,” Berry said. “There was a balance between structure and chaos.”
The goal of this show is to demonstrate how a manufactured product not considered art can be shifted into a piece of art.
“I took something industrial and made it organic,” Berry said. “I wanted to bring creativity and life into something so simple that’s used every day.”
Morris’s pieces, on the other hand, are various textiles. Morris took every day household items — such as pantyhose and pillowcases — and created numerous weavings and embroidery pieces. Morris then intentionally made “mistakes” in her weaving and embroidery to break out of the norm of art. Her hope is to shed light on the ideas of femininity and gender roles through using these household items.
“I grew up with a lot of women who made me who I am today,” Lyric said. “I wanted to engage in the art so many women have in the past and really explore what it means for me to be feminine.”
Both artists have now come together to be presented as one unit. Although each artist brings her own flare to the show, the underlying ideas remain the same.
“Both our shows really do connect,” Morris said. “They take everyday things and use it as a tool to create art.”
Both artists also chose to create pieces in which repetition was a crucial element in constructing the final product.
“Both of us use repetition as a tool for us to reflect on things as we are making them. It allows us to explore what our art means,” Berry said.
Berry and Morris will present “Redirection” in Te Paske Gallery at the Korver Visual Arts Center. The reception will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 27. They will present a short talk on their work and answer questions.
