KSC Seniors Win People's Choice Art Awards
KEENE, N.H. 5/3/06 - Keene State College senior art majors Shawn Huckins and Joshua Tuscher were voted the winners, in studio art and graphic design respectively, of the People’s Choice Awards for work displayed in “Emerging Art,” the annual KSC art students’ exhibition at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery. During the first weeks of the exhibit, visitors were invited to vote for their favorite works of art in both graphic design and studio art. Out of 314 votes cast, Huckins and Tuscher received the most votes in their respective categories. Each student receives a $100 cash award from the Friends of the Thorne along with a People’s Choice Commendation.
Huckins of Northfield received the People’s Choice Award in studio art for his painting, “Frank’s Barber Shop.” The full-color painting is acrylic on canvas, and realistically depicts the long-time, well-known barbershop window on West Street in Keene. Huckins will graduate on Sunday with a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art.
Tuscher of Manchester earned the People’s Choice Award in graphic design for his DVD “Into Iraq.” Through narration, music, moving video, and projected phrases, Tuscher’s presentation depicts pieces of a soldier’s personal experience of war and life’s goals while on deployment in the service, and his departure from Iraq. Tuscher will graduate on Sunday with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design.
The two winning artworks are among 181 works exhibited by senior art and graphic design majors and other students taking art courses at Keene State. This year’s exhibit includes the work of the fourth group of seniors to graduate from the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at KSC. “Emerging Art” will be on display in both galleries through Sunday, May 7. The gallery will be open from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, and Sunday, May 7, for Commencement Weekend.
The gallery will be closed May 8-June 2 and will reopen Saturday, June 3, with an exhibition of the Thorne’s permanent collection. The collection includes an impressive selection of nationally recognized 19th-century artists who flourished around Mount Monadnock at the turn of the century, including Alexander James, Richard Meryman, Joseph Lindon Smith, and Barry Faulkner. In addition to the Dublin Art Colony artists the gallery collection includes contemporary artists, such as George Rickey, Robert Mapplethorpe, Vargian Bogosian and Jules Olitski. A summer exhibition, “Art = Body + Mind” will also open in early July; call the gallery for updates.
The exhibits are free and open to the public. Located on Wyman Way on the Keene State campus, the Gallery is accessible to people with disabilities. To request accommodations for a disability, please call the Thorne Gallery at least two weeks before your visit. For information, call 603-358-2720 or visit www.keene.edu/tsag.
