On Friday, Nov. 10, students, parents and faculty gathered at the William Conroy Honors Center to observe the opening ceremonies of the Honors Art Collective, a year-round exhibition featuring artwork created by students on campus.
As participants filed in, they scanned codes to read the artist statements and were encouraged to vote in favor of specific artists for each award. The three awards available were the Curators Choice Award, chosen by Jessica Mercado, the People’s Choice Award and the Honors Selection Award. The artwork available ranged from sculpture to figure drawing, and all participants were given a place on the building’s walls.
This year’s Borderlands theme inspired art as diverse as the possible interpretations of the theme. Some interpreted the theme as local history, while others viewed it as the conflict between the known and the unknown, and all put their interpretations into work.
Briana Teran, winner of the Honors Selection Award, used collage to find her voice in the Borderlands theme. In her first art piece displayed at the university level, she talked about how making the art helped her reconcile the different facets of her identity.
“I grew up in El Paso, Texas, and I grew up right next to the border,” Teran said. “Having family from Mexico but also being from the United States, I have struggled with my identity personally. I just feel like I have two identities constantly that battle each other. I feel like I identify more with one side sometimes, and I feel neglectful of another side. This piece I wanted to reflect both of those, but simultaneously have them together.”
Others used the medium collaboratively, joining forces with other artists or taking part in long-term pieces. Karim Rojas worked with Mercado to create a piece combining both their artistic techniques. The duo interpreted the theme visually, using loose brushstrokes to show definitive divides and dualities in their subject.
“The meaning of this painting is that everything in this world has meaning, and even though it dies, a new beginning comes back,” Rojas said.
Not all featured artwork was 2D, with the other two award winners creating sculptures and 3D art to fit the theme. Curator’s Choice Award winner Ace John Garentina used ceramic to create a vase that sported resemblance to undersea creatures.
Armando R. Almanza, winner of the People’s Choice Award, took a different approach to his art. His work was a painted cow skull, and it was all a part of a much longer process. The cow was raised in the NMSU pens by one student, and the skull was cleaned and treated by another. Finally, the skull came into Almanza’s hands, who painted it and entered it into the collective.
“It was a two-year process, which makes it more than just my art,” Almanza said.
The entire collective represents the diverse ways that students can use art to share a message and express themselves, regardless of their major or previous art experience. For many of the participants, this was their first time being on display anywhere, in the collective or otherwise.
All artworks will be on display at the Conroy Honors Center until Aug. 2024, and is open to all students during business hours.
