A thoroughly revamped arts wing is fostering new creativity and community among Fordham’s visual arts students and offering new possibilities for exhibits and events. Located on the first floor of the Lowenstein Center at the Lincoln Center campus, it includes new seminar rooms, more open layouts, improved furniture, and new storage space to support more ambitious exhibitions.
A key feature is a new senior thesis studio that provides dedicated space for senior visual arts majors and their projects, said Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock, head of the visual arts program.
“It gives them a place to work and leave their stuff and sort of do a little bit of ‘nesting,’ if you will,” he said. But it also fosters insights into their art—“People will come here to just read, perhaps for another class, and while they're doing that, they're in the presence of their work,” he said. “And sometimes in your peripheral vision, you wind up having insights into what you're up to that your conscious mind has not quite arrived at.”
Students said they appreciated the opportunity to work in a shared space and learn from each other about their work—which spans a diverse set of styles and materials.
Madeleine Johnson
Exploring Queer Spaces
Madeleine Johnson is exploring the history of textiles, which “have a lot of weight in the queer community,” as well as the meaning of queer spaces. “I'm including spaces that have been important in my life and people that have been important in my life—kind of weaving the people with the place, how it kind of becomes one identity together.”
Ramsay Macdonald
Layered Photography
Ramsay Macdonald, a senior film and visual arts major, is working on a film focused on food and community. He also likes to make photos using a three-color separation technique that conveys a sense of the past overlaid on the present. “I like how that is kind of [a] motion picture; it combines three moments into one. The theme I'm working on and playing with is New York City and how much history is inside of it.”
Samantha Bowin
Making Meaning out of Life Events
Samantha Bowin works with photography, digital collage, and other forms, exploring themes that include coping with challenging life events. “My mom was adamant about sharing surrealist art with me and my sister when we were really young. Art has always been such an important part of discovering who I am. It’s really a great way to process how life happens.”
Brenda Bouvier
Mixing Music and Art
Brenda Bouvier is working on a fabric-based abstract collage combining family photos and other images, and likes to create acoustic, folk-style music as part of her artistic process. “I love to see how different fields can combine. By making two separate things, it helps me to solidify my themes more and kind of discover more about what I want to express.”
