Senior Thesis Exhibition is on view from April 12 to May 9, 2019, at the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, University of Richmond Museums. The exhibition is the capstone experience for graduating visual media and arts practice majors in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Richmond.

Selected by the faculty of the Department of Art and Art History to participate in the thesis exhibition, three graduating senior visual media and arts practice majors present their art: Joseph McCormick, Vi Trinh, and Eibhlin Villalta. The students work throughout their senior year to prepare for this exhibition. The course was taught by Brittany Nelson, Assistant Professor of Photography, Department of Art and Art History, University of Richmond.

Artist Statements:

Joseph McCormick: Two pigeons interact underneath a bridge. The daffodils bloom in my backyard. My girlfriend cries while drawing her family’s house. Recordings of my bedroom keyboard performances. The telling of a dream- “some kind of light blue”. My mother and her husband dive into a lake. A cat hides beneath the stairs. My girlfriend and I sing roughly the same note over and over again for 10 minutes, creating a form of distortion. A crow is heard. My girlfriend’s grandmother lays by the pool...

Vi Trinh works in digital and traditional media to examine the relationship between ecological and social patterns.   Her work explores ideas of rich aesthetics in ecological emergencies and the temporal reality created by large-scale phenomena.  She synthesizes data to confront ideas of colonialism and white supremacy within our current social context.

Eibhlin Villalta uses only light and light-sensitive paper to make photograms. This cameraless method of photography allows her to capture images and record light on the paper without the use of negatives. By folding, twisting, and rolling the paper, the final result is a series of large, abstract photographic images that are a study of the most basic form of photography. The project involves working within a constrained set of rules, including the ways in which she is physically able to move and hold the paper. By avoiding literal figures, the work prompts viewers to expand their definition of what photography is and can be.

Organized by the University of Richmond Museums in collaboration with the Department of Art and Art History, University of Richmond, the exhibition was coordinated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums.