We Are Commonvision
There’s a Quadmania T-shirt hanging on the wall, photographs of squirrels and a flyer about baked potatoes. There are smaller note cards, large posters and textured frames that come out from the wall. The area is covered from top to bottom with art and design – and also with creativity and hard work.
“We are commonvision” is the first-ever exhibition from commonvision (a full-service print, copy and marketing center in The Commons) and showcases work from the 2008-2009 staff designers and artists. The exhibition explores the staff’s creative process, individual and group aesthetics and the way they combine their various UMBC educational experiences to create their work.
“This exhibition is really our chance to showcase our work, not just as individuals, but as a collaborative group of designers, co-workers and friends,” said Adam J. Kurtz ’09, exhibit curator and organizer. “commonvision allows us to take our visual arts lessons and apply them to real-world situations, and we’re excited to share our work with the rest of campus.”
The exhibition came along by accident, said Kurtz. He was walking down the hall of the visual arts department when a few professors approached him. Knowing he had curated UMBC ArtWeek 2009 just two months earlier, they asked if he’d be interested in showing more work.
“I immediately thought it would be a great chance for all the commonvision staff to show our collective work, and we took it from there,” he said.
It’s more than just work for these student designers. Working under the guidance of commonvision Coordinator Laura Schraven and Copy Center Supervisor Stephanie Hemling, the staff learns about print production, file management, marketing concepts and tactics, design methods and customer service. Students are able to combine their visual arts education with hands-on experience, putting course materials into action to produce tangible design pieces for real clients.
“What’s truly unique about commonvision is the creative freedom afforded to student staff,” said Kurtz. “Whereas an internship with a design firm might only allow for a limited creative experience, commonvision staff regularly complete projects from conceptualization to production, learning to perform each step of the design process. Every voice is heard and taken into account.”
The exhibit is on display through October 2 in the UMBC Fine Arts building, First Floor Gallery. Included is work by Katie Heater ‘10, Andy Hsu ‘06, Emily Jenkins ‘11, Saira Khan ‘10, Adam J. Kurtz ‘09, Sean Maykrantz ‘09, Tazuko Sugajima ‘10, Erin Surrock ‘10 and Jenna Ullrich ‘10.
For more information, click here.
(9/11/09)
