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“Identity” by Zach Boozer

“Memento” by Leslie Graham

“Fragment #3-Crashing Wave” by Sara Beard

Works of three graduating art/photography majors at �������� State are on display through May 6 in the university’s Colvard Student Union Art Gallery.

Free to all, the “Contact S16: BFA Photography Thesis Exhibition” celebrates the final year of art department studies for Sara J. Beard of Pascagoula, Zachary S. “Zach” Boozer of Jackson and Leslie A. Graham of Forest. Beard also is pursuing an MSU degree in foreign language/French.

Also open to all is a 5-6 p.m. Thursday [April 14] reception in their honor taking place in the Union’s second-floor gallery. Refreshments will be provided.

Regular gallery hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, as well as by appointment.

All three students have been guided over the years by professor Marita Gootee and assistant professor Dominic Lippillo of art’s photography emphasis area. Gootee is the department’s longtime photography coordinator.

Their images reflect the successful conclusion of departmental research, writing and presentation requirements, as well as four years of foundational coursework, survey, art history, and academic and emphasis classes.

Beard’s collection features “Fragment #3-Crashing Wave,” a piece focusing primarily on personal memories that have both changed and remained over time. She said her goal is to inspire viewers to reflect on their own memories and consider how they also may have evolved.

“Dasein,” the name of Boozer’s body of work, includes a piece titled “Identity” he said was inspired by the “hyperconnected age we live in today that has made it become increasingly difficult for individuals to be in the present and aware of their innerselves.” His goal: “Encourage the viewer to contemplate the manner in which the noise of modern society affects your personal introspection on your individual experience of being.”

In “Memento,” Graham’s tintype images pay tribute to her late grandmother. Indicative of a time now frozen since her grandmother’s passing, they are meant to intimately capture things at a distance that convey an absence of presence.

Additional information on the “Contact S16” exhibit is available from Lori Neuenfeldt, coordinator for gallery and outreach programs, at 662-325-2973 or LNeuenfeldt@caad.msstate.edu.

In addition to the ��������, the exhibit is made possible with support from the Center for Student Activities.