Art Students Spent Their Summer Exploring Sites Across the Midwest and Designing Pieces for ‘REST STOP’, an Art Exhibit at Will’s Canyon Stop
On Aug. 3, students in BYU’s Department of Art hosted the opening show for “REST STOP,” an art exhibit resembling a convenience store. The show runs from Aug. 3-7 and is located outside of Will’s Canyon Stop, a gas station at the mouth of Provo Canyon. Visitors who attended were dazzled by colorful prints, oil paintings and conceptual artwork.
The exhibit did not come together overnight; students spent an entire summer term preparing for the show. The summer intensive class was led by Madeline Rupard and Chris Lynn, who are both professors in the Department of Art.
Rupard describes the class as “Study Abroad I-15,” acknowledging the destinations, or rest stops, students ventured to and drew inspiration from for their exhibit.
“The audience for this exhibit is the public, and all are invited,” Rupard said. “We love that it is community-oriented, and that it may catch some people driving past by surprise.”
Before even beginning their work, the students spent weeks traveling across the Mountain West, touring sites and searching for inspiration. Students explored a biblical-themed gas station in Eden, Idaho; a surreal grocery store in Las Vegas, Nevada; and much more.
Eve Everett is a senior pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts and has been participating in the summer intensive program. During the six-week course, Everett traveled alongside her peers to sites across Idaho, Nevada and Utah.
“We've been thinking about contrasts and juxtapositions between the sacred, the profane and the mundane,” Everett said.
Everett prepared two oil paintings for the show. Bringing her interest in grids to the canvas, she painted soda bottles lined up in rows.
“The reflecting light, different colors and dark background make this painting visually interesting,” Everett said. “I have a lot of memories of being a kid drinking orange Fanta. So I had this idea for a bright orange painting.”
While most of Everett's work is abstract, her first oil painting for the show is a realistic piece.
“Even though it is representational, I wanted there to be moments where the bottles are more tightly rendered, and moments where it kind of fades into something else,” Everett said. “In my work, I'm really interested in creating a different space.”
Her second painting for the show is abstract and painted on a canvas that stands six feet tall. The artist pulled inspiration from the land art piece “Double Negative,” located in Clark County, Nevada.
“I took shapes from the map of ‘Double Negative’ that I thought were interesting to make this piece,” Everett said.
Everest hopes that viewers interpret her artwork with their own meaning.
“When someone looks at my abstract piece, I don't care if they know what inspired it,” Everett said. “What I care about is that a viewer can have a sense of observation and curiosity, and maybe even make their own connection with it.”
Rather than painting with a restricted plan, Everett lets her intuition guide her work.
“I may start with shapes and color combinations, an idea or a feeling. As I go forward, I start responding to the different shapes and colors I’m making. As the project progresses, it becomes less and less about the original idea,” she said.
Everett is passionate about her own work, but seeing how her peers’ artwork came together for the show excited her even more.
“I'm really looking forward to seeing the show and seeing everyone's work together, and I'm especially excited to have a show at a less conventional place.”
Alyssa Melby, an art student from Maryland, also participated in the exhibit.
“For this exhibit, I made a series of 90 postcards focusing on travel and the journey to your destination,” Melby said. “I made 16 unique designs, and then I printed them in a variety of colors.”
Taking her work a step further, she incorporated an interactive element into her art. By displaying the postcards on different ledges, visitors could rearrange the cards.
“I put them on different ledges so the audience could interact with them and move through them,” Melby said. “Every viewer who comes into the exhibit kind of sees a different show, reflecting how everybody's journeys and travels through life are different.”
Her prints feature views one would see while traveling in a car, including windmills, wheels, power lines and flocks of birds. The prints are brightly colored in shades of orange, yellow, blue and green.
“While we spent most of our time exploring the sites, we spent a lot of time traveling,” Melby said. “It made me think about how much time I've spent traveling and how I actually enjoy it, and how it's familiar to me and so many people.”
While Melby wants visitors to admire the artwork in the show, she hopes that the exhibit will help guests connect with the people around them.
“I hope people find a way to connect with others about how much they travel, and I hope people enjoy the show and the artwork,” Melby said.
On Thursday, another opening show will take place at 6 p.m., and the gallery will be filled with new artwork. Whether you have seen the first round of artwork or not, this exhibit is sure to impress. Don’t miss the closing show, which will take place on Friday, Aug. 7, from 6-8 p.m.