Class of 2021 Senior Show
END of an ERA will run from April 12 through May 8, open for in-person or virtual viewing.
Artists
McKenzie Carter
Biography
My work is driven by curiosity and honesty.
Whether the medium be a lens or laptop, I strive to interpret the world around me through the representation of color and playfulness. I want viewers to gain an experience; to conceive new thought; or perceive the world from a new angle. Photography opens my eyes to a new realm, revealing the more minuscule details of a scene. These details that are often overlooked and unappreciated give me insight into a design. My ideas come from the feeling of a space, grand or modest, when I construct my work. I want a photograph to feel powerful, uncommon, and representative of those details. I create designs with a similar motive so that the small details should feel clean, yet strong enough to stand on their own.
Artist Statement
My name is McKenzie Carter, I am a senior at Concordia University Wisconsin graduating in May with a double major in Graphic Design and Photography. I attended Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I became passionate about darkroom photography as a sophomore in high school and knew early on in life I wanted to pursue art. I began at Concordia as a digital photography major and was quickly influenced by design. After one semester at Concordia I decided to double major in Graphic Design and Photography. I didn’t know much about graphic design or what the program required, but I knew it excited me in the way that photography does. After four years at Concordia and a few semesters at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, I knew I found a second passion and a great combination of majors. As I further my career I hope to combine both passions throughout my work.
Amanda Kirmse
Biography
Before I came to Concordia, I struggled figuring out the idea of a career path for myself. I was always very drawn to the visual arts specifically, and used to wonder how designers would digitally create things that the rest of the world sees. By the time I was looking at signage and mentally noting what I would do differently, I decided to get into graphic design. It amazed me to visually see how each person's mind can create something different from another's, even if it's covering the same topic. Concordia's polysynchronous design co-operative courses with MIAD helped me expand my creative understanding and process. With the skills I've gained through both schools, I'll be working for Kohl's Corporate Menomonee Falls following my graduation.
Artist Statement
The visual arts have yet to lose any of my fascination. Flipping through magazines as a child, I would rest my eyes on anything amazingly bizarre or eye-catching to me. Then observing signage as a young adult, I’d instinctively pull apart any grammatical errors or inconsistencies. Now, as a design-experienced individual, the need to create and connect concepts through visuals has conquered my full interest. Every element of design has a purpose, and working towards that final product perfectionism keeps me hooked. There’s no formula to configuring a designer, just as there’s no formula to produce any designer’s type of imagination and creativity. And that’s the main appeal, because each designer’s mind is exclusive to them. I continue to work as a graphic designer in efforts to visualize to others how my mind works, and to inspire more minds to enter the visual arts.
Joe Michaletz
Biography
I've lived in the Fox Cities area of Wisconsin my whole life. I've always been interested in art and design, and I decided I wanted to be a graphic designer before I started high school. I have a wide range of design skills and I hope to continue to learn more and build on them in whatever my professional career looks like.
Artist Statement
As a designer, I’ve always been strived to seek out opportunities where I can expand my range of abilities. I work with graphic design, visual identities, animation, motion graphics, 3D design, illustration, and more. I love design because it’s a universal language that people automatically react to, whether they realize it or not. I design to communicate concepts in a clear and unique way.
Anna Moss
Biography
I am a senior graphic design major with a minor in animation. Growing up in Florida and going to school so far away from home, I believe, has given me a unique artistic expression. Art has been a passion of mine since I was young and it has always been a dream to make it my career. I enjoy a wide variety of mediums from oil to digital. I am graduating a year early this spring and am thrilled to put all I have learned and experienced to use.
Artist Statement
Art has always been a part of me. From a young age, I was drawing and painting, writing and making stories. I value the beauty in the world and the unlikely places I find it. With that, I take immense enjoyment in storytelling. It’s human nature to tell and consume stories, and I have always had a desire to help contribute. I want a help build the vision of fantasy for myself and others in any way. Visual storytelling is a passion of mine, and finding a way to communicate any narrative is endlessly satisfying, whether it be through illustration or animation. I yearn to make and create.
Jordan Rittmann
Biography
Born and raised in the dairy state, Wisconsin, Jordan developed a passion for the arts at an early age. Jordan’s primary interests from his youth, besides art, still apply today. Jordan’s interests have a tendency to make frequent appearances in his work. These interests include animals, sports (specifically baseball), and almost anything with wheels (particularly cars).
Jordan is currently in the midst of chasing his dream to become an Illustrator through a cooperative program through Concordia University Wisconsin and Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Jordan is on track to graduate in the spring of 2021.
In Jordan’s traditional pieces, he has been working to convey a narrative through textures, subject positioning, and a range of values in a distinct style. In his digital work, Jordan’s goal is to convey a narrative through textures, color, and line work. He takes a very technical approach to his work and visualizes subjects and scenes with the help of graphite, charcoal, pen, and use of adobe programs. Jordan strives to give each piece the focus and determination it deserves to fulfill his very own imagination as well as the imagination of others. These pieces are very detail-oriented and exhibit the highest level of craftsmanship Jordan is capable of.
Artist Statement
In my work, careful observation, attention to detail and craftmanship lead to a strong, evocative narrative. I use both traditional and digital mediums to create realistic abstractions in a technical manner. To do this, I absorb information given from my surroundings and use it to interpret the world through my perspective.
Lauralye Rollings
Artist Statement
As a child I took my mother’s lipstick and drew on the walls. “Look! Isn’t it pretty!?” I exclaimed to her. From this moment on it was apparent I would become an artist in some shape or form. Now, as an adult, I aim to express my feelings through Interior Design with contrasting colors, textures and shapesthat embody both present and past… By using oneof-a-kind pieces, and tying it all together with unifying elements, I form spaces that are unified and cohesive. Interiors should honor their originalcharacter and yet be personalized for their current inhabitants. Finding inspiration in fashion, nature, and art, I envision interiors that flow and areharmonious, while pushing the limits and offering the unexpected.
Allison Stoltz
Biography
I’m Allie Stoltz and I live in West Bend, WI. I went to Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School in Jackson, WI. I came to Concordia to study Graphic Design and Animation. My favorite things to design are logos, event posters, and kinetic type videos. My dream job is working for the Milwaukee Bucks as one of their graphic designers. I’m excited to get out into the design world and make my mark.
Artist Statement
As a graphic designer, my goal is to capture attention. I’ve always wanted my work to make people gather and give them an experience that gives them something in common. My designs are bold and invite you to look a little closer. I strive to be different and to make people do a double take. I cannot influence the world by trying to be like it.
Inanimate Bonds: Giving Soul to Everyday Objects
Run dates: January 25 through May 10, open for in-person or virtual viewing.
Concordia University is pleased to feature artwork by Stacy Lee Ollmann, a Milwaukee artist who works primarily in mixed media sculpture, collage, and alcohol ink painting. Ollmann says of herself:
“The creative urge that fuels my process is an organic union with my materials. I play with the relationship between the human form and inanimate objects, merging them together – fusing the two in some way. I consider how we attach to or identify with our “stuff.” Whether I am adding objects to human forms or giving human qualities to objects, this is an ongoing pattern in my art.
My current body of work is a series of clay vessels that begin as a simple pinch pot and are built up with coils. Hand building is a slow and intimate process. I begin to feel a relationship with the piece and anthropomorphizing it feels natural and intuitive. The pieces take on a life of their own, and I can feel the character emerge and tell me what or who each piece wants to be.
My other medium of choice is polymer clay. Along with paper-mache and acrylic paint, I integrate bits and pieces of found objects into these sculptures to help tell a story or show the viewer a part of the character’s personality.
My goal is to love my process, so I achieve it repeatedly – every step of the way.”
About the CUW Art Gallery
Over 30 years ago, the CUW Art Gallery was founded with the hope of educating, challenging, and inspiring the students, faculty, staff, and community of CUW as well as the public through exposure to the vast world of art. Our mission is to encourage appreciation and understanding of art and its role in society through direct engagement with original works of art. Combining fresh, object-based scholarship with broad accessibility, the CUW Art Gallery aims to provoke and affirm accepted meanings of art objects and to suggest new ones to its patrons. We aspire to excite the imagination, and present opportunities for our patrons to look into the study of art and culture.
The goals of the CUW Art Gallery are to:
- Bring excellent contemporary and historical art to the CUW campus community
- Reflect the diversity of the university and Southeastern Wisconsin community
- Connect the university and the public through relevant art and cultural programs
- Support student, emerging and established artists by providing opportunities for the creation and exhibition of cutting edge visual art
- Development of self-knowledge inherent in artistic activity for the personal growth and development of the CUW Gallery students, faculty, staff and patrons