Kelly McConnaughey’s paintings center the Student Art Show.

The artistic community of Boston College gathered in the Bapst Library basement to celebrate their accomplishments and to share them with family, friends, faculty, and fellow students on the evening of Thursday, February 18, 2010.  As written in the invitation, the evening, which was sponsored cooperatively by the University Libraries, the Art Club, and the Laughing Medusa literary magazine, promised a night with “food, friends, and good times included.”

The event organizer’s description of the show, which began at 6:00 and ended at 7:30, called the featured pieces, “a vibrant collection in the Bapst Student Gallery: artwork of various pieces—created by BC’s most creative students—will be interpreted through poetry and song.”

The opening truly belonged to Kelly McConnaughey, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences where she is a double major in studio art and philosophy. She has eight paintings on display in the exhibit.  “This is what I have done for my thesis so far.  It’s about emotions and sexuality pertinent to the culture.  The work is a reflection on what everyone sees,” she explained.

“[The paintings] show different interactions between two people like regret, intimacy, and emotional distance,” McConnaughey continued.

McConnaughey’s artist statement underscores her objectives.  In it, she writes about how she tried to capture “specific atmospheres relating to love and sexuality as is pertinent to present day cultures and lifestyles.”

Although the artist titled four of her pieces with Biblical names—David, Uriah, Bathsheeba, and Solomon­—she hopes that people will bring their own views and experiences to the artwork.  As she says, “They are very personal for both the artist and the viewer.  I want people to see them and have their own interpretations and remember a time when they have been in that place. I want the viewers to recognize themselves in the work.”

Megan Kishling, LSOE ’10, who also has a piece in the art show, praised Kelly’s work as “amazing.”  Kishling’s own piece, Untitled, oil on wood, was inspired by a field trip she took last semester to the Natural History Museum with her Layering Images class taught by Professor Armstrong.  Her painting depicts a combination of the skeleton of a whale from the museum and a scene from her imagination.

The artistic celebrations of the evening were not limited to artists, however, as poets and musicians were on hand as well.  Richard Hoyt, a guitarist, wrote a song based on Katie Chin’s painting, “Self Portrait.” Hoyt described the short creative process for coming up with an original song before the opening: “I was allowed in here at 6:00 on Wednesday to find a piece that I liked.”

Hoyt also said the songs and poetry, which were all also original works, were “in conversation with the art.  They are either completely or tenuously inspired by the art.”

Ali Miller, A&S ’12, whose roommate, Nina Stingo, has work in the show, applauded the event and its organizers for their efforts.  “The opening is really special to me because some of my friends have things in it.  It’s nice to come here and see the final product because I’ve been hearing about the progress all along.”

The gallery will be open to the public during the normal operating hours of Bapst Library through March 10, 2010.

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