Biggin Hall is hosting an exhibit beginning Monday, Aug. 31, featuring artist Ann Stewart from Atlanta. Her exhibit titled "Causa Sui," Latin for "Cause of Itself," will be displayed on campus until Sept. 25.
Biggin Room 101 holds 3-D printed pieces of Stewart’s dynamic and still movement art.
Her 5-foot-5-inch drawings, which take months to complete, are also on display. “I’ll usually erase [the drawings] down to zero at least four to five times, but I like that process because the work has something between a scaffolding and a skeleton,” Stewart said.
Stewart said drawing has always been a crucial and basal part of her work, but she has also begun utilizing the new technology of 3-D printing that has become accessible to the public.
Danielle Long, senior in fine art, said she is interested in Stewart's use of technology in
“You can tell she is very interested in the involvement in the space and you can tell that’s where she’s starting to go with her 3-D models," Long said. "I’m curious to see where this technology is going to lead her with her sculpture and thought.”
Long believes it is good to have artists’ exhibits on Auburn's campus.
“It really helps the students so they can get an idea of what other people are doing outside of Auburn,” Long said.
Stewart said she draws inspiration from many areas including the “energy fields and dynamic patterns” of the natural world. Her love of philosophy also fuels her creativity by “thinking about more esoteric things, visual perceptions and how what you see becomes what you know.”
Combining science and art is an innate concept to Stewart. She originally came to Auburn after 17 of her family members pursuing chemistry and pursuing and hoping to restore art.
When she realized she enjoyed the creative process more than her scientific labs, and the fact that it would take seven years to complete her double major, she started to focus strictly on art.
Stewart said her work bring influenced by architecture has always come organically.
Attending graduate school at the University of Michigan, she was unable to enjoy studying in the warm Southern atmosphere and instead spent her time in the architectural libraries gazing at and drawing from her surroundings. She eventually taught architecture and art at several different colleges in Georgia.
Stewart’s future projects include combining her drawings and 3-D printing to one piece.
Jessye McDowell, an assistant professor of art and the Exhibitions and Lectures coordinator at Auburn, has coordinated with two other professional artists who will have exhibits in Biggin Hall beginning Oct. 1, and another Dec. 7.
Senior bachelor's of fine arts candidates will display their works beginning Nov. 16. McDowell also said she wants students to know the department has just opened up many art classes to non-major students.
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