VES Students Cash In on Artwork

Aspiring Harvard artists had the rare opportunity this past month to display their creations in the Carpenter Center—a venue normally reserved for renowned professional artists from around the world.

About 30 students from the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) were selected to present the artwork produced in their classes over the last semester to interested buyers and fellow student artists.

The pieces reflected a wide variety of assignments, from abstract sculptures to charcoal nudes.

In a selection process that was more rigorous than in years past, a panel of VES studio professors chose about 40 pieces—including paintings, sculptures and photographs—from over 100 submissions.

The show, which runs from Dec. 5 until tomorrow, is designed to give students the experience of showing professionally and also to recognize publicly their creations.

“Everybody sort of feels like they are suddenly real artists,” said Benji D. Zusman ’04, who is enrolled in VES 120, “Narrative Painting.”

Zusman, who is a biochemistry concentrator, had two paintings on display. Both sold after multiple inquiries.

Students valued their own works, with prices ranging from $20 to $600. All of the works sold thus far cost less than $100.

Though many of the buyers are VES professors, about half the works were purchased by people outside of Harvard, estimated Melissa Davenport, event and publications coordinator for VES.

“I get the sense that people are buying them for their gifts for the holidays,” Davenport said.

VES Head Tutor Paul Stopforth attributed the large non-Harvard turnout to spillover from the Fogg Art Museum, located just down the street.

The opening of the show coincided with a lecture given by Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo that attracted a wide audience.

According to Stopforth, the mixed turnout is typical for the exhibition, but some students said they did not expect people from outside Harvard to be interested in buying their classwork.

“I was surprised that I didn’t know who [my buyers] were. I thought that they would be affiliated with the department in a way I knew,” Zusman said.

Most students said they felt the excitement of showing to the public for the first time—not the money—was the greatest benefit of the show.

“It’s sort of like you come of age as an artist,” said Tom Butter, a visiting lecturer from the Parsons School of Design in New York City. “It’s a huge moment for any artist to have his work on display.”

Noah C. Waxman ’04, a VES concentrator with two metal sculptures in the show, praised the exhibition as a rare opportunity to present art—especially large sculptures and paintings—in a professional setting.

“It’s nice to get it out of the clutter of the studio and get it into the right lighting, so that people can concentrate on it as a whole,” Waxman said.

“The light and the aura, it helps make it look official and professional,” Butter said.

Stopforth said the VES panel chose fewer pieces in order to maximize the impact of each work.

“The power and presence of the work, I think, is a test to the value of jurying, of being more selective,” said Stopforth.

Some students said that this move limited students’ opportunities to show their work.

Anna F. Ludwig ’04, whose painting entitled “Botox” was selected for display, described a trade-off between an inclusive and a rigorous selection process.

“On one hand, it’s really nice to show a wider selection of work, but it’s also more of an honor to be picked if there is less stuff,” Ludwig said.

She suggested instead that the department should have more shows.

—Staff writer Alexandra N. Atiya can be reached at atiya@fas.harvard.edu.