Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University studio art student Caleb Case will present his senior exhibit, "Pieces of Me," in Ouachita's Hammons Gallery April 27-May 6 with a reception on May 1 at 7 p.m.

Case, a studio art and mass communications double-major, said that he named his show "Pieces of Me" because of the personal connection he feels with his art. "Basically everything I do has some intimate connection to me," he said. "I don't really do art for other people. I do art because it's what I'm made of."

His exhibit will primarily feature his paintings, but will also include some of his drawings and photography.

"Because I have such an intimate connection to everything I do, this exhibit is like exposing my inner soul for the masses," Case said. "A whole group of people will come around, actually see what I do and make judgments about my work and about me. To be honest, right now it's a little bit of a nerve point."

However, this show is the culmination of years of study and artistic growth. "Most of my art classes basically gave me a grade for something I'd be doing even if I wasn't here for a degree," Case said. "College as an art and communications major has been, for me, all about direct interaction with my professors, treating them more as mentors rather than philosophical text books...letting me be free to discover what it is I want to do, without being told to do this or that in an impersonal, robotic way."

The May 1 reception for "Pieces of Me" will feature a speech by Case, and all of the artwork on display will be for sale.

"I have more than one point to make with my work," Case added, "but my hope is that, even if my intentions may be one specific thing, viewers can take their own views and apply them."

To see more of Case's work, visit his web site, www.jcriddler.com.

By Brooke Showalter