Danielle Seidita, senior psychology major, Theresa Friess, junior finance major, and Elaine Hullihen, senior fine arts major, observe local artist Michael Dee’s piece, “Blue Star.” Dee and another local artist, Shane Carrico, opened their exhibit Wednesd

Credit: John Proppe

Two Kent State alumni hosted a reception for their art exhibition yesterday evening at the Downtown Gallery in Kent.

Shane Carrico and Michael Dee’s show was self-titled. Carrico featured two original pieces titled DB-1001DM and DB-5001FE. These sculptures were titled for the colors white and silver, which Carrico said represent popular car colors.

Carrico said the concept of his work was “trying to show space displaced by the object that air takes up.”

The sculptures were composed of plaster and automotive paint. They depicted how air moves around a minivan and a Ford Escort in a wind tunnel, Carrico said.

“I think it was a good show. It was interesting and the shiny reflectiveness used (in Carrico’s art) is a current trend,” said Elaine Hullihen, senior fine arts major.

Dee included three pieces in the show: Give and Take (Kent Punk Rock Database), Here it Comes Again and Blue Star (the blue light was my blues and the red light was my mind).

Dee’s Give and Take (Kent Punk Rock Database) was an iPod music collection made up of various bands from Kent State and the Akron area. He invited viewers to participate in the piece, adding their own music selections to the existing work of art.

“I wanted to have a document of all my friends’ bands . We were like a tight-knit community,” Dee said. “They were the people I cared about. They became my family away from home.

Danielle Seidita, senior psychology major, said she thought the piece was a great way to not only incorporate, but also promote the local community through art.

Blue Star (the blue light was my blues and the red light was my mind) dealt with the idea of transformation of common objects, Dee said. Party cups were melted by a heat gun to create what appeared to be an expensive glass sculpture.

Anderson Turner, director of galleries for Kent State’s School of Art, said he felt the exhibit was a good opportunity for students to “see what two quality alumni are doing” with their degrees.

The Shane Carrico and Michael Dee exhibit will be displayed at the Downtown Gallery until Sept. 30.

Contact College of the Arts reporter Emily Cope at [email protected].