Family, friends, and faculty gathered for the opening of Brannon Hobbs and Michael Abney’s art exhibit, which began on Tues., Feb. 15, in the fine arts gallery. Both exhibits will run for two weeks.

Christopher Turner a senior Journalism major from Memphis explained the air in the room by saying, “The art exhibit shows that all the hard work has paid off.”

Hobbs, a senior from Germantown, chose a poster he had designed for Phi Beta Sigma Week of 2003 as his favorite piece. “I love this piece because of my love for the 1960s and the 70s demonstrated in the use of retro type characters used in the poster.”

His exhibit entitled “Philosophical Creativity” includes many posters completed for different organizations on campus, as well as a wonderful display of craftsmanship and personality shown in different ways. Each piece stands alone in a unique, mature way. The poster announcing the event draws you in, not only to the event itself, but to a certain time era or place, becoming part of the art in the poster. When asked who his inspiration was for the work, Hobb’s said, “I was inspired by poster artists of the 60’s and 70’s such as Lee Conklin, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley and Bob Masse. They created psychedelic posters for rock concerts at Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, California. Their posters intertwined text and figures. They created very innovative and unique designs.”

Terrance Shaw, a Criminal Justice major from Memphis, felt that Hobbs’s work “exemplifies what art is and is expressed by its simplicity.”

Abney’s favorite piece he has chosen to display is a lamp made from an old computer screen. “It was a reflection of myself, of the creativity in the art and also my work on computers,” Abney said.

Fellow graphic design major Will Cook said, “Abney’s work combines simplistic design, a good sense of humor and good photographic sense to create a great whole.” Abney’s exhibit includes not only graphic design work, but also many selections of pottery and clay.

Another unique piece is a fisherman designed from intertwined wire molded in the form of the man. The photography work done by Abney shows that art can be funny. Many pictures are recreations of covers from magazines such as The National Enquirer. A large number of Abney’s work uses humor, but several pieces have a serious side, with each showing the great talent Abney has for graphic design and photography. Abney is from Martin and will graduate in May with a degree in Graphic Design.

When Diane Shaw, Asst. Art Professor, was asked to comment on the student art exhibit from a professional’s point of view, she said, “The one thing that I noticed about Brannon’s work is the consistency. That is something that an artist of any type needs to develop. It shows a sense of direction in the work. With regard to Michael’s work, I particularly was impressed with his ceramic pieces. They were well thought out in design and different. I am particularly fond of hand-built pieces because of their uniqueness. Overall, both shows were tastefully done.”