“Still/Searching,” a photography exhibition by senior Anastasia Link, is currently on display at the Heuser Art Center. Read about her journey to create the imagery used in the exhibit, as well as hear from a faculty member on the process that allows students to display their work for mass audiences.

Photography exhibit highlights student’s creative journey

For senior studio arts major Anastasia Link, having her work put up in the Heuser Art Center was a “scary” experience. Her senior photography exhibition, titled “Still/Searching,” has been on display since May 4, and so far, the positive reaction she’s received has provided her comfort.

“I’ve had a lot of teachers and grad students come up and tell me that they’re really excited to spend more time with [the exhibition] and look more at the pictures,” Link said. “To see that other people see something in [the pictures] too [means] so much to me and that’s really exciting.”

According to Link, the photos that are on display represent her personal journey to find out what kind of images she was looking for during the 10-week period she spent preparing the exhibition.

“I was wanting to figure out what I wanted to do, because I’m so into everything,” Link said. “I thought this would be good for me to learn from myself.”

Link is the only photography student who has had her work displayed in Heuser this semester. Assistant Professor of Art Photography Margaret LeJeune said this is common, as only students who have completed the art department’s Capstone project are given the opportunity to organize an exhibition.

“It’s really important for students to understand how exhibitions work,” LeJeune said. “Putting on the exhibition from scratch… and working on one cohesive concept for an entire semester really helps a student flesh out ideas visually.”

LeJeune said that Link had a major part in bringing the exhibition to life, including finding gallery space and editing the content. However, she still had a large amount of support from LeJeune and other photography instructors to ensure that Link fulfills her creative vision.

When it comes to photography, Link that she most enjoys the various ways and methods that it is relied upon within personal and professional environments.

“You can go into fine art photography, have crazy concepts and get that out… or you can photograph for fun,” Link said. “[Also,] you can photograph for marketing firms, which I would like to go into… I [like] the versatility of it all.”

“Still/Searching” will be on display until May 15; a reception for the exhibition was held on May 8. For more information, call 309-677-2989 or visit www.art.bradley.edu.

Timeline: 2015 Heuser Art Center Exhibitions

To see what other art exhibitions were on display at the Heuser Center this semester, click the timeline link below.

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/2015-heuser-art-center-exhibitions

Podcast with Anastasia Link

To hear extended audio from my interview with Anastasia Link, and to learn more about her influences, interests, and ideologies when it comes to photography, listen to the podcast by clicking the link below.