" Jazz Magician" by Eto Otitigbe 1999
By Lynn Heinemann, Office of the Arts
Mechanical engineering junior Eto Otitigbe from Albany, NY, took the top award ($1,000) in the third annual Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts, administered by the Student Art Association (SAA). Eighteen student artists vied for the three prizes, in media ranging from single line pencil drawings to intricate conceptional art. Works by the winning artists can be seen at the Wiesner Student Art Gallery (2nd floor, Stratton Student Center) through June 14, 1998.
Mr. Eto, who won for his drawings and prints, creates figurative work showing the people who have influenced his life. His "Jazz Magician" depicts a saxophonist in St. Nicks Pub in Harlem who "blew his entire soul out of his horn," said Mr. Eto. "I felt that the musician employed mystical energies to create a sound that was so vibrant."
" Jazz Magician" by Eto Otitigbe 1999
Second place ($600) went to Kevin Simmons, a senior double-majoring in philosophy and theater from Castle Rock, CO whose cibrachrome photographs portray nature. "I seek to increase awareness of imagination's plight and also to work towards an aesthetic that is creative, ethical and poetic," Mr. Simmons wrote in his artist's statement. "Art is not imagination's only domain, he continued, but art may be the only place where the creative imagination can find a foothold."
Kim Eng, an architecture junior from Sunnyvale, CA, won third prize ($400) for her drawings and paintings of figures and landscapes, becoming the first woman to win a Schnitzer Prize. "...Through the expression of visual art, I can project my ideas and my emotions," she said.
In addition to receiving monetary prizes, the winners will have their names added to a plaque installed on the wall of the Wiesner Gallery.
Designed to recognize artistic talent and creative concept through a body of work and written personal statements, the awards were established through an endowment from Harold and Arlene Schnitzer of Portland, OR. Mr. Schnitzer, a real estate investor, graduated from MIT in 1944 with a degree in metallurgy.
Most of this year's artist statements showed a depth of commitment and scholarly concern, unequalled in the past," said SAA Director Ed McCluney. One of the more "far out" works, according to Mr. McCluney, was a video superimposing the artist with news footage from war-torn Bosnia.
For more information: 253-7019.
