I went to the opening of the Alumni Exhibit on campus at Captree Commons. I met with my classmate, Toni, and we walked through the exhibit together. I took notes on my favorite pieces of art, although I genuinely enjoyed everything that was on display.

            The first thing that drew my attention when I walked in was Mickey Aloisio’s series of photographs. Each photograph was beautifully executed and drew up many emotions. “The Plants” was a photo of three naked men- each looking into the camera, and each with a different kind of potted plant balanced on their head. Each plant seemed to match each man’s body type, which were all different. It immediately made me think of body image, and how we hold how we (and others) view our bodies’ shape and size of such high importance. “Matthew” was by far my favorite. It was the back of a naked man, but with his head turned faced directly at the camera. He is wearing VR goggles, so we cannot see his expression or eyes, and there is a red light filling the room from a floor lamp behind him. The red light reminded me of prostitution, and sexuality. The VR goggles and the fact that he was nude made me think of the way sexuality, relationships and pornography have changed along with the advancement of technology. I felt that it was a very compelling photograph. I admired the lighting, attention to detail and poses of all of Mickey Aloisio’s photographs.

Nelson Echhiveria’s photographs were all in black and white, which I love. I don’t know if they were taken with a film or digital camera, but they all had that old-time feel. Each photograph was of a different model, and they looked to me like high-fashion models. My favorite was the last photo, it was of a blonde woman wearing white. I admired all of the poses in the photos and I felt like they were taken straight out of a magazine publication.

Jennifer Rinchey’s work was another instant favorite. Her series of small, square photographs and the way they were lined on the wall had a very “Instagram-like” feel. I loved the colors in all of the photos, and I loved how everything in each photo had a sense or look of abandonment. My favorites were the photos of the rose stand, the teacup and the blue house. If I had extra money, I definitely would’ve bought some of her work! She spoke to all of us as well, and explained how she moved on from Suffolk to FIT. She said she worked editing photos, and now she works for her friend doing screen-printing. Jennifer was very sweet and kind. I got the impression that she is very creative, headstrong and hardworking. I was very inspired by her and I’m glad I got a chance to hear her speak about her work.

Martica Apicella is someone with whom I actually have a connection with. She is my brother-in-law’s childhood friend, and she still speaks to my fiancé occasionally through Facebook and Instagram. When I saw her name on the list of artists, I was excited to come and see her work! She wasn’t at the opening, but hopefully she will come to the panel discussion, so I can meet her in person. I have seen all sorts of work she has done on Instagram. Martica works with neon to create very unique and aesthetically pleasing art. As soon as you walk into the exhibit, to your left is a beautiful blue neon square, “Untitled”, and it remined me of an empty photo frame. Her other piece, “Pray4Us”, has a very Catholic or religious type of feel to it. It looks like two halos, one large and one small, next to each other. They are both completely white and very pure looking. It made me think of a mother holding her son, perhaps Jesus and Mary? I’d love to hear what Martica’s thoughts were when creating that piece.

Mr. Tonitino’s work combines environmental activism and art. I found that interesting, and I had never seen anything like it before. It feels very meaningful and you can tell that he puts his whole heart into everything he creates. The speech he gave was inspiring and unexpected. He mentioned that this is only the beginning of our journey, and that no one can take our creativity away from us. He reminded us that nature is inspiring, and that just getting out there is important.

I left the exhibition feeling inspired and impressed. All of the alumni who contributed are extremely talented. I am excited to continue this journey I have started.