Four University of West Florida students will showcase their art work at a free event in mid-November.The artists, Tim Hicks, Michelle Fried, Ryan Greer and Sunita Jairashad wanted an opportunity to display their art in an informal setting, away from the often rigid and juried structure of art shows.

“Communications B” is an effort to do just that.“Usually, a student’s only opportunity to show work is in the annual exhibition sponsored by the University," said Hicks, a senior in the fine arts department, the primary organizer of the event. "If we want to show outside of the University, we, the students, have to make it happen.”

That the show is not juried was attractive to Fried.“We don’t get many opportunities to show like this, without jurors and judges. It’s all to our discretion,” said Fried, a senior in the fine arts department.

Some of the works to be featured include box constructions by Greer, a senior fine arts major, with wheels that resemble gender-specific toy cars. Jairashad will have drawings inspired by newspaper and a self-portrait in chocolate and caramel.

Fried will have an 11-foot video projection that shows a process called “Lick Painting,” and Hicks will have drawings criticizing commercialism.

“It is common to see a photograph of a child suffering, and on the next page, see an advertisement for a sale on paper towels," said Jairashad, a senior fine arts major. "It's all pieces of information that get processed, but the full feeling can't be grasped from just the article or photo. It is silly in a sad way.”

Greer is using his art to make a statement on capitalism in society.Greer's focus was on creating art that invoked thoughts of harmony in an age of consumerism, he said.

"In doing so, I engage and challenge viewers on an intellectual as well as an emotional and visceral level, refusing to spoon-feed and sugar-coat issues as an easily digestible moral or lesson.” Hicks said thinks that the showcase will be something different for audiences.

“This lineup includes fresher work that you can’t see in Pensacola too often," Hicks said. "I think all of our work carries a similar theme. It all has a younger, more contemporary feel. It all has a playfully dark sense of humor.”

For Hicks, the goal of this event is to show the unifying power of art.“I think art is, at its core, just a tool to relate to other human beings,” he said.The night will also feature musical performances from local bands Mi Capitan, Nuees Ardentes, The Selfish Gene, Catalonia and Chris Staples. Complimentary food, beer and wine will be served. “Communications B” will open at the Belmont Art Center, 401 N. Reus St., Nov. 19, at 5 p.m.

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