People will have a chance to view the world through the camera lens of University of Texas Permian Basin students in a show that opens with a 5:30 p.m. reception Tuesday at Copper Key, 501 N. Grant Ave.
Called “Through Our Eyes,” the work is by UTPB art majors and non-majors, said Amy Kim, director of the Nancy Fyfe Cardozier Gallery and lecturer in arts/photography.
The opening will offer visitors a chance to meet the artists and ask questions.
Kim said the show will be up for about two weeks.
About half the students are art majors and half are not. They are taking it as an elective, Kim said.
The course is a full semester, 16 weeks, and meets twice a week and take field trips occasionally. Students submit in digital and print format on fine arts paper.
Kim said the work is good and she’s proud of the students.
“A lot of these students never had an art class or a photo class before, so you first have to learn all the camera operations. The course tries to encourage students to incorporate ideas, not just depictions of something pretty but ideas about their life,” Kim said.
“ … We had a self-portrait project, so how to think about the self and the projects were … very good, especially considering the fact that it’s their first course. I’m proud of them, we had a good class this semester,” Kim added.
The students shoot photos outside of class and get feedback from Kim.
“… They’re encouraged to shoot on their own time. It’s how most photo courses work at the university level because, again, it has to do with exploring their own ideas, identities and surroundings. I think we get a lot more interesting images when students shoot on their own …,” Kim added.
Alyssa Waite lives in Tyler with her husband and two small children and is taking the course remotely. She is going for a degree in psychology from UTPB and only has two classes left.
Her associate degree is in radio, television and broadcasting from Tyler Junior College.
“I needed an extra elective and I have actually taken several photography courses,” Waite said.
She said the UTPB course is good and she was grateful that Kim let her take it remotely.
“It’s different. It’s not designed to be a remote course, so we’ve had some learning curves as far as communication and trying to figure out how to make that work. Other than that, it’s been a great course,” Waite said in a phone interview.
She added that she has taken photography courses before, so the information is similar, but she likes learning from different professors because you’ll get different ideas and methods.
“I’m going to try to come on Tuesday, but I also have two small children and a husband. … It’s not so much the gas; it’s the time,” Waite said.
She’s glad to be in the show and she’s not nervous about it, especially if she’s not there.
“… I think it’s a really special and really exciting opportunity for all … of us to be able to not only learn how to put on a show, but see it in person … ,” Waite said.
