Two Western Washington University students wearing Greek-tragedy style costumes are walking slowly down the Wilson Library staircase. A row of people in rain-boots and waterproof jackets are standing beside the wall, all with open umbrellas in hand. Three women come from the far-end of the room dressed in provocative attire with sad and serious faces. As many heads are turning in the Learning Commons area of the library, what they don’t know is that this is all a part of the ”Superposition: Merging Narratives Past and Present” exhibition and live performances created by art history professor Julia Sapin and her students as a final project for the end of the school year.
On May 30, 40 pieces of artwork were displayed in the Western Washington University Wilson Library that are intended to spark multiple interpretations from different people, covering the topics of mythology, identity, and daily life. Sarah Clark-Langager, the university’s art collection curator, chose many pieces of art for Sapin and then the class narrowed it down to their favorite 40.
“Once I pulled the art, I put them into categories so that Julia could see what she had and how many pieces she needed,” Clark-Langager said, “We had more work than needed so the students had many choices to make. Then they were the ones who selected their own themes.”
The theme of ‘Superposition’ was thought-up by Rachel Hsu, an art history student involved in the exhibition, after taking a physics class that taught the term. In quantum mechanics, “superposition” refers to a system that exists in all possible states when unobserved. Sapin and her class feel that, similarly, artwork can represent multiplicity and be depicted in distinct ways where there is no single interpretation.
“It’s not just a set depiction by the artist,” Sapin said, “the artist creates a depiction, and then everyone views it differently depending on your own experiences.”
For the art history students enrolled in Sapin’s “Exhibition: Theory and Practice” class at the university, researching for the ‘Superposition’ exhibition and gearing up for live reconstructions of personally selected images is what they have been up to all quarter. The students researched all of the exhibition images, so each picture displayed in the library has a descriptive text next to it. The texts involve information about the pieces including the artist’s birth and death year, the year the image was originally made, and a narrative about the historical context or personal interpretation of the artist. While the students were challenged by the research of lesser-known artists and the depth of information they needed, the live performances and overall experience was fulfilling for them.
“It was fun,” art history student Korrine Mason said, “It was different from other ways we’ve worked with art in other classes.”
The live performances in the library were a twist on how images are usually viewed since Sapin and her students wanted to bring the art to life.
“We studied the construction of narrative in two-dimensional form and then we moved from that to three-dimensional form as a way for the students to immerse themselves in the study of the works, and to hopefully communicate those narratives to the audience in a way that might deepen their viewing experience,” Sapin said.
Daniel Morris, the art history student who appeared in the first performance as a Greek-tragedy style character, came up with the subtitle idea of “merging narratives past and present” for the exhibition. The images range from past and present time, but also evoke different responses now than they did when they were made.
“We wanted to give that idea of change and constant reinterpretation,” Sapin said, “It’s always static, it’s always depending on the people that are viewing and they’re experiences and culture.”
Even though the live performances have come to a close, the 40 pieces of narrative artwork will be displayed in the Wilson Library until July 30. The exhibition is free and open to the public, and Sapin hopes that her class’s selflessness, research, and hard work will bring insight to those who have little to no experience with visual form.
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