Some say that art is one of the most versatile and beautiful things that the Earth has to offer. Nobody knows that better than Monica Quist. Quist, 24, is graduating in May with her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from UMPI. Quist had been drawing for as long as she can remember, but learned many new techniques when she became a student at UMPI. Quist draws inspiration from many great artists: Andy Warhol, Shepard Fairey, Jitish Kallat and Marina Abramovic. Quist also learned about not just the individual, but the mass scale of influence that art can have.
“I think art is an incredibly powerful tool that can bring people together to start a conversation,” Quist said. “That is my goal, as an artist, to not only bring awareness to certain issues, but to spark within viewers and in my aspects allow them to draw their own conclusions, as well as discuss those with others.”
Despite the fact that Quist has been very successful in the art program here at UMPI, she did have some hardships at the beginning. Quist had a baby when she first started the art program and had to learn quickly to balance school and parenthood. “I had to not only make sure I had my priorities straight for my son but to also be able to able to succeed in the art program and as an artist. So I think having my son helped me become more dedicated and become more efficient with my time.” Her son is also one of her greatest inspirations.
Quist thinks of the art program at UMPI as a small family. “We all draw inspiration from one another and these connections really allow us to grow as individuals and artists within our own practice and styles,” Quist said. “The professors/mentors guide us and help us discover who we really are and want to become.”
“I think she’s a great worker, and she works hard,” Hyrum Benson, her faculty advisor and an art professor here at UMPI, said. “She’s very involved with her art work and is very committed to her direction. She has a couple of different directions that she likes to focus on (these are pop art, propaganda drawing and masking), and I’m really excited about where she’s going to go with her senior show and I’m excited to see how it will all shape up to be.”
As seniors in the art program, all students have to create a senior show. All seniors need to create a thesis paper and body of work, or a show, surrounding that thesis. The show is the work that they created during the two-semester course dedicated to the senior show. Quist’s senior show is based on how humans connect both individually and with others, all while questioning our relationship with technology today.
“In my work I discuss the importance of awareness and creating balance in our lives with reference to what is virtual and what is tangible,” Quist said.
Quist’s senior show will open in the Pullen Gallery on May 5 and will be shown until May 13. The opening is from 6-8 p.m. on May 5 and her artist talk is at 6:30. For more information about senior art shows, contact Hyrum Benson at hyrum.benson@maine.edu
