Non-Art Majors Create a Unique and Thoughtful Visual Art Exhibition in Baylor's CrossHatch Corridor Gallery

Express Yourself, is a new exhibition of student work now on display at Baylor Library’s CrossHatch Corridor Gallery. The show is unique and was created by non-art majors in the ARTH1300 Introduction to Art (non-majors) course taught by Dr. Jerolyn Morrison. The class is part of Baylor’s core curriculum options and is available for non-majors to take as part of their undergraduate degree requirements. The work in the exhibit is the result of an assignment asking students to use the mode of ‘selfies’ to photograph themselves and their world in a style inspired by one or more of the artists they studied. A brief essay on their subject and inspiration accompany the photographs.

The assignment provides an opportunity for the students to express themselves in an academic exercise incorporating art historical references using their own words and photographs. It is the culmination of a semester’s worth of classwork; drawing on course lectures, exercises, visits to Baylor’s museums and collections, and other cultural engagement experiences.

Dr. Morrison developed the assignment based on her teaching experience “I’ve been teaching this class for ten semesters and after the fourth semester of teaching it, I wanted to create an opportunity for non-majors to utilize their newly-found knowledge in a meaningful and personal way. That goal has evolved where students are applying the coursework in a way where they use what they have learned, activate that knowledge, apply it, and get credit for doing so.”

Asked what she hopes people take away from this exhibit, Dr. Morrison said “I want the viewer to leave with a sense of who the individual is and how they wanted to express themselves in this project utilizing the world of visual arts. The work is very different from student to student: some explored part of their day, others documented their experience at Baylor, while others examined other parts of their life and where they are right now. I hope the viewer finds engaging with the images and essays exciting.”

The exhibition is on display in the CrossHatch Corridor Gallery located in the first-floor corridor between Moody and Jones Libraries until June.

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