Student capstones on display at Steinbeck Center

While most capstone projects are displayed during the end-of-semester campus-wide festival at Cal State Monterey Bay, for years a few have been exhibited at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas.

This year, the center showcased the work of three Visual and Public Art students, two Human Communication students and an Integrated Studies major who combined art and psychology.

“The students conceptualize, design, create and install their work for public viewing,” said Deborah Silguero, curator of exhibitions and collections and a lecturer in CSUMB’s museum studies program. “This is their first time presenting in a museum setting.”

The exhibit, “We See It This Way,” opened in conjunction with the annual Steinbeck Festival in early May. It will remain on display through June.

Visual and Public Art student Kirsten Brown’s curatorial project, “Creativity in Camouflage: Soldier Art and the Matter of Morale,” represents a connection between the Central Coast’s art and military histories and provides a look at military training from a psychological point of view.

Vietnam-era soldiers in Fort Ord’s arts and crafts program created the artwork in her exhibit. Most of the artists are unknown.

Other capstones in the exhibit include:

• Stacey Limone (VPA), Light Alchemy: Photographic Representations of Spiritual Transformation

• Emily Thompson (Integrated Studies), Things Concealed: Art as Therapy

• Alyssa Thompson (VPA), Salinas: What’s the Object?

• Sarah Hollingsworth and Veronica Griffith (HCom), Oral Histories of Chinatown: Embracing the Street

Photographs by Monterey Peninsula College student Patrick Russo are also included in the exhibit.

“I see the students go from being somewhat overwhelmed with anxiety to overjoyed with personal success,” Silguero said.

“I’m proud to say that many of these students go successfully off to work in the museum field, education and art.”

Read more about the Capstone Festival at CSUMB