“Off the Frame” is one of the themes of artist Jamie Curtismith’s showcase gallery, currently available for viewing at the Russell Day Art Gallery inside the Cascade Learning Resource Center Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until May 2.
Curtismith has worn many different hats throughout her life, from working on Wall Street to being an entrepreneur. However, the former EvCC student and faculty member said she has been “arting” her whole life.
Before her gallery opened, Curtismith provided some insight into her creative mind.
“I’ve created a new movement called ‘ProvoProp,’ which stands for Provocative Propaganda. It stemmed five or six years ago… when I was in a gallery and… I got banned because my art was too much,” Curtismith said.
While trying to showcase her art at a previous exhibition, Curtismith said a gallerist was worried her work might offend the owner of the building.
“He was a little bit more conservative and some of my feminist undertones might (have been) a little offensive to him,” the artist said. “And really, the show was around domestic violence in America… she thought he might have a problem with me saying the majority of domestic violence is created by men, which is a true statement.”
Curtismith said Gen Z was the inspiration behind this showcase.
“I would love for them to feel heard, seen, validated. Especially Gen Z. The ‘Off the Frame’ series is a tribute to them,” Curtismith said. “I know right now every young generation feels like the crazy ones. (Based on) my own bias of living through multiple generations, I think Gen Z is the best and the greatest only because they are the ones born into the worst of the worst, also the best of the best. The fact that they survived COVID, that’s a whole culture of trauma, and it’s not just the U.S., it’s a global trauma.”
Benjamin Campbell, an environmental science major, expressed what they thought of Curtismith and her work.
“It’s inspiring as someone who does art in a hobby sense, not as a career. It’s also interesting hearing from the artist the story behind all these pieces of work. It’s not only catching to the eye, but it’s interesting to my person, the story behind the art. I feel like I can relate to some of the stories being told,” Campbell said.
Campbell said that the art evokes hope for Gen Z and future generations.
“I don’t know her very well, but off of the small conversations we’ve had, she seems like a very down to earth individual. I see a lot of passion when I see her talk about her artwork,” Campbell said.
Chris Larson, the art director of the gallery and the head of the graphic and web design department, said the showcase came to fruition as a result of Curtismith enthusiastically approaching him.
“Jamie actually came to me. I was putting on another show and she just barged in. She’s got a lot of personality and just was like, here’s my card, I wanna talk to you about a show. That was almost a year ago, and here we are. She’s just a very dynamic person and you can see that in her art,” Larson said.
Any students looking to have their work or art of any form showcased or published, feel free to reach out to Chris Larson through his email, [email protected].
