The free event will feature students from RCBC’s arts programs to present works with the theme: Beauty & Vulgarity: A Global Perspective
What is beauty? What is vulgarity? Can people in one part of the world find something beautiful, only to have people in another part of the world find it vulgar?
Students at Rowan College at Burlington County will attempt to answer those questions and more with RCBC’s 2016 Arts Showcase on Nov. 18.
The free event will bring together students from the college’s arts programs to present works under the theme of “Beauty & Vulgarity: A Global Perspective.”
According to Patricia Cohill, Arts Showcase coordinator and RCBC assistant professor, the evening will feature work from students studying programs such as culinary arts, entertainment technology, fashion design, fine art, graphic design, music photography and theater.
Cohill said the work would range anywhere from live performances, recorded performances, a piece from the college’s choir and even a teaser trailer from a film a student made.
Throughout the evening, Cohill said the students will then be asking visitors to share their opinions regarding the art in the showcase and whether it represents something beautiful, vulgar or both.
“The audience will get to actually cast ballots,” Cohill said as she described the idea behind the show.
Cohill said the theme of the showcase was selected by RCBC’s honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, as a part of an honors project. Students will then record the audience member’s reactions for submission to the national Phi Theta Kappa organizations.
“I think it’s going to be a really exciting show,” Cohill said. “It’s a great way for prospective students to come and bring their families so they can meet faculty and other students and talk about the programs.”
Cohill said community involvement is the main reason behind holding the show.
“It was a new idea that we had since we’re relocating to the campus at Mt. Laurel. We really wanted to showcase all the various artists that are at the college and make the community aware of them and get them involved,” Cohill said.
Cohill also characterized the students involved with the showcase as “many creative people from many creative disciplines” who were able to turn that creativity into one succinct showcase.
With the theme of beauty versus vulgarity on a global perspective, Cohill said RCBC faculty engaged in much discussion as to the true meanings of those terms.
“Somebody who is very wealthy has things that are considered beautiful, but put that in an improvised area, and that wealth might become vulgar,” Cohill said.
The 2016 RCBC Arts Showcase will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Enterprise Center at the college’s Mt. Laurel campus. The college’s culinary department will provide light refreshments.
