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Winners of Rickert-Ziebold competition announced

arichardson@dailyegyptian.com

Meredith Mercier ~ Daily Egyptian Amy Winkel receives a hug from Kara Dunkel after being awarded one of four recipients of the Rickert-Ziebold Art Competition award Monday afternoon at the Surplus Art Gallery at the Glove Factory. The competition was open to graduating seniors who have majored in Fine Art.

In a moment of hesitation, Jim Tierney almost neglected to submit what he likes to call "Monkeys, robots and pipes," his untitled collection of ink and watercolor drawings, into one of the most competitive and profitable art competitions in the area.

"I didn't think my stuff was what was going to be accepted," Tierney, a senior in art, said.

But Tierney's skepticism was outweighed Monday when he was announced one of four winners of the 29th-annual Rickert-Ziebold art competition.

Students and faculty in the School of Art and Design gathered in high anticipation Monday afternoon in the Glove Factory Surplus Gallery, awaiting the announcement of the 2004 winners of the $20,000 Rickert-Ziebold Trust Award competition.

The competition, which is open only to graduating seniors in the School of Art and Design, featured 20 finalists.

This year's winners were Steven Foutch, Christopher Davis, Amy Winkel and Tierney.

According to Steve Beletire, associate professor of industrial design, the competition is meant to recognize, honor and reward outstanding seniors in the school.

"This is a very unique competition in the sense that it is one of the few in the nation that offers a substantive competition for undergraduate students," Belletire said. "Undergraduate education is highly valued at this institution.

"On a daily basis, we have 500 people in this school creating designs and works of arts, and it's shaping their lives and shaping their futures, and we think that is important to recognize."

The competition is judged by faculty in the School of Art and design and may be awarded to one or more finalists.

Belletire said although faculty members look for a variety of things when selecting winners, including technical skills in the students' area of expertise and creative content, presentation is the ultimate deciding factor.

"It's one thing to create work," he said. "It's another thing to present and display it."

Tierney, who said he submitted his work on a last-minute whim, said while he hoped to be a winner, he was still unsure.

"It's always hard to say," Tierney said. "Everyone did a lot of great stuff, and it's sort of a subjective field, so it's all a matter of what people think."

Tierney said he plans on using his share of the money to pay some of his bills.

The family of Joseph Rickert, a lawyer and state senator from Waterloo, established the competition.