3 seniors win Rickert-Ziebold exhibition

Laura Teegarden
Daily Egyptian

Twenty-one finalists in the Rickert-Ziebold Trust Competition displayed their art Sunday at the Surplus Gallery in the Glove Factory in an attempt to win part of a $20,000 prize to help jumpstart their careers.

"This is a very selective show, " said Marcela Angel, a senior from Freeport studying industrial design. "We're really trying to show good stuff." This year, there were three winners: Anthony Cotta, a senior from Peoria studying drawing; Rebecca Frolker, a senior from Belleville studying visual communication; and Jung-Am Park, a senior from Seoul, Korea, studying studio art. The winners split the $20,000 and get to exhibit their artwork at the University Museum.

The various styles of artwork displayed were metalwork, ceramics, glasswork, paintings, sculpture and graphic art pieces by graduating seniors from the School of Art and Design. "He wanted to give money to support the arts in our area," Waldrick said. "I think over the last four months I've been working on this, I couldn't have worked harder," Cotta said. "I think I've squeezed every free moment out of my life that I could."

Cotta's artwork included four separate jewelry pieces and corresponding drawings that related to the jewelry's geometric shape and the different colors of the jewels. The drawings were framed by glass and suspended by wire next to the jewelry pieces. Fellow Rickert-Ziebold winner Frolker used her artistic sense and applied it to the business world with her work showcasing how she designed invitations, programs and table settings for the Diederich Foundation.

"I wanted to do something different," Frolker said. She also displayed two other projects, including business cards and purse tags for a handbag company called Phive and a children's-themed publicity campaign for Seattle International Children's Festival. "I'm part of the design program," Frolker said. "We use the design in art to be functional in the business world."

The functionality of Frolker's art stood in contrast to that of fellow winner Jung-Am Park. Park's display of tiny architectural structures was representational of man and woman and the relationships between them. "I use architectural form to represent man, and I use fabric as something delicate to represent women," Park said. Though there were only three winners, the art displayed represented the best of their graduating class. Each artist made sacrifices to get to the level necessary to be in the competition.

"I've spent so much money," said Kim Waters, a senior from Mount Dora, Fla., studying glass and art education. "I'll put money my parents give me and put that toward the art pile. I've been eating bagels and cappuccinos pretty much." The competition was made possible through the trust fund of Joseph W. Rickert, who was a lawyer and state senator, said Chris Wildrick, an assistant professor for foundations and Rickert-Ziebold committee chairman. The finalists' artwork will remain open to the public 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday.

"I could say something that I think is awesome about every single piece," said Karen Hine, a senior from Springfield studying marketing who attended the exhibition. "I couldn't pick the best, no way."