Recently, there has been much contemplation about the relevance of the MFA. This is perhaps a result of larger cultural anxieties about the possibility of pursuing the arts in a world that continues to undervalue the arts. There are many “think-pieces” slamming the idea of a higher degree in art, wondering what it is that really goes on during the program.

 

Ki Smith Gallery’s answer to these (often underdeveloped and always pessimistic) blog writings exists in Whams of Summer. These artists, through the creation of their work, address the innumerable reasons for creating and sharing art, which, as a very new and young gallery we are devoted to communicating. This stunningly diverse group addresses pressing issues of identity, race, and popular culture: they offer clear windows into the current fabric of our society. At the same time, their considerable ruminations on theory, mythology and legend, landscape, art history, and mortality, all shed light on a unified empathy for the human condition. They are prophecies of the world to come, and offer the kinds of work that will evolve and deepen in meaning with the passage of time.