By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University senior, Jake Singleton of Lexington, will display his artwork in his senior show Feb. 23-March 3 in the Art Gallery across from the Gosser Fine Arts Center.
Singleton will display work including paintings, pen and ink drawings, ceramics and sculptures. He is scheduled to graduate in May with an area in art.
“I am largely influenced by nature and the outdoors, which comes from my love of the great outdoors,” he said. “I grew up always outside. Even in rain and thunderstorms I would constantly be outside playing and exploring.
“Some children grow out of this phase, but I simply outgrew my backyard and continued venturing farther and farther into the great outdoors.”
He said seasons and weather do not rally come into the equation for him. “I simply love to be outside, hot or cold, rain or shine, no matter what if I am not outside camping or climbing or rafting, I am thinking of the next time I can get outside,” he said.
Singleton said most of his work seems to have a recurring theme of a tree. “This tree usually has some attributes that remain a constant, and some change with the work,” he said.
“In some pieces, this tree is the focal point like a performer on a stage, and, in others, it is more reminiscent of a tired dog under a porch on a hot day,” he said.
“I spent a while reflecting on this tree to see if it meant something to me, and I would say that it does. As for what it means, I haven’t the slightest clue.”
Singleton said he hopes that people will take a second to look at his work and see what there is to see, but “regardless of how the audience perceives my work, it will be no less and no more my work.”
He said there is no rule by which one can measure art. “There is no good art, or bad art, there is only art, and everything else. My work is not good, or bad, it is simply my work.”
“Some artists say that they feel successful if their work can cause some sort of emotional response from the audience. I feel more success and satisfaction in the process of creating art and growing as an artist than in the reaction of those who see my work.
“I would hope that my work could be as helpful and emotional to others as it was for me to create, but my art has played a huge role in making me who I am today, and that’s good enough for me.”
Singleton is a 2004 graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,601 students who represent 93 Kentucky counties, 27 states and 31 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2009 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South for the second consecutive year. CU has been ranked 16 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his tenth year as president.