Bremwood hosts first art show in Spiritual Life Center
by CLINT RIESE, news@waverlynewspapers.com
Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 8:46 AM CDT
“The truth is that I have no faith in myself whatsoever.”
“I know beautiful is not just on the outside… but I always compare myself to other people.”
“I’m sick of being taken advantage of because of being female.”
These intimate insights into a teenage girl’s life will ring through Bremwood’s Spiritual Life Center over the next month for an art show in the campus’ newest addition.
“This is the first art exhibit to use the space that way,” says pastor Dennis Bauer, the on-campus spiritual life leader. “It’s a neat opportunity for us.”
Lutheran Services in Iowa officials chose to present Laura Gentry’s traveling exhibit, Seen But Rarely Heard, because the 12-piece display of paintings resonates with the struggles of the young residents on campus. The exhibit showcases three former Bremwood girls.
On the back of life-size cutouts, the artist has incorporated quotes from teens ranging from an honor student to a victim of sexual abuse.
“It asks a lot of viewers, but I like that, because it’s the same as getting to know a person,” Gentry says as Bauer and two female residents help assemble the display in the center’s main hallway on Thursday.
The unique presentation taps into the girls’ innermost thoughts.
“It is something our bodies respond to,” Gentry says. “There’s a sense that this is a real person, not just a statistic.”
An Evangelical minister in Lansing, Gentry took on the project to satisfy her own curiosity because she felt out of touch with this generation.
“I asked myself, ‘What are girls today going through? I don’t even know.’”
She interviewed 20 girls over five months, and found they all had more in common than she expected.
“Some are at peace [with themselves], but they all have to fight to get there,” she says.
While the exhibit has had the most effect on girls like those it features, Gentry has been surprised by how beneficial the show has been for boys and adults, as well.
“The focus on image and appearance that [girls] have to go to because society has forced it just is shocking to boys,” she says.
Pastor Bauer found himself poring over the display as soon as the pieces were propped up.
“It’s good for any age,” he says. “You get the sense of, ‘How does my child fit into what other people are thinking?’.”
The public is invited to visit the exhibit from Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Groups may arrange other times by calling 352-2630.
