Hosted annually in the Grinnell College Museum of Art, the Bachelor of Arts Exhibition (BAX) provides third-year and fourth-year students an opportunity to showcase their art to an audience of peers, faculty and community members alike. Students apply to be included in the exhibition, and selection is done by the Studio Art Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC). The student-run event, which was held April 17 in the museum, saw Alina Ihnatesku `26 take home the Inez Louise Henely `14 Best in Show Award for her quilt “WASTE TIME” and Philomena Frasca `25 win a Jurors’s Merit award for “Excess Wear,” as well as the fourth-year portfolio prize. Gwyn Redding `25, Sam Drake-Flam `25, Leigh Steffen `26, Maddie Yu `25, Emlyn Yoon-Buck `25, Liv Hage `25 and Henry Loomis `26 were also awarded prizes for their artwork.
“I didn’t think that I was running for Best in Show,” Ihnatesku said. “It does feel really nice being validated in this way because of all the time and effort that I put into this piece, a lot of all-nighters I had to pull, and it wouldn’t have been done without my friends’s help.”
Speaking on her quilt, Ihnatesku emphasized its political sentiment. “I used the colors of the American flag,” she said. “It’s a statement, like calling people out, and me included, on not putting enough effort and time into the important issues that we all face.” The quilt spelled out WASTE TIME in red letters on two separate rows, set against a blue background.
Ihnatesku’s other piece in the exhibition, titled “FOOL,” comprised 34 black-and-white photos of Grinnell community members, similarly spelling out its title. “I try to find ways in which text can operate visually as well as linguistically,” she said. “When type becomes an image, that’s a big thing for me.”
Frasca’s art has taken many different forms. “I started initially with oil painting during COVID,” she said, but stated that it “wasn’t really conceptually driven.” Frasca collected lint from her friends, family members and professors to create the sweater, pants and socks of her award-winning “Excess Wear.”
In addition to the fuzz wardrobe, Frasca had two additional pieces in the exhibition. First was “The Ring,” which depicted two papier-mache boxers fighting on a shelf before a referee painted on fiber set in adhesive — a technique called flocking. The other work was “Splendid,” a set of paper lanterns she made in collaboration with Yu.
“I get bored of things very easily, or I just get distracted,” Frasca said about her desire to explore different media. “I think it’s easier for some people to focus on just one medium, which I’m kind of jealous of, because then you can really hone your skills and whatnot. But I’ve just ended up being interested by a lot of things.”
Frasca said that “Excess Wear” conveyed a message about waste witnessing important events and accompanying everyone in their day-to-day lives. “It’s an illustration that’s fun, and I like how it looks, but I think this one has a bit of a deeper meaning,” she said.
Both artists spoke on the importance of building community through art.
“I was blending the student body with the people I met in town,” Ihnatesku said regarding the subjects of “FOOL.” “Because I do believe there is a bit of a divide between the two.”
“I think [BAX] does form this amazing sense of community,” Frasca said. “Because you really can see the hard work that everybody’s put into each piece, and how they go together are very different, and they’re always in conversation with each other in some way.”
