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Two graduate students win honorable mentions in the International Sculpture Center鈥檚听2016 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award听

University of Colorado Boulder graduate art students Benjamin McQuillan and Carissa Samaniego took home honorable mentions this summer for their sculptures from the International Sculpture Center鈥檚 (ISC) 2016 Outstanding Student Achievement competition.

Just 23 honorable mentions were awarded among 376 students from 148 colleges and universities. Both students, who study in CU Boulder鈥檚 sculpture and post-studio practice program, will be featured in the October 2016 issue of ISC鈥檚 Sculpture Magazine and on ICS鈥檚 website, .

McQuillan鈥檚 work is a collection of artifacts that resemble ancient tools made by shaping, or what鈥檚 called 鈥渇lintknapping,鈥� discarded porcelain toilets.

鈥淚t took me six months and a box of Band-Aids to get the tools into forms I liked,鈥� McQuillan said. 鈥淚 watched hours of YouT颅颅ube videos to learn how to flintknap; there are a ton of people who鈥檝e perfected the skill, mostly amateur anthropologists and reenactors.鈥�

McQuillan said the idea behind his sculptures was to combine ancient survivalist principles and tools with those of the contemporary world like planned obsolescence, landfills, overpopulation and hoarding resources.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about considering the impact of the Anthropocene [when humans began having a significant effect on听ecosystems],鈥� McQuillan said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of talk about the impending apocalypse and our implication in bringing it about, so I find the idea of reintroducing the practices of conservation and working with the materials and tools around us very fascinating.鈥�

Monika Burczyk, a judge for the ISC competition, said McQuillan鈥檚 work charmed her. 鈥淭he display and the use of porcelain bathroom fixtures struck me as witty, thought-provoking and conceptual in a very sophisticated way,鈥� Burczyk said.

McQuillan, a Nebraska native, said he鈥檚 flattered by the recognition and hopes it inspires discussion about the Anthropocene. 鈥淚 also like the idea of more people being inspired to see new utilities in our waste. Modern bushmen and women running around foraging and living off the land, a land we have shaped. How might we have designed it differently if we knew we would be foragers once again?鈥�

Samaniego said her pieces, which included a chandelier made from steel and cast porcelain and an automobile鈥檚 bench seat covered in gold leaf, 鈥渆xplore where place and identity intersect鈥� by using objects and bricolage from places where she grew up: rural areas in Colorado, Minnesota and New Mexico.

鈥淚鈥檓 interested in sifting through my own experience of memory, tradition and place as a point of departure to make artwork that creates a dialogue about growing up mixed 鈥�, geographically, ethnically 鈥� and how that experience shapes the cultural history we鈥檙e building today,鈥� Samaniego said.

Emily Nelms Perez, an ISC judge and New Jersey-based sculptor, said she experienced听an emotional reaction to Samaniego鈥檚 work. 鈥淚 instantly sensed the sensitive nature and storytelling aspect behind the chandelier,鈥� Perez said. 鈥淭here was a delicate nature, simplicity听and craftsmanship to her work.鈥�

Samaniego said earning honorable mention is valuable, particularly for an emerging artist. 鈥淪ometimes being at school in Colorado can feel disconnected from the major art centers, [but] I don't believe you need to be in New York City or London to make important work,鈥� Samaniego said. 鈥淚t feels good to have your work be recognized, especially when your work is about outsider places like mine.鈥�

Valerio Ferme, associate dean for arts and humanities at the College of Arts and Sciences, said McQuillan and Samaniego鈥檚 recognition in an international competition attests to both the quality of their work and the faculty鈥檚 ability to attract top students.

鈥淭his encourages even more quality students to join our graduate programs in the arts,鈥� Ferme said.

鈥淲e think highly of our art program colleagues, and it鈥檚 exciting to see them have success 鈥� they continue to show that investment in the arts pays off. I think a healthy art department is vital to ensure that CU Boulder continues to show itself as a sustaining, 听vibrant and diverse educational provider.鈥澨�

McQuillan is in his final year and is applying for teaching positions and residencies. 鈥淚鈥檓 lucky to have a ton of support back in my hometown and here in Colorado, but I鈥檇 also like to see more of the world and other artist communities.鈥�

Samaniego entered her third year this fall. 鈥淚've still got nine months to figure out the post-graduation question,鈥� she said.

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