Have you walked by the mammoth wooden box in the entrance to OÕShaughnessy? Perhaps you have mistaken this for maintenance crew leftovers.

Take a closer look.

This large wooden box is, in fact, art Ñ the final thesis of BFA student Gino Reinhart. If you read the explanation on the side panel, you will learn that this piece of artwork represents the human desire to seek refuge from our materialistic society. One side of the work offers viewers this sanctuary: A door to a tiny hallway that culminates in a Òfloating plane physical refugeÓ Ñ slightly more interesting than a plain wooden box.

This senior thesis is part of an art exhibit currently running at the Snite Museum. The MFA/BFA Thesis Exhibition which opened April 9 and runs through the end of the school year includes 11 BFA and five MFA exhibits.

The works run the gamut between esoteric and practical. Visitors are initially greeted by a somewhat abstract display of white heads in a rectangular box. Upon further inspection, this work has complex artistic meaning, representing displacement, burial and erasure of identity.

Many of the works share this combination of aesthetic value and deep artistic meaning. Several explore the relationship of femininity to society. Heidi StenkeÕs paintings on youth and gender immediately grab the viewer with a bright crimson background. Kaleen Healey explores femininity through the traditional art of quilting. Her piece combines feminine images from three generations along with family photographs to demonstrate the different messages received by her grandmother, her mother and herself in regards to their femininity. The quilt is an interesting, detailed display that benefits from some close attention to the quotes that are interspersed with the pictures.

Other works seem to be testaments to the more practical applications of art in society. Several students created things that could be marketed directly to companies. Bryan Fox designed furniture with completely recycled and recyclable material. Sheila WestÕs creation speaks to the negative impact of technology on children and offers an alternative plaything to keep them active. Moons, stars and planets decorate a childrenÕs playset that puts Little Tykes to shame.

BFA student Sarah Stronsky offers one of the most engaging pieces to art-ignorant college students. This piece explores clothing as identity. According to StronskyÕs explanation, people consciously and unconsciously make connections between clothing and the person who wears it, even with the knowledge that these assumptions are often inaccurate. Stronsky took several outfits and surveyed a range of people on their impressions of the person who might wear them.

Not surprisingly, she received some interesting and often contradictory responses. These responses are superimposed on images of the outfits. Reading the words on each outfit and comparing them with your own preconceived notions can be an eye-opening commentary on judging others by their appearance.

Overall, the exhibit offers something for art enthusiasts and art museum first-timers alike. Each display is complete with a full explanation from the artist. You can sound more intelligent when you tell your friends about the ink-jet prints that represent Nirvana as a metaphor to the indescribable, instead of Òsome cool pictures with some guy in some water.Ó There is even a display for the more science-minded person who might not be inclined to frequent art museums. MFA student Jay LeForÕs work displays the physical nature of sound in an aesthetically pleasing way.

Pop in to the Snite Ñ even for a second, even if you never have before (itÕs free) Ñ and see the amazing creations of your fellow students. Even if you canÕt do that, check out the wooden box in OÕShaughnessy on the way to class. If you are feeling pressure to get good grades and get a job so you can make lots of money and buy lots of things, you might want to skip class and find refuge.

• Sucking the mud out of AnTostalÕs
  
• Snite displays MFA/BFA Thesis Exhibition