By Ford Rasmussen
Artwork produced by Bachelor of Fine Arts undergraduates at Utah State University went on display Monday in the Cain College of the Arts galleries. One of the students hopes to promote cultural understanding with her photography series.
On the west wall of the Projects Gallery were hung six portraits taken by Martha Diaz Adam. Diaz, who works for the International Student Council at Utah State, met with Utah immigrants who inspired her to produce a photo series on the topic.
One part of her series, “The Agony of Misconception,” features portraits of three Muslim residents of Utah. She said she wants others to better understand the culture these people come from. Some immigrants get called names for wearing their headscarves, Diaz said. But for them, "to wear this, they feel proud," she said.
In her portraits, Diaz has emphasized the refugees' clothing by digitally repeating the patterns as the backdrop. She said their clothing reveals the respect these people have for their culture and religion.
Kaitlin Cooper is a senior studying music therapy at Utah State who has performed at local concerts aimed at fostering awareness on refugee issues. She said she likes that Diaz is helping to bring this cultural issue to light.
"It's a big issue in our country right now," she said. "The more people that know about it the better."
This project, which Diaz had worked on since January, is her final project before graduation. Projects don’t always take months to complete, but she said this time she “wanted to do something big.” Diaz said she hopes to go on to graduate school and continue making artwork on this topic.
The work of Diaz and four other seniors will be on display this week in the art galleries. The galleries will feature work from other BFA students over the next couple weeks. Doors are open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m to 5 p.m.
