Henry Domst’s installation for “Midnight Oil” senior show.
Award winners in the Spring 2024 senior art show "Midnight Oil," recently on display in the Marion Art Gallery, are Makayla Neilson, who received the President's Award, and Henry Domst, who received the Marion Art Gallery Award.
Ms. Neilson is a Visual Arts and New Media: Graphic Design major from Homer, NY. For her branding campaign of an imagined conservation group "EB Conservation," Neilson wrote, illustrated and designed a 90-page book, "Out of the Box/Into the Garden: 10 Endangered Butterflies of North America," and created a video and website.
To inspire people to take action, Neilson designed packaging for thistle seeds (which attract butterflies) and offered them to visitors. She explains, "As of today, there are 29 species of butterfly that are listed as endangered on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species List, with another six species listed as being threatened. Since 1950, five species have already gone extinct. This is an alarming trend that proves the urgent need for conservation action."
Mr. Domst is a Visual Arts and New Media: Graphic Design and a Visual Arts: Art History major, with a Computer Science minor, from Springville, NY. For his installation, "Tetractys," Domst created furniture for a living space — lounging chair, side table, two wall hangings, stereo table, floor lamp, table lamp, and rug — from discarded materials including road signs, a tree stump, seat belts and cinder blocks.
Domst writes, "I hope viewers will see the beauty in reclaimed materials from both an aesthetic and sustainable standpoint – a message of rebirth, using recycled materials in an effort to give them new life."
Of the furniture design he says, "My aim is to use bold forms with a modern approach ... The grouping proves the natural environment can live and should thrive among our man-made environment."
The awards recognize Neilson and Domst for their formal innovation, critical thinking, immense effort and advocacy. The Office of the President and Fredonia College Foundation's Carl J. Nordell Art Gallery Endowment fund supported the awards and the exhibition.
