SU architecture students use plexiglass in ‘Cognitive Awareness’ exhibit

The cube-shaped bases of Benson Joseph and Parinda Pin Sangkaeo’s new art installment, “Cognitive Awareness,” align exactly with the checkered floor they stand upon — “a happy accident,” Joseph said. But this is the only accidental aspect of the piece.

The art exhibition is located in Slocum Hall’s Marble Room, where it will remain until Dec. 13. Joseph and Sangkaeo, both architecture students, created the exhibition.

The artwork presents viewers with various installments dotted around the room, each with their own intricate design. The pieces use mediums such as plexiglass, plastic, wood, string and foam.

The concept is grounded in the idea that the elements used to make the structures do not have to be tangible in order for them to be considered actual objects, Joseph said.

“The purpose of (the artwork) is registration: it has no real purpose. If you take a child and draw a line of chalk around them, they will perceive that chalk as a space,” he said.

The artists’ greatest asset was plexiglass, which allowed them to play with what is conceptual rather than what is tangible, Joseph said. He added that the pieces are meant to emphasize the importance of innovation.

Sangkaeo agreed, and said all art needs to have a futuristic element in order to invite conversation.  The lighting also adds to the exhibit’s experience in that way, she said.

Another motivation for the art piece was the students’ feeling that the Marble Room, which remains empty for most of the fall semester, should have something to showcase the architecture students’ abilities to tour groups, Joseph said.

Despite the artists’ intentions, they anticipate and welcome observers’ input to raise questions that they failed to address in the design process, Joseph said. The chairs in the exhibition room are strategically placed to encourage spectators to consider what is in front of them.

Work on “Cognitive Awareness” began back in the summer, while the pair was simultaneously building their last piece, “Homo-Symbiosis.”

The students hinted that “Cognitive Awareness” is not the end of the road, revealing that they had an idea brewing for the spring but no concrete plans.

“We want to continue to do these kinds of things. I don’t see graduation as the end. I want to continue, but it takes two to tango,” said Joseph, who is in his fifth and final year of architecture school.

Sangkaeo said she enjoys creating art that reflects what she believes in, allowing other people to experience it. She relishes the satisfaction of affecting people through her artwork.

Meanwhile, Joseph is invigorated by his ability to have thoughts that are not fully concrete, which gives him the freedom to be creative.

“I feel my life is becoming richer because I am challenging myself. In the process, I hope I can make a career out of it,” Joseph said.