Oct. 13, 2009
NOTE: The artwork displayed on the front page of the website is titled "Downtown Davis" and was produced by Brandon Tucker of the football team.
DAVIS, Calif. - More than 20 student-athlete artists, representing 12 different UC Davis teams, will showcase their talents this Friday through Sunday during the annual Homecoming weekend with the inaugural "The Art of Athletes" exhibition at the Log Cabin Gallery in downtown Davis.
The student-athlete art show will open on Friday at 1 p.m. and run until 7 p.m. at the gallery which is located at the corner of First and F Streets. It will continue on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. An opportunity to meet the artists will be held from 5:30-7 on Friday evening. There is no charge for the event.
Brandon Tucker, an art studio major and running back on the football team who is a lead organizer of the event, said the showcase is modeled after a similar event held at UC Berkeley. He said the idea was presented to him by Professor Mike Henderson of the Art Department. Tucker hopes the event gives people a different perspective of the student-athletes they see during intercollegiate athletics competition.
"It shows that athletes like myself aren't just gifted with skills of sports," said Tucker who studied art in Italy during the summer of 2008. "We think of the world in a different way and I think with this show we can open people's minds and thoughts of who athletes are."
Guard Hana Asano from the women's basketball team, heavyweight John Thurston from wrestling, infielder Bianca Castillo from softball and receiver Bakari Grant from the football team are among the several other student-athletes and sports that will be represented at the exhibit.
Tucker will be showcasing an oil and canvas piece titled "Downtown Davis" which, coincidentally, is of the intersection where the gallery is located. In fact, the Log Cabin Gallery is in the foreground of the painting. He said the motivation from his art comes from within himself but that it's nice to be able to share it with others.
"I do my art for myself but it definitely feels great to have other people come in and congratulate you on what you've accomplished," he said.
Michelle Roppeau, Director of Academic Advising for UC Davis Athletics, said "The Art of Athletes" not only shows a usually unseen side to the talents of student-athletes but also shows the variety of academic pursuits where that talent comes from.
"We're fortunate at UC Davis to have remarkably talented student-athletes with multidimensional interests," she said. "The Art of Athletes' features the work of student-athletes in diverse majors including food science, design, aeronautical science and engineering, art studio, biochemistry and molecular biology, as well as several others."
Organizers are hopeful many in the public are able to share in the artistic talents of the student-athletes.
"I'm so grateful to Professor Mike Henderson in studio art for initially talking with Brandon and me last spring about the idea of an intercollegiate student-athlete art show," said Roppeau. "Holding the show on Homecoming Weekend is the perfect way to share our student-athletes' talents with alumni, parents, and other campus visitors."
