The University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History is pleased to present the master of arts exhibitions of graduate students Amy Smoot and John Klosterman, Feb. 8-22, 2018, in the 
Through his art work, John Klosterman searches for answers to our most basic questions about life, such as Why are we like we are? And, Will we change as we grow? He uses imagery to represent his influences and experiences – the elements in life that have helped shape him – in his prints. Klosterman gives an example: “The varying use of rope or knots are metaphors for my relationships. The rope, much like family, can be strained or broken. On the other hand, rope can also be taken care of and used to tie a knot that cannot be undone. I aim to interpret the relationships I have had with these different figures or issues by use of the rope.” Schematic drawings or plans also serve as metaphors in his art. He explains, “Schematics also reappear throughout the work as they represent a path forward, as well as the path I’ve taken so far. Do our ever-evolving interpretations of these memories affect the schematics that we have laid out for ourselves going forward?”
John Klosterman is a graduate student in printmaking and holds an assistantship in studio art. Growing up in Daphne, Ala., he developed a fondness for machines and the tinkering that came along with them. Klosterman says that his love of tinkering “now takes on a two-dimensional form as he transfers ink to paper. Instead of the turn of a wrench,” he notes, “it is now the carving of a block with a gouge. Layers of each print, much like parts of a car, are assembled in a manner that creates a functioning vehicle for the message of each piece.” Klosterman received the BFA from the University of South Alabama in 2015, with a major in printmaking and a minor in interdisciplinary studies. His work was included in the Hot-N-Ready Print Portfolio Exchange, which traveled to Wichita State University (Kansas), Westminster College (New Wilmington, Pa.) and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. His work will also be included in the upcoming invitational exhibition, Nine, at Eichold Gallery at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. He participated in the department’s 2017 Graduate Student Show and spoke about his work process in a video here.
Ceramic artist 
notice” in our everyday lives. She says, “The focus of my work lies with the everyday insecurities that we experience as we move through the world. What seems to lie dormant can suddenly bubble to the surface and alter how you react to what or who is around you. How do I and others compensate for these insecurities? How does this build-up of worry impact our emotional health? What does it do to a person when they constantly doubt themselves? How can we grow to accept the things we cannot change?”
Amy Smoot is a graduate student in ceramics. She has taught Figure Modeling and assists Ceramics I, III and IV. She participated in the department’s 2017 Graduate Student Show and spoke about her work process in a video here. Smoot received the BFA in ceramics from the University of West Georgia where she was a studio assistant in ceramics and a student research assistant. She was one of three artists selected for Air Air in 2017, an artist residency where artists make art on airplanes. In the spring of 2017, she gave a 19th-century ceramics presentation at historic Lyon Hall in Demopolis, Ala. and led a “Fifty-minute Heads” workshop at the 2017 Georgia High School Clay Symposium (at UWG). In 2016-2017, she received a UA Graduate Council Fellowship. She currently serves as president of Crimson Clay.
Image credit (top): John Klosterman, Self Portrait, monoprint, screen print and photo transfer, 15 x 22 inches, 2017. Image courtesy of the artist.
Image credit (bottom): Amy Smoot, Touch, ceramics, 14.5 x 6 x 12 inches, 2017. Image courtesy of the artist.
A thesis exhibition is one of the requirements for the successful completion of the Master of Arts program in the UA Department of Art and Art History. For more information about our graduate programs, visit this page: https://art.ua.edu/academics/graduate-programs/.
Woods Quad and Woods Hall is a five-minute walk from the Campus Drive Parking Deck and Bus Hub on Hackberry Lane. Information about visitor parking is available here: http://bamaparking.ua.edu/visitor-information/.