Mercer University will showcase recently-graduated Master of Fine Arts recipients from across the Southeast in a new gallery exhibition at McEachern Art Center (MAC) titled TAUT: Recent MFAs Revisited opening Oct. 30 and running through Feb. 13.
The upcoming show was curated by Ben Dunn, director of McEachern Art Center. TAUT features artists from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama in an attempt for the MAC to fill in the gaps caused by the COVID-19 shutdowns of universities throughout the nation last spring.
The show’s title is inspired by tautology: “Rhetorically, tautology is the restating of a thesis for emphasis. Phonetically, ‘TAUT’ is the past tense of teaching,” notes Dunn on the inspiration.
The MFA is a terminal degree in fine art. The culmination of this educational trajectory is the thesis and the exhibition of this work. These showcases act as an introduction for artists to the professional field, often attended by friends, family, media, curators and potential collectors. The COVID-19 shutdowns paused years of work, with Dunn pointing out, “It is a significant blow to miss this crescendo. The projects on view here are independent statements from careers on the cusp.”
