Creating art has advantages that span far and wide.
Seven MSU students discovered just that while studying abroad in Bregenz, Austria, this summer.
Until Friday, the art they created in Europe will be on display in Gallery 114 at Kresge Art Center - bringing the far-and-wide home to East Lansing.
The collection features original pieces of various media and styles by students who participated in the trip.
"It's spectacular," visiting art professor Harry Williams said, about the mixed-media art students created while overseas.
"Their art was expressed in a number of different ways," he said. "They created computer-generated art, photography, paintings and many other forms."
Williams traveled with the students to provide guidance and a one-on-one atmosphere for students who needed assistance with any aspect of their artistic creations or cultural experiences while in Austria.
Students from the Department of Art & Art History, along with nonmajors, traveled to Berlin, London, Paris, Florence, Rome, Venice and Munich with the "Music, Art and Language in Bregenz" study abroad program for four weeks in July.
The students were required to enroll for IAH 241A and had the option of choosing either a mixed-media art class or a conversational German class while staying with host families overseas.
"The program fulfilled my IAH requirement," said John Dengler, a psychology and pre-med junior. "And when I saw that it had an art class that had photography as a part of the course, I really wanted to go."
The most rewarding aspect of the trip for Dengler, besides traveling to four countries and making 13 new friends, was his photo essay of the first Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, Germany.
"That whole experience of being there was very sobering for me," Dengler said.
The students set their own goals during their trip and worked individually, in small groups and as a class to achieve them, Williams said.
Students traveled by bicycle, bus, cable car, tram, train and foot, which helped shape the piece of art they were working on at that time.
"What better place than Europe is there to take this type of art class?" Dengler said.
Students whose art will be on display include: art education senior Molly Doane, studio art senior Kevin Liuzzo, studio art juniors Alana Morosky and Allison Reimus, apparel and textile design junior Alicia Bowerman, psychology and pre-med junior John Dengler, and family and consumer resources junior Angela Quick.
The closing reception for the "Bregenz & Beyond" exhibit will be Friday in the gallery from 7-9 p.m. The event is free and the public is welcome to attend.
