Designers of the future: Graduating MSU seniors present ‘Morphed’ virtual graphics exhibition

Three rows of black and white portraits of graduating MSU graphic design seniors — Graduating Mississippi ��APP graphic design seniors include (top row, l-r) Savannah Alley of Saltillo; James Baggett of Muscle Shoals, Alabama; TJ Barnett of Jackson; Courtney Bates of Brandon; Avery Batson of Tupelo; Whitney Boerner of Kemp, Texas; Hannah Chapman of Madison; (middle row, l-r) Claire Crutcher of Ridgeland; Anna Claire Garrard of Greenwood; Alex Herring of Saltillo; Morgan Hollis of Edinburg; Kim Kazmark of Dallas, Texas; Jillian Lovato of San Antonio, Texas; Amber McDonald of Brookhaven; (bottom row, l-r) Meghan Norman of Florence; Morgan Pearce of Franklin, Tennessee; Neelly Plunk of Olive Branch; Michael Rangel of San Antonio, Texas; Caitlyn Richardson of Brandon; Maddie Rosenbaum of Alpharetta, Georgia; and Kellie Smith of Natchez.

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Twenty-one senior art majors specializing in graphic design at Mississippi ��APP are showcasing their work in a Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, now available for viewing online.

Titled “Morphed,” the gallery spotlights the seniors’ completion of academic and studio work within MSU’s Department of Art, the state’s largest undergraduate studio art program. The students under the instruction of Assistant Professors Claire Gipson and Cassie Hester this semester are displaying their graphic creations online at due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Updates on the exhibition are posted on .

Student exhibitor Jillian T. Lovato of San Antonio, Texas, said “Morphed” speaks to the gradual transformation the students experienced as designers throughout their years at MSU.

“What ‘morphed’ means to me is that while you stay true to yourself, you are still evolving and improving yourself. You don’t let yourself stagnate for too long at any one point in your life,” she said.

In addition to Lovato, other student exhibitors include (by hometown):

ALPHARETTA, Georgia—Madison E. “Maddie” Rosenbaum

BRANDON— Courtney E. Bates and Caitlyn T. Richardson

BROOKHAVEN—Amber E. McDonald

DALLAS, Texas—Kimberly J. “Kim” Kazmark

EDINBURG—Morgan L. Hollis

FLORENCE—Meghan A. Norman

FRANKLIN, Tennessee—Morgan E. Pearce

GREENWOOD—Anna Claire Garrard

JACKSON—Tommie Jo N. “TJ” Barnett

KEMP, Texas—Whitney N. Boerner

MADISON—Hannah G. Chapman

MUSCLE SHOALS, Alabama—James L. Baggett

NATCHEZ—Kellie T. Smith

OLIVE BRANCH—Neelly Plunk

RIDGELAND—Claire B. Crutcher

SALTILLO—Savannah M. Alley and Alexandra E. “Alex” Herring

SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Michael J. Rangel

TUPELO—Avery A. Batson

Learn more about MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design and the Department of Art at .

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at .

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