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CCU continues strong showing at Artfields

Coastal Carolina University continues to have strong showings at Artfields, an annual nine-day art competition that takes place in Lake City, S.C.

Art professor and gallery director Jim Arendt won the top prize in 2013, and art professor Charles Clary won the top price in 2016.

This year, sculptor-in-residence Bryan Rapp is the 2018 Sculpture Category Winner for his "Parade of Horribles," and nontraditional art student Brant Barrett brought home the top prize in the photography category for the second year in a row ("Riding with Chubby Checker," 2018; "Rooster Time," 2017).

"It is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment to be recognized at ArtFields," Rapp said. "My process is a very labor-intensive one, and this particular piece took almost a year to create.

"Parade of Horribles" is a result of Rapp's experience with a debilitative vascular disease called avascular necrosis. The sculptures have been assigned visual representations of monster-like qualities to examine what it means to be human in an often inhumane world, according to his website.

"You pick a message that speaks to your heart and soul, and you work very long hours to make this sort of art come to life, all while not knowing how it will be received," he said. "Will it be a colossal waste of time and resources, or will your message and the visual information resonate with viewers and cross into their own life experiences?"

Winning the sculpture category serves as a confirmation of sorts for Rapp that he says is special to him.

"It's achieving another level of personal success among my peers, and it tells me it's OK to keep going, to keep telling stories of 'our' time through representation of the human form."

Rapp is currently working on a new bronze sculpture for CCU called "The Chanticleer." View an update of the statue's progress here.

Barrett is retired from a career in information technology, but says he has always loved art and decided upon photography as an outlet for his passion.

It's a decision that has paid off.

He earned a Merit Award in 2015 (before Artfields awarded category prizes), and won the top prize in photography in 2017 and 2018.

"Winning at Artfields is not only a validation of the time and effort I have put in, but also a reflection of the great instruction I have received in the visual arts department at CCU," Barrett said.

He is currently working on black and white street photography of Horry County.

Additional links:
Brant Barrett Photography
Video: Brant Barrett expresses his love for the outdoors through his photography
Bryan Rapp Sculpture
 

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