Various festivities were celebrated throughout the Soybean Festival week in Martin, Tennessee. One event, in particular, displayed the unique artistry of talented individuals.

The 11th annual ‘Guitar As Art’ exhibition opened on Aug. 31 and ran through Sept. 20. It featured 30 acoustic guitars that were hand-painted and decorated with designs ranging from vibrant landscapes to nostalgic, cartoon-themed creations.

‘Guitar As Art’ was established in 2014, with the original concept being an event for painting guitars.

 “Katie Smith, who had done a fundraiser for the symphony, and I talked for three hours about how we can improve our show for the Soybean Festival. That is how we came up with most of the rules and guidelines for Guitar As Art,” said Jason Stout, a coordinator for the exhibition and professor of Art at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Stout explained that the city of Martin would purchase 30 identical guitars, which would allow the first 30 artists, all of whom are 18 and over, to participate in the exhibition. As coordinator, he is responsible for acquiring all the guitars, collaborating with the artists during the process and overseeing the installation of the show.

One of the artists featured this year was Maggie Moffett, a junior Graphic Design major at UT Martin.

While brainstorming ideas for her guitar design, Moffett drew inspiration from the beloved yellow sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants.

“I came up with the design when talking to Heather Alexander, who also have a guitar in the show. Heather wanted to do a guitar centered around the SpongeBob episode, “When Worlds Collide” which has a scene in it where a robot and a cavemen are singing the lyrics, ‘When worlds collide, you can run but you can’t hide.’ So I suggested that we split the scene with me doing the robot while they chose to do the caveman,” she said

The pair still needed a way to make the guitars look connected, so they decided to create portals that resembled the other person’s guitar scene.

Advice that Moffett would give anyone interested in participating next year would be, “Don’t be so intimated by the shape and to just have fun with it.”

Each year, as the show changes, artists are allowed to come back and create a new design or revamp a prior one. They also have the chance to compete for awards in three categories, such as Best of Show ($500 purchase prize from the city), Best Cinematic (theme provided by Stout and judged by a juror), and Viewer’s Choice (the audience vote at the opening reception). 

The winner for Best of Show was April Hosey, a junior Studio Arts major from White Bluff, Tennessee, for “Mid-Century Post-Modern Daydream,” which showcased an intergalactic aesthetic.

Abi Hellmich from Union City, Tennessee, won Best Cinematic for “Timeless Tennessee,” which captured butterflies scattered throughout an array of flowers.

Dr. Roberto Mancusi, a professor of Music at UT Martin, won Best Cinematic for “Childhood Timewarp,” which featured classic cartoons such as The Flintstones and The Jetsons.

 “It was definitely a surprise to win because there were so many terrific guitars this year. When I first thought about design ideas, I remembered my childhood and realized those two cartoons fit the theme perfectly, but since it was the most ambitious pyrography project I’ve done so far, I was really apprehensive that I wouldn’t get it right,” said Mancusi. “Now that it’s finished, I’m extremely happy with how it turned out, even if I hadn’t won.”

Stout not only coordinates the details of the exhibition, but he also selects a juror to vote, which is someone who is outside of the city of Martin and its region.

“So whoever comes in to judge the art, they have a good artistic background but also don’t really know any of the artists. That way, there’s no favoritism and nepotism because you want the integrity of the jurying process to be good,” Stout said.

This year, the opening reception for the exhibition saw a groundbreaking attendance of 350 people, and Stout hopes to keep the momentum up for the next one.

“The one thing that I’ve wanted to try to grow or advance on is I would love to get funding to either purchase more of the guitars or get them placed with either businesses or on campus in different offices,” he said.

The annual ‘Guitar As Art’ exhibition will return during next year’s Soybean Festival in the Fine Arts Gallery. 

For more information regarding the Department of Visual and Theatre Arts, visit http://www.utm.edu/vta and follow their Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/utmfinearts.