Photo By DAAP

Suzanne Irwin's "Commodite/Comfort" appears in Doomed! at UC's Meyers Gallery.

If you want to see the kind of work coming out of the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP) these days, now is the time to visit the campus. At the Meyers Gallery in UC's MainStreet complex, Doomed! highlights recent work by fine art graduate students who've just completed the program's first year. Across campus in the DAAP Building's Reed Gallery, StudioWorks features the best of this year's graduates -- mostly undergrads, but a few graduate students -- from all DAAP including design, architecture, art and planning programs.

The character of the two exhibitions differs greatly. With its title as a descriptor, Doomed! seems preoccupied with predestined failure. This pessimism, according to the statement written by Maria Seda-Reeder, recent graduate from UC's art history masters program, is tongue-in-cheek. I found only a little humor in the show, however.

Many of the works serve to expose the mundane state of our society, such as Chris Henle's "Sandless Tanning," a large photograph of the exterior wall of a very boring strip mall that houses -- absurdly enough -- a tanning salon next to an armed forces recruiting office. Crystal Guffey's digital print "American Dream" depicts a young couple dressed in formal wear seated on a typical suburban front porch. Their expressionless faces ironically reveal the tediousness of achieving that American dream.

Others critique our consumer culture, like Suzanne Irwin's sculpture "Commodite/Comfort," a pile of precariously balanced chairs from many different eras. Irwin periodically adds chairs to the sculpture during the run of the exhibition, bringing attention to the peculiar American habit of purchasing and collecting an obscene amount of material goods. John Mosher's video "Dogs" bombards the viewer with an overwhelming montage of text and simple images, mimicking the mass marketing culture that surrounds us.

While, admittedly, the current state of affairs in the world offers much to be gloomy and critical about, and we shouldn't ignore that, I do like a dash of beauty now and then to lift me out of the funk. Wenxue Xu's "Internally Changing," a computer animated film, offers a breath of fresh air and, well, fun. Whimsical and elegantly animated, the film is a continuous pan from left to right, revealing a fantasy world of simplified flowers, clouds and stylized eyes that pulsate and roll through a colorful landscape.

While I engaged intellectually with the other work in the exhibition, I was able to enjoy this piece on a purely aesthetic level.

StudioWorks counters Doomed! with its practical idealism. Each director of the four schools within DAAP selected what they deemed the best projects from each program. While there are some actual works of art, there are also prototypes, models and posters that outline concepts or designs.

While design comprises the majority of the show, fine art students are well represented. Laura Dawn Eyster's wall assemblage "Return of the Native" is a pleasing collection of cut paper, found objects, felt and live plants combined into a landscape of sorts. Arthur Menezes Brum has made a spare installation called "Empty Prayer Wing (Invitation)" out of a wooden stool and table partially painted in green. On the third panel of a minimalist triptych that hangs over the table, Brum invites viewers to call or email him to discuss a particular topic.

George Baird's video "Jihad and the Arts," the edgiest piece in StudioWorks, uses found interviews, cartoons and news footage to examine art and Islam. The film unflinchingly looks at censorship, demonstrations and even artists who were killed because of their art. It's not all happy stuff.

But, perhaps because the purpose of design is to solve a problem, the overarching tenor of this show is positive -- it's full of example after example of the power of design to make life better.

For instance, with his "Papoose" backpack, Daniel Vogel Essex has developed a better system for handling rope when rock climbing. Brian Hilner's "Enclosed Personal Watercraft" conceptualizes an innovative form of transportation.

Melanie Crumine strives to improve the lives of women with multiple sclerosis through her clothing line called "Joli." After speaking with women with MS, she determined their needs. The line features clothing without buttons and zippers to make it easier to dress. The fabric regulates temperature, because MS symptoms often worsen with heat. Several concept drawings show that, unlike what is currently on the market, these garments do not stand out like traditional adaptive clothing, but are both comfortable and fashionable.

The work in both exhibitions demonstrates the potential of these emerging artists and designers. So, buck up, fine art graduate students -- if design can change the world, maybe art can, too. Doomed grade: B+; StudioWorks grade: A-