By
Kate VonderPorten
Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA student shows artwork at Epic Cafe
After spending a year studying in Italy, graphic design senior Sarit Melmed returned to Tucson to reconnect with her American heritage - and she used the American flag to do it.
Following a difficult transition back into the states, Melmed said she decided to turn to art in order to reconcile her recent experiences in Italy with her return to the U.S.
Her oil paintings, photos and found-object sculptures are currently on display at the Epic Cafe, 745 N. Fourth Ave., in her exhibit "Bella Tucson."
"I was living 10 minutes from Leonardo (Da Vinci's) birthplace in Vinci -- Leonardo's stomping grounds," she said. "I went through culture shock when I got back (from Italy)."
On returning from Italy to the United States, Melmed does not understand why American male artists have historically been the only ones to appropriate flag imagery.
"I'm aware that the American flag has been done before by Tommy Hilfiger, Perry Ellis, Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol among others, but all of these people are men -- why can't it be my flag and Betsy Ross's, too?" she said.
Through her work, Melmed has attempted to bridge this personal cultural gap, primarily using the image of an American flag to do so.
"Since I am a graphic design student, and we are creating graphic identities, I chose the 'Mona Lisa'-American flag combo for my logo," she said.
She explained that the flag pays homage to her identification with both American and Italian cultures.
Melmed said Italy's rich artistic heritage is the inspiration for much of her work and the concept behind her show. She was given the chance to address her European experiences in a graphic design class.
"The show is an American-Italian combo in terms of my experience," she said.
While in Italy, she not only acquired inspiration for her artwork but also more practical skills.
"I learned to oil paint, cook and speak Italian," she said.
Melmed said three of the paintings featured in "Bella Tucson" were completed while in Italy.
"I had American teachers (in Italy) who emphasized the disciplined and formulistic academics of painting. They were really strict," she said.
Melmed explained the lengthy process she undergoes when working on a painting.
"The actual application of paint is only 50 percent of the process," she said, "The other 50 percent involves looking, seeing, measuring, remaining clean - (it's) organized and disciplined."
Melmed continued to explain her motives behind her painted work.
"I look at painting in terms of color," she said. "Next to color and brushstroke, nothing more and nothing less. I don't think content enters into it. I think it is about the application, even though they are, per se, finished for the show. I consider all of them to be exercises."
Included in Melmed's show are painted self-portraits, still lifes and landscapes as well as a series of photographs she took before leaving for Italy. She said the photos - which often addressed a theme of youthful exuberance - were taken of her younger sister and her sister's best friend.
"Because they are best friends, I had them dress up and pose during one of their sleepovers with an inflatable drum and saxophone," she said, describing one of these photographs.
She added that gilded vegetation including dried flowers and pomegranates - as well as images illuminated by candles - will be scattered throughout the show.
Melmed described these pieces as "sparkly found objects with a Renaissance twist-- renaissance means rebirth. This semester has been a rebirth in all senses of the word."
Melmed said she hopes to help younger artists to experience their own potential for rebirth by providing an example of where their art education can take them.
"The reason I put posters all around the art building is to show my peers what I am doing as a fourth-year student," she said.
In the future, Melmed said she would like to make a life for herself in Italy.
"I plan to go back to Italy to attend a design school in Milan, make Italian contacts and find a way to stay there," she said.
