To be a part of a college community this last year, for students, staff, and faculty alike, has been continually uncertain and equally eye-opening. A pandemic continues to separate us from our families and communities, while the unjustifiable deaths of people of color around this country force us to re-evaluate historical and contemporary narratives and power dynamics. These unsettling events for some, gave way to reflective thought and for others, calls to action for personal and social change. These thoughts grew into a resounding voice that is now impossible to ignore. Even today, in our Bomber bubble, we face uncertainty about the future of our peers, mentors and our institution. There exists a concern over forthright information and if we have enough of it. In his book Ways of Seeing John Berger says that “the relation between what we see and what we know is never settled.” Driven by that idea, Never Settle explores the complex and often unnerving space between what we see and what we know, asking viewers to get comfortable with the discomfort that exists in that now socially distant space.
 
The comfort of being settled works together with the discomfort of uncertainty to create the boundaries of our lived reality (which are constantly in flux).  Andrew Lackland’s life-sized faceless figures navigate an unpredictable post-apocalyptic landscape while we watch and project onto their struggles. The repetition of Olivia Long’s prints feels both calming and authentic as they create a language of their own for the viewer to decipher. Danielle Fernandez’ exploration of social media celebrity fandom through her pastel and digital portraits confronts ideas of identity, community, and virtual connection. Dean Shinner’s intimate book installation invites the viewer to retreat into a safe, nostalgic, and private literary world. What the works of these four artists share is the creation of cyclical emotional experiences that do not allow for the mind to settle.
 
The urge to create order, in all possible ways, is a natural response to chaos, and while there is calmness in order, that soon gives way to a new ache. How can we know that our own ways of looking are free of that desire for order? And how much of the truth comes from looking without that bias? All of the artists in this show have created their work within the context of this unsettling year and we should look at each piece as an attempt to shorten the distance between what we see in front of us and the truth of its maker. Never Settle acts as a call to action for those about to enter the ‘real world’ to reject the impulse to be resigned to one's current situation and to look for meaning in the space between what we see and what we yearn for.