Outside, In

Caitlin Curran is a freshman studying Communication Design with minors in Art and Art History. She often gravitates toward nature for artistic inspiration as a creative outlet, and her artwork titled Outside, In is no different. The painting was based on two photos taken by Curran: one at Zion National Park, and another in an abandoned building. She uses both to bring to light the issue of the “destruction and degradation of nature,” where natural beauty is forced to give way to “new pristine houses rising upon toiled soil and strips of concrete.”

Her painting reverses the roles, allowing nature to overtake the industrialized civilization that the world has become accustomed to. Curran explains that Outside, In explores “an untouched landscape from Zion National Park [sprawling] across the background, while an array of abandoned and decrepit furniture resides in the foreground.”