Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin

On the cover: This image is part of a still from The Poetry Winner, an animation created by Philadelphia painter/animator Jennifer Levonian for Docu-Commencement, held last fall at Bryn Mawr College. The exhibition presented new works by four artists who participated in intensive residencies during 2012 Commencement weekend. Levonian, along with artists Kay Healy, James Johnson, and Gilbert Plantinga, worked with students and created pieces inspired by the Commencement experience. In The Poetry Winner, voiceovers by Bryn Mawr students, references to actual senior thesis titles, and imagery from Move-Out Day anchor in the real world Levonian’s depictions of fictional graduates. The short piece focuses on the winner of a college poetry award as she returns with her parents to her provincial hometown and a job in retail that she hates. “She’s changed,” Levonian states, “but things fall back into the routine of her old self.” But in the end, “the character is triumphant because she has chosen to identify as a poet and pursue a life devoted to art.” Images courtesy the artist and Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Philadelphia.