Hollie Byars, a senior Ceramics major from Gaffney, S.C., has applied her love of art and magic to her thesis project to create magical props out of porcelain, pointing out magicians’ historical use of orientalism and appropriation in the creation of illusions. 

One of Byars’ hobbies is performing close-up magic, and this project helped her examine the practice and its history. 

“Magic is like food, is like art, is like everything. It’s simply something that brings people together and gives us something to talk about,” she remarked.

Though the hobby itself is harmless, in her research, Byars has found that several types of renowned props and illusions have been incorrectly attributed throughout history. 

“I own a mirror box under the name ‘Mandarin Mirror Box.’ The illusion itself is understood to have been invented by an Indian scientist and has no direct ties to China. It’s not fully known why magicians and prop makers use China specifically in magic orientalism,” she explains. “I think it’s important to know the history of what we do, even harmless hobbies.”

Aside from her research as an amateur magician, Byars also works as the student ambassador for the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. Her position entails educating students on the Barnes Collection, participating in promotional materials, as well as promoting the foundation’s mission of fostering new ways of thinking about human creativity in addition to advocating to improve the lives of communities throughout the world.

“As a student ambassador for Arcadia, I integrated lessons across educational practices by organizing a class trip to the Mickalene Thomas Collection, to highlight the museum’s role as an educational space in a class about the politics of education,” she said. “It’s also been a wonderful opportunity for networking among other young artists and professionals in the field.”

In addition to working with the Barnes Foundation, Byars also worked with the Philadelphia Museum of Art on their “Mary Cassatt At Work” exhibit as part of the advanced ceramics class. She and the class created over 100 dishes for Stir, the museum’s restaurant. This year, Byars is again working with other students producing plate ware for the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibition, Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s. 

Byars was awarded a scholarship by the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) Mount Royal School of Art, allowing her to continue working toward her goal of earning a master’s degree in Multidisciplinary Art and becoming a ceramics teacher.

“I believe the collaborative nature of the work I’ve done has helped me understand how I would like to move forward as an artist, and how I would like my work to be a reflection of co-creation among communities,” she said. “My role model is Professor Gregg Moore, who runs the ceramics program here at Arcadia. His personal network has allowed students to get involved with the Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Polly Apfelbaum’s installations, and projects with chefs and artists like Omar Tate. I’d love to do that for students and enthusiasts of art too one day.”