The Valentine’s Day theme at the eighth annual Love at the Glove art exhibit created quite a stir with its uncensored interpretation of romance through various abstract sculptures, paintings and sketches.

The Love at the Glove art exhibit, which took place Saturday night at the Glove Factory, served as a fund-raiser for the League of Art and Design, an art organization for undergraduate art students.

Almost 90 pieces of art were displayed at the open exhibition. Both students and community members were invited to display their art pieces that coincide with the theme.

“It’s pretty eclectic,” said Sara Fly, vice president of the League of Art and Design. “Some pieces of art, you know, are just purely someone trying to get their art exposed. Some people made pieces specifically for this, knowing kind of what the theme was around. So it’s a good mix of all different kinds of media, people saying different kinds of things.”

Fly said the art displayed is not censored because it is an open exhibit and would take away what the artists are trying to communicate. However, she said the exhibition has gotten much more mature in the past years.

“This year the exhibition was better organized, ” said Najjar Abdual-Musawwir, the faculty adviser for the group. “In the future we will see this type of positive progression.”

Many of the attendees followed the sexual theme in their attire, dressing in skimpy gothic attire, while others wore costumes, such as the McDonald’s Hamburglar. Amber Beyke, a senior studying elementary education, and Steve Nelson, an SIUC graduate, saw the occasion as an excuse to get dressed up. Nelson wore a “Got Kilt?” shirt and a blue kilt, while Beyke donned a black lace corset and platforms.

“There’s not enough places to wear a kilt,” Nelson said.

The couple said they had attended the exhibition previously. Beyke even had one of her pieces displayed in last year’s show. She said this show is unique because it gives artists a chance to display their risqu art pieces.

“It just gives them another chance to showcase their work, maybe in a different setting than just your typical straight-laced gallery,” Beyke said. “I think they have less limitation in a show like this.”

The artists used many types of media to communicate different concepts of love within the exhibit, some serious and others just for fun. Works ranged from a picture of a car within a heart of SIU parking tickets called “Mayhem 9 Loves SIU Parking Division” to glittery plates depicting sexual acts titled “Eating Out.”

“This year is different because the work appears to be sophisticated, informing and fun,” Abdual-Musawwir said. “One thing that is great about this show is it maintained the theme and still brought a degree of professionalism.”

He said the whole idea behind the exhibit is a Valentine’s Day celebration and a way for artists to express love in their own ways.

“The whole theme is love and romance and eroticism and pornography and anything along that vein,” said Kelly Miller, a senior studying drawing and metal smithing who had one of her paintings displayed. “It’s anything that spawns off of love, no matter what it is.”

The money raised at Love at the Glove goes toward the League of Art and Design and its upcoming art show, Locked and Loaded, which will be at the Mix Gallery in Carterville. The opening is 7 to 10 p.m. March 5 and remains on display for the rest of the month.

Reporter Laura Teegarden can be reached at [email protected]