California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

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Art Galleries Showcase Work of Students and Non-Students

A small selection of the photos you will find in the
“Image and Idea” photography show in the Old
Kiln Room Gallery and hallways of the A&E building.

The CSU East Bay Arts & Education building on the Hayward campus is currently playing host to several art galleries, putting on display photos, paintings, ceramics and more created by both students and artists from off-campus.

The “Image and Idea” show displays the works of 20 advanced photo students in the Old Kiln Room gallery, along with individual display cases throughout the first floor of the A&E Building.

While the photos cover a wide variety of themes such as joblessness, personal trauma and the story of Ophelia, the underlying theme of the show is photography as fine art and how images can be expressed in a range of creative ideas according to art professor Scott Hopkins.

“I hope that visitors will enjoy the richness and diversity of the artwork on display and have a better understanding of the range of creative possibilities inherent in the photographic medium and the superior quality of art produced by students on our campus,” he said.

Alyssa Albatana, an art major with an option in graphic design and photography, is one of the students who has work on display. Her photos are about children’s fantasy stories in combination with madness.  Inspired by her passion for anime and costume play, she went forward with putting a twist to every story by adding a deadly, bloody and dark theme to it.

“I worried about my audience, I want to attract guys and girls so I ended up doing happy and horror scenes,” she explained.

In the University Art Gallery is the “Emerging Artists” exhibit, which opened on Mar. 12 and will run through Apr. 14. There are 33 pieces of artworks are on display, including paintings, prints, alternative process photos and drawings.

These artworks, selected by San Francisco Root Division Director Michelle Mansour, were produced by students not only from CSUEB but also Chabot College, the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University and other colleges in the Bay Area.

“It’s been a really positive response from students and faculty to see people from the greater Bay Area and it’s not such an insular show as only Cal State students,” said curator Philip Ringler.  “By broadening the scope of the student population, not only are we introducing students from other colleges to our campus so that they can see what’s going on in our art department, but our students can see what’s going on with other students in other [schools’] art departments.”

The final art gallery on campus is the Art Department & Student Show Open House that, as of Mar. 12, is taking place in the Student Gallery on the second floor of the A&E Building.  Art pieces on display include paintings, ceramics, photos and sculptures.

Student Paolo Mejia explained how, while some pieces were originally class assignments, others are personal pieces, all attempting to explore the diversity of materials and processes of art making and the creativity that hails from subconscious introspection.

Mejia organized this particular show in hopes of encouraging other art students to show what they’ve created and to utilize the space that wasn’t being used during the quarter.

“What I hope for people to gain from seeing this show is for people to understand that art is not just your typified art and crafts where artists just paints or draws.  Art making require skills that are acquired over time through scholastic teaching or even through self-taught,” he explained.

“Art is also a cultural aspect that people need to realize.  It is important to learn or just notice art as something integral in society and to individuals.  Art is life and life is art.”

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California State University East Bay
Art Galleries Showcase Work of Students and Non-Students