Artistic showdown

Suzie Harrison

“The Best of the Best of the Best” is the unofficial title for the

most recent exhibit at The Laguna College of Art and Design, and

judges and instructors at the college seem confident the 25-year-old

show has lived up to the name.

“People walk into the gallery and ask if this is work by the

graduate students when they see the caliber of work in this juried

show,” Tracy Nishimuta exhibition coordinator said.

The Juried Student Exhibition 2003 is comprised of more than 100

pieces of original artwork by the students, offering a wide range of

expression and skill that reflects the college’s four major fields of

art and design instruction, drawing and painting, illustration and

graphic design. Nishimuta said there is also a category for

sculpture, a discipline the students can minor in.

It is juried by the head of each department and by Lenny Scarola a

former dean at the college.

Dean of Visual Communications Gary Birch was demonstrating the

high-tech, interactive section of the exhibit. The large flat

computer screen was the frame and when one tapped on the piece it

would set the art in motion -- their work, such as an animation clip

or interactive story, would pop up.

“This establishes a more interesting way to display the

interactive work with the splash screen,” Birch said. “It’s showing a

small portion of film, a section of it produced using the Maya

program -- the high end, industry standard program.”

Alan Barkley, president of Laguna College of Art and Design

pointed out that the screen with its visuals looked like a piece of

art itself that flowed while being hung with the other graphic design

work.

“See all this texture, it’s similar to what was used in ‘Toy

Story,’” Barkley said. “We offer Maya as part of the animation

program.”

Mike Johnansen’s piece is titled “Go Surfing” it shows an animated

short of him dreaming of surfing and then actually waking up and

going to do it.

“The exhibit is an opportunity to showcase our top students,”

Barkley said. “The work that is chosen shows off the talents in each

program and shows off the programs the best.”

Taylor Montague, 22, is a junior in fine art and he did a portrait

of his brother and niece.

“It’s a sequence to a painting of my brother Mike about human

expression,” Montague said. “The first piece is what he was going

through at the time -- chaotic, he’s 18 years-old and just had a

baby.”

He explained that the first piece had to deal with the turmoil and

this piece, which has his brother sitting quietly with his baby in a

quiet type of portrait, is more peaceful and subdued.

“He now has some control over the situation,” Montague said. “It’s

titled ‘Acceptance,’ accepting the situation and the child he loves

-- at the same time the child is accepting his life and the embracing

gesture.”

Frank Gonzales, 27, who is a senior in fine art, also submitted a

piece that was part of a series of singular figures in an ambiguous

space.

“The whole idea, is I believe there is a void within us, a darker

side,” Gonzales said. “I’m just trying to probe more into the unknown

of us as human beings. That’s the reason this picture has no

features, it’s sealing a presence of a human, a rendition of a female

as a deity.”

The piece is called “Woman Standing.” Gonzales said he likes to

keep his titles simple, hoping the viewer can have a dialogue with

it.

Nishimuta said that the caliber of work by the students is that of

professional artists.

“A lot of the students sell their work professionally, and a lot

of them could,” Nishimuta said.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony last night: Best

of Illustration -- Brittany Ryan, sophomore; Sean Christopher Fogle,

junior; and Jordi Martin, senior; Best of Fine Art -- Tiffany

Castillo-Lunde, sophomore; Veronica Obermeyer, junior; and

Konstantinos Kyrtis, senior; Best of Sculpture -- Julio Reyes,

junior; Best of Animation -- Cory Loftis, sophomore; Andre Medina,

junior; and Tod Orbach, senior; Best of Graphic Design -- Jennifer

Willingham, junior; and Michelle Rashiatore, senior. And the Best

Foundation award is for a first-year student and was won by Lorenzo

Augusto Minaca.

This exhibit will run through May 5. Laguna College of Art and

Design is at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road. Information: 376-6000.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321 or [email protected].