By snoadmin
“Insights 2011 Annual Student Art Exhibit” showcases student works from the school year at the University Art Museum at Cal State Long Beach.
A majority of the 83 pieces, ranging from conceptual to digital art, seem to live and breathe inspiration from the 20th century art movements.
Windy Dougall’s photo series titled “US” is a work in progress with nine flocculent photos that flaunt close-ups of shirtless students from the waist up. The soft lighting exposes the subjects in raw form.
Chris Lim’s oil painting, “Untitled #1,” recaptures Gene Davis, the late abstractionist, known for his vertical stripes. Lim’s precise piece won the University Student Union Permanent Art Collection Annual Purchase Award.
Khadija Razzak’s “Social Spud” is a nitty-gritty copper and wool sculpture of a life-size couch potato on a Stone Age chair. Brass wires run through the clay vegetable and mimic the stitches on a football.
On the subject of furniture, Alex Fridrich, last year’s Printmaking Merit Award recipient, presents a screenprint book entitled “Do All Couches Go To Heaven?” The answer lies among the neon hues of orange, green, purple and blue, which embrace the outdated floral-print sofas.
Ashley Soriano’s “Simplexity” is a dominant force to be reckoned with because of its intricate craftsmanship.
Ashley Soriano’s “Simplexity” is a dominant force to be reckoned with because of its intricate craftsmanship. The gray web mimics a bird’s-eye view of a beanie that is large enough to engulf several heads.
Patrick Ballard’s “Wig” is a natural, contemporary and functional piece made of real brunette human hair.
“(Jack)” by Jason Gomez is a tribute to Jack Nicholson’s role as a recidivist criminal in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” The poster is at ground level with a light fixture, giving the institutionalized character a “shining.”
Two very different mixed media pieces by Catherine Davis and Randi Druz inhabit the museum. Davis’ looks like there are glittery space dusts trapped in three different miniature pieces, while Druz’s globular collage shouts out loud.
Jacob Greenlund’s “Pop Surveillance #3” is an ironic tilt-shift digital print of when TMZ lurks itself. It comments on society’s obsession with voyeurism and celebrities.
Jonathan Lugo Torres’ public service announcement on safe sex is on the ball, mod and minimalistic. The red on blue “Be A Gentleman” poster, a recipient of The Fines Arts Affiliates Scholarship, has an arguably indiscernible top hat and mustache.
Nicole Liang has an upcoming iPhone application called “Look into LA” in store. The artist offers a different piece of art that uses a TV installation to promote her upcoming app through the film “500 Days of Summer.” Her project situates cell phone holders to place themselves on the local location of a movie scene.
The ceramic “Red Ram” by Ryan Flores consists of brown textures and layers resembling burnt cheese. The sitting animal is a hybrid of contemporary, yet archaic like Greek mythology.
The center of the museum is coated with Christina Billotte’s goodies called “Stairs of Cake.” The ceramic, metal, wood and cement sculpture looks delectable, like a stairway to heaven of devil’s cake and other sweet treats.
With Ryan Keiser’s “Texas Long Rifle” at 132 inches in length, the Fine Arts Affiliates Scholarship sculpture could double as a woodsy clothes rack.
Ji Sun Pak’s “When I Was A Child” is a whimsical “Alice in Wonderland” meets “Waldo,” etching and screenprint with floating houses in the metropolis.
Julia Barbee’s “Dick (Whistle)” is a crystallized sculpture accompanied by a poem with pheremones used in context.
Ian William’s digital print, titled “The Search,” gives an urban-day and boy version of “Little Red Riding Hood.”
