STORY AND PHOTO BY JASON GREEN, STAFF WRITER
The Cypress College Art Gallery (CCAG) opened two new galleries, “Invisible Features” and “The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles 61st Annual Illustration Competition” on March 7.
CCAG allows students to run a gallery in a professional setting that includes setting up art pieces, graphics, and signage.
Artists whose works have been featured at the “Invisible Features” gallery have presented at different events throughout the last few weeks. So far, Todd Harris, Jon Davis, Benjamin Davis, and Layron Dejarnette have all done presentations of their work for students and faculty. The “Invisible Features” gallery was curated by Donivan Howard, an art professor at Cypress College
Students who work at the gallery have found the experience to be beneficial.
Braden Griffen, a gallery worker at the new galleries said, “I’m trying to get a job in the museum field, so this is really, really good to have on my resume”
Griffen said that working in a gallery allows him to gain experience that can be put towards working in fields outside of it.
Museums have requirements for employment, including having a certain level of previous experience, Griffen says that the gallery is a way to fulfill that.
“They’re [art gallery students] involved in every step of this [the art gallery],” said Kirk Pickler, the exhibitions manager and instructional assistant of the art department and the visual and performing arts division.
“They’re learning how to put artworks on the walls, they’re learning how to create signage and graphics, things like that,” Pickler said.
Tyler Esparza, an art gallery student who worked on displaying vinyl lettering above artworks of “The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles 61st Annual Illustration Competition,” said while chuckling, that the process was a “really big pain” because the vinyl would not stick.
“Nothing goes up on the wall, like, without intention,” Esparza said while discussing his biggest takeaway from working on the gallery. “That’s the most important part.”
Any student can join the art gallery by enrolling in ART 161 C-Introduction to Gallery Studies – Exhibition Preparation and Installation Techniques. The continuing class for the gallery is ART 162 C- Exhibition Organization and Management Techniques.
Professor Howard is planning to have a new program in the art department at Cypress called Interdisciplinary, Drawing, Entertainment, Art (IDEA). The program will be built around achieving a narrative story illustration certificate. The certificate centers around children’s books, game board design, narrative illustration, and sequential illustration. The classes for the prospective certificate already exist. The program is to help art students narrow down their choices.
When asked when the program would arrive, Professor Howard said, “Well, it takes two years for any course to be implemented.”
Professor Howard is also planning to release a book with the same name as the gallery, “Invisible Features”. The book will be about art processes and art relating to the notion of IDEA.
In an email, Pickler said that there will be a student exhibition called “The Students’ Show” that will open on May 7 through May 20. The art gallery will accept work through April 22 and April 24. Pickler said in the email that “Any student who has taken at least one class in the VAPA division (Art, Dance, Journalism, MAD, Music, Photography, or Theatre) may submit up to 2 works of their own choosing.”
For more information about the student exhibition and to find a downloadable submission form, visit: https://www.cypresscollegeart.com/students-show-2024.
