Allan Hancock College’s Ann Foxworthy Gallery is a perfect space for showing art, with its octagonal shape allowing a number of spaces that can all be partitioned with faux walls. The gallery’s setup allows a varied show that viewers can easily navigate and enjoy in sections.
And for the annual Fine Arts Student Art Show—which features 110 pieces of 2-D and 3-D art this year—Art Gallery Director Marti Fast makes sure every bit of room is used to its potential, showcasing and highlighting each work to shine its brightest.
“We have an extraordinary Fine Arts Department, and it keeps growing, and we like to show off and we like our students to show off,” Fast said. “And the instructors, we’re always trying to invent new courses and bring in cutting-edge technology and things like that.”
Most classes are represented by multiple students’ work, and more classical art forms such as oil and acrylic painting, drawing, photography, and sculpture show in force. But contemporary or modern media make up a good portion of the show as well, including digital fine art, typography, photography, graphic design, and even animation.
A number of graphic design works include CD album covers, concert posters, and other real-world work for designers. A computer also runs a continuous loop of work by digital painting, animation, and graphics students as well, running animation projects, slick opening credit sequences, and more.
The show is a great chance for the Fine Arts students at Hancock College to come together, view each other’s work, and feel a sense of camaraderie. It also looks great on a resume or college application, having shown in a gallery, Fast explained.
The stimulation and dialogue that takes place among the students in their classes and outside—like at the student art show—is a vital part of an artist’s development, Fast explained.
“Something neat that I witnessed today, is we get different cohorts of students that get to go through classes together,” Fast said. “I have a really hot bunch of life-drawing students right now, and they are also in John Hood’s mixed media class together. So, they’ve already got connections, but you see them going through these classes together—and it doesn’t happen every semester—but you will get this little renaissance going.
“They’re really creative, and they’ve all found each other,” she added, “and they raise the bar for each other, and that kind of peer competition and support is really valuable in the classroom.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne enjoys the output of studious artists. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 18-25, 2016.