Monday, June 8, 1998
Creative forces, social criticism intertwine at student
exhibit
ART: Display to showcase final projects of students from varied
backgrounds
By Jammie Salagubang
Daily Bruin Contributor
An art exhibit put together by non-art students, including
neuroscience, physiological science and psychology students. Sounds
like a paradox, but really, it’s one of the final projects for
students in the honors collegium course "Art as Social and
Political Commentary."
"Most of us didn’t have any experience doing this," says Jeremy
La Motte, a fourth-year psychology student. "The first part that
was the most challenging was just trying to find a place to have
the exhibit."
Luckily, the students found a place to exhibit the art in
Dickson Hall during finals week. Fortunately, finding artists for
the exhibit seemed to be an easier task, as many of them were
personal acquaintances.
The art exhibit, which showcases lithographs, paintings and even
a multi-media installation, highlights six artists: Kendra
Fox-Davis, George Domantay, Merrill Kruger, Frank Martinez, Arnold
Vargas and Cesar Vasquez.
"It’s a collection of basically L.A. artists with a common theme
of social oppositional art," says Anahita Gheytanchi, a third-year
psychology student. "It’s artwork that has a political and social
edge to it."
Two students from UCLA will also display their works. The
paintings of Arnold Vargas, a fourth-year art student, deals with
incarcerated Latino youth and the liberation of Chicano people,
especially farm workers.
The paintings of Kendra Fox-Davis, a fourth-year women’s studies
student, reflect themes of the exploitation of Vietnamese women
due, in part, to the U.S. soldiers stationed there during the
Vietnam War.
"(Fox-Davis’ piece) is very abstract in the way that it
incorporates in the background. There’s a lot of messages going on
in the actual context," says Dawn Fraser, a fourth-year political
science student and member of the group putting on the exhibit.
George Domantay will exhibit part of an installation titled "The
Bear and the Coconut," which includes brown plaster casts of
California topographical maps. The work also utilizes audio loops
that initiate a performance sequence with a person wearing a brown
bear mask.
Domantay’s audio loop repeats the phrase: "Okay, it’s time to
release the Judas horse." The Judas horse refers back to the period
of the Old West when people used trained horses to lead wild horses
into corrals, exploiting the wild mustangs. Domantay’s piece is
associated with the brown bear which can represent any type of
authority or power figure.
"(The installation has) been an ongoing investment of a series
of thoughts and ideas regarding master-planned communities and
current trends of assimilation," Domantay explains. "I’m commenting
on assimilation as a form of cultural eradication."
The story behind Vasquez’s two lithographs, one titled "The
Sadness of A Mother," is based on Vasquez’s personal
experiences.
"Some tragedy in my family brought (this work) out. I decided to
do them kind of as a therapeutic way to take out the anger and
frustration I felt," Vasquez says. "Basically, the personal tragedy
has to do with injustice, dealing with class; those who have versus
those who have not."
The oppositional theme in the work of local high school student
Merrill Kruger explores differences in perceptions. Her piece,
consisting of a mirror with the sign "Temporary" above it,
emphasizes the many layers to an individual’s existence.
Martinez, an L.A.-based artist, has experienced quite a bit of
opposition in his lifetime which also shows through his works. A
veteran of World War II, Martinez will display works that concern
Chicano veterans in American wars.
"There’s going to be different kinds of artwork from different
backgrounds, different ethnicities," LaMotte, a fourth-year
student, comments. "It’s going to be neat to look at each artwork
and see the story behind each piece."
ART: The exhibit will be June 15-19, on the 8th floor of Dickson
Hall, Room 8260. The reception will be held June 15 at 7 p.m.