It may be three months after Christmas, but the Associated
Students of UCLA is decking the halls of the student union with
student-created artwork.
The ASUCLA Student Commissioned Art Program formally introduced
four additional art pieces Wednesday to grace the walls of Ackerman
Student Union and Kerckhoff Hall.
The final selected pieces of the annual art program ““
consisting of two paintings, one pastel piece and a series of
photography pieces ““ will be added to the sixty pieces
currently on display.
“This is a great opportunity for students to display their
artwork and be paid for it,” said Lisa Raigosa, ASUCLA
Student Support Services manager. “And who knows, maybe they
might be discovered.”
Selected students receive $500 plus expenses for their work.
In addition to Ackerman and Kerckhoff, student-created artwork
from the program can also be found in Lu Valle Commons and in North
Campus.
Fifth-year neuroscience and psychology student Cynthia Jimenez
created “Stage Fright,” an oil painting with glitter
depicting the backs of two young ballerinas on stage.
“It signifies that awe-inspiring feeling you get when you
perform and do things in front of people,” she said.
Jimenez said she’s especially proud to be chosen for the
program because she’s never taken any art classes before.
“It’s just something totally different from what I
do. It’s all from my own experience and inspiration,”
Jimenez said, adding that this was the first time she’s
entered an art competition.
Yossi Sasson, an Israeli student studying film at UCLA
Extension, took quite a different approach from ballerinas and
glitter, with his series of edgy photographs of bands ranging from
a group rocking out on stage to an intimate close-up of a
singer’s eye.
“Los Angeles is a lot about music, and I wanted to show my
experience here,” Sasson said. “Everyone walking around
UCLA is young and we should have art that reflects what they love.
Music’s a huge part of my life and a lot of other
people’s too.”
When the paper applications are distributed spring quarter, the
program typically receives 20 student applications. A panel of
judges, consisting of both student and management, then selects
students for an interview where the applicants are asked to bring
samples of their work, Raigosa said.
During the interview, students are given the opportunity to
present to the judges their ideas for the project. Typically, five
finalists are commissioned to create a piece of artwork
that’s due at the end of fall quarter.
Though different judges look for different aspects in the
artwork. Randy Hall, one of the judges and chair of ASUCLA’s
board of directors said he looks for quality and originality of
ideas.
Hall, who is in his third year of judging for the art program,
said that this year’s set is his favorite.
“There’s three paintings and one set of photos, and
they’re all unique,” Hall said. “Together
they’re a very diverse selection.”
Cristine Camcam (also known as Wanna) aimed to produce something
representative of California to decorate the walls. In her piece
“Portraiture of Annie Brigman,” Camcam uses earthy warm
tones of acrylic and gouache (a heavy, opaque watercolor) to depict
the pioneer photographer who fascinated and inspired her after
seeing an exhibit in New York.
“She’s just an old-school California girl who got
herself dirty and scraped her knees,” Camcam said. “I
didn’t want to do anything pretentious with some title like
the “˜Persistence of Vision,’ I just wanted something
simple, something about California.”
Yarell Castellano, a second-year art student, also chose a
female photographer as her inspiration and subject for her piece.
Yet the style and presentation of her cubist portrait
couldn’t be different.
The pastel piece, which she has titled “Enga” (which
was her first word and now her first step in her career), is based
on a picture of a photographer from the 1920s that she found. Using
the influence of artists such as Duchamp and Picasso, Castellanos
fragmented her face to show the different sides of her and her
fragmentation as a woman trying to eke out a living in a time when
it was more difficult for women to succeed, Castellanos said.
“I felt a connection to this woman. I feel like I know
what she went through as an artist. Pursuing a career in the
’20s was pretty bold. I’m pretty bold too,” she
said.
For students bold enough to apply next year, the selection
process is scheduled to change. Students can submit their artwork
to be judged directly for the program, instead of undergoing an
interview process to be commissioned.
“It will be more like a contest,” Raigosa said.
ASUCLA began the annual program in 1972 to add some aesthetic
appeal to the student union, Raigosa said.
“It was an attempt to beautify the union using artwork
engineered by students,” Raigosa said.
The art program underwent a hiatus in the mid-1990s when the
Association had financial problems, but resumed again four years
ago.