By Lauren Rash Staff Reporter
This April has brought Modesto Junior Colleges' 32nd annual Celebration of the Humanities, a student competition for the fine arts. The exhibit opened April 8th and was shown until last Friday, free to the public in the East Campus Art Gallery. Awards for the contest were given the day of the opening and listed in the April 9 issue of the Pirates' Log. The gallery hosted a variety of art ranging from sculpture and mixed media, to photography and painting. The Celebration of the Humanities did its part demonstrate the superb art programs that are available at MJC. Multiple pieces among those chosen for the gallery were expertly crafted. While photography has been a popular choice for students of MJC, a surprising amount of sculptures stood out. Sophia Petrakis' 'The Swan' is a striking alabaster stone piece that captures attention with elegance. Another three dimensional creation was Aaron Kroman's 'Old Man' that was uniquely constructed using plaster over a hardware cloth armature. Although there were not as many paintings as other objects in the gallery, the ones chosen were picked with good reason. Noralynn Doyle Goold's 'MC Hopper' won third place and illustrates the anatomy of a frog which proves even the simplest ideas can evolve into obscure intrigue. The sharp use of color and bold detail is truly gripping; the biology department should seriously consider purchasing it! Amongst the austere and straightforward, there were others that were left to interpretation. What looked like a headlight splattered with blood hung from the ceiling in the gallery. This third place winner for mixed media, by Pauline Black, is titled 'Reagan' and appears to have the past president's face painted on the light, but a half-skeleton version, deteriorating in a frightening fashion. While personal statements are one of the best uses of art, this particular piece raised the question in my mind, "what is THAT about?" And yet, that might be exactly what the artist hoped to provoke. Whether it is understood or not, the mere fact that self-expression is not only allowed, but commended, is something to appreciate. While a majority of the work throughout the contest appeared to be intensely serious, there were some pieces that provided humor and appeal in a lighter sense. Christine Brayant's 'Sub Sandwich' was a cleverly crafted yellow submarine sculpture complete with tomatoes and lettuce wedged in its middle. Photography appears to be one of the more popular of the art programs offered at MJC, and as a result, many talented photographers submitted their work for the Celebration of the Humanities. Those that made it into the show definitely possessed authenticity. For example, Holden Schultz received honorable mention for color photography with his untitled piece that was placed at the entrance of the gallery. The landscape picture is beautifully taken in an eerie, yet serene setting. And 'Chinatown' by Sergio Campos captures an unaware crowd of Asian-Americans walking in front of an oversized American flag. The scene in his photography is interesting in a peculiarly simple way. A 3D photo titled, 'Open Water' by Ashley Atwood also was awarded honorable mention as it draws its spectators into a gorgeous ocean view through a hole in the middle of a crumbling structure. The Celebration of the Humanities was absolutely something to experience, that testifies to the tremendous creativity of the MJC student body. If you weren't able to witness it this time around, there's always next year!
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