More than 100 pieces of art were submitted by students in various types of medium, from clay sculptures to video and graphic design, were showcased in the Art Garden on Thursday, May 9 during the Annual Student Show.
Students from different classes in the Art Department gathered for the yearly event held in celebration of student work and achievement.
The night’s highest honors went to the unexpected first-place winner Anthony Elbambo, who took home Best of Show for his oil painting, “Judas.”
“It’s just surprising to me, you know, because normally in these kinds of shows the people that win, are like digital artists. And for an oil painting to win, that’s a triumph. That’s an accomplishment,” Elbambo said.
Elbambo, though shocked, was grateful for his win.
“I’m surprised I won. I’m very thankful. All I really cared about was getting the painting into the show. That’s all that mattered to me, but this just shows I just got to keep continuing to pursue it,” said Elbambo.
Another victory of the night was for honorable mention winner Andrew Ko, an architecture major at Pierce.
Ko designed a model of a futuristic visiting center structured around the Los Angeles River.
“The purpose of the project was to kind of bring in people, kind of show people there is a river in the Valley. I’m also working with the idea of the future–there is a future for the LA River,” said Ko. “I’m especially happy to represent the architecture program here because a lot of people aren’t really aware of it, so for my piece to be displayed at the same time with an honorable mention is very gratifying.”
Proudly exhibiting his architectural work in an art show is not only a win for Ko, but an opportunity to change opinions about architecture as an art form.
“A lot of people assume architecture isn’t really art, so this kind of gives a broader perspective,” said Ko.
The artists whose work was displayed were not the only Art Department students involved in the night’s event. Students hanging art pieces and serving hors d’oeuvres, like exhibition design student Bailey Johnson, were also involved in the excitement.
“[The art show] is important to me because it shows everyone how talented they are. It made me really proud to hang their pieces up. We have such talented people,” said Johnson.
For Johnson, helping orchestrate the event was also a chance to implement what she had been learning all semester in her exhibition design class, which focuses on coordinating events such as the Annual Student Show.
Assistant Professor of Art Monika Del Bosque teaches the exhibition design class at Pierce with students like Johnson and enjoys that the event gives students from all sides of the Art Department a good experience.
“That’s why I think it’s really important to do this,” said Del Bosque, the main coordinator of the event. “Because it gives them an opportunity to have their work seen and to really show that as a department we value their efforts and it also shows was Pierce College produces.”
The winners of the 2013 Annual Student show were the following:
Anthony Elbambo: Best of Show
Valeria Chichiri: First Place
Austin Long: Second Place
Glenda Rolle: Third Place
Andrew Ko: Honorable Mention
Bedros Bedros: Honorable Mention
Tim Baldwin: Honorable Mention
Maryam Aziz: Honorable Mention
