Students showcase art exhibition

 

By Elisabetta Silvestro

The Guardsman

The latest exhibition put up entirely by City College photography students is more than just a photographic exhibition.

Through cyanotypes, sun exposures, gum printing, glue transfers, Van Dykes and paints, the lines between photograph, drawing, painting and collage become blurred.

The students showcased the work they produced during the Spring 2014 class Mixed Media and the Photographic Image, taught by Gillian Spragens.

Briana Shewan and Beatriz Escobar, two of the 17 class members, organized the exhibition, “Alternate Realities,” featuring the work from 12 members of the mixed media class.

“I don’t want your work to end up under the bed,” photography major Escobar remembers Spragens saying.

“We really wanted to show our work,” Shewan said. “Only 17 people got to see it.”

The two looked for a place within the community and found Modern Times, a collective bookstore located in the Mission District. The bookstore’s senior member, Ruth Mahaney, teaches Lesbian/Gay American History at City College.

“With a little bit of effort you can show it to much more people,” Escobar said.

The photos reflect the diversity of the photography department, where students come from many different backgrounds.

Shewan, for example, attended University of San Francisco but decided to come to City College to pursue her passion for photography.

“We are really proud of City College,” she said.

Haley Mannix, one of the students whose work is featured in the exhibition, explains how she obtained her piece, “Boob Tiles,” using gum arabic, tiles, wire and sunlight, a process known as gum bichromate.

Some of the photos are for sale at the exhibition that will go on until Oct. 31.