The Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, GLAMFA, came to campus this week to display a variety of original art pieces in the student art galleries.
GLAMFA takes place each year at Cal State Long Beach and features original art pieces from college students all over Southern California.
One of the four galleries is called the Merilyn Werby Gallery. An immediately noticeable element is a taxidermy piece by UC San Diego student Mike Calway-Fagen. The piece, entitled “The Progress of Regression,” shows a taxidermy German Shepherd sitting upright on top of what appears to be a small rug, but is actually an antique wolf pelt. The creature is so well-preserved that it could easily be mistaken for a living dog.
Another gallery is the Dennis W. Putzi Gallery. From the outside, ’80s and ’90s hip-hop music can be heard. The art piece displaying the sound was entitled “Puttin’ Brie on the Chrome” and included the combination of a car stereo set up in the center of the room and a corresponding film showing scenes of an urban city from a car-driver’s perspective. The scenes projected on a blank wall included a park, school, neighborhood and other city buildings.
The unique combination of first-person perspective visuals and tunes from the up-and-close speakers replicated the experience of cruising down the street. The film includes a surprising ending that is sure to cause a long, thoughtful pause from viewers.
The largest of the four galleries is the May L. Gatow Gallery East, which contains fun and imaginative pieces. The gallery included colorful murals, plaid shirts and underwear made out of paper mâché, as well as a rope-bound mattress in the middle of the floor. Before viewers assume that the mattress is part of performance art, it should be noted that it is entirely made of wax, which adds a whimsical element of surprise.
More surprise comes from a piece entitled “Living Room,” which was created by Cal State Fullerton student Kyle Chew. The piece takes up the entire Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery, comprised of antique furniture set up in a typical fashion.
However, a the twist of spontaneous motion is made possible by compressed air and electronics. Eyeglasses slide freely across a coffee table, the contents of a waste basket jolt above the rim in a cluster and a sofa rocks itself and lifts its cushions forward, backward and up. Nearly every piece in the room has the ability to move, which keeps viewers snapping their heads in all directions to see what will come to life next.
The gallery runs Monday through Friday noon to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays noon to 7 p.m. It will be on display until Thursday in the on-campus student art galleries in-between the fine arts buildings. More information can be found at greaterlamfa.com.
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