The opening ceremony for the newest art gallery at LAC on Nov. 1 focused on the work of various LBCC alumni, all of which have displayed individual pieces to portray who they are as an artist.
Rather than giving the art gallery a specific theme, multiple LBCC alumni were invited to display their preferred piece, all of which differed in genre and style.
Many attendees such as Greg Martin were intrigued at the various pieces, some of which left them with many questions.
“I’m pretty fascinated by the film, however I’m not sure who Tony is, but it captures you and looks really good,” said Martin in response to what piece has been most interesting.
Anthony Razo Rico’s piece seemed to draw eyes as multiple people said it was their favorite, and it was based on the Marlboro man.
Anthony Rico’s art work that represents the dissection of the famous advertisement labeled the Marlboro Man. The piece represents both his work in advertisement while also including his background in graffiti art with the incorporation of spray paint. This piece was shown at the LBCC Alumni Art Gallery on Nov. 2, 2024 in Long Beach, California. (Samantha Navarro)
This was an advertisement that was shown on the packaging of a cigarette box for the brand “Marlboro,” which depicted an image of a cowboy, and many of the attendees knew of the advertisement prior to seeing this piece.
“It’s my commentary on western masculinity and growing up in the 80s and inner city, there were a lot of ads on Marlboro man,” Rico said.
Rico explained how this advertisement seemed to shape what a man should be, creating a stereotype and heavy influence for men of all ages, especially for those who may not have had a male figure in their life to look up to.
“At that time, it appealed to me because I grew up without a father, so it was one of my resources as to what I thought a man should be,” Rico said.
He began painting a lot of different advertisements which led him to focus on this work and question how advertising has affected himself and others subconsciously based on what they represent.
This piece correlated with the term, “Machismo,” which stems from Latino culture and represents the idea of males having a strong or aggressive sense of masculine pride.
“(The painting) is my confrontation on Latinos and what they think a man should be. I’m trying to disrupt it and ask about it. Using the marks as a foundation for sign painting, but also the idea of taking a breath and focus on my inner self,” Rico said.
Rather than investigating the traits of toxic masculinity presented by Rico, artist Daniel Barajas said his piece focused on being, “more direct with the content of the male gaze towards the gays. Touching more into the softness of it all, exploring my queer voice.”
Barajas hadn’t painted in years and is currently working as an illustrator for movies and TV posters, but after receiving a message from the school about displaying his work he rediscovered this piece and is inspired to continue the series.
Varying forms of digital media were shown at the gallery including short films and prints, such as the piece, “Feeling Blue?” by Jin Mo.
“I do paint, but I’m experimenting with printings lately. A lot of my images start off with a collage with artwork that I like to collect. I made a digital collage and it’s easy to tweak things around and bring out effects that you would think you couldn’t do on paper,” Mo said.
Another display at the art gallery was Rodrigo Miguel Lopez’s piece that resembled a doorway with a short hallway and newspapers pasted alongside the outside walls.
“All photo transfers are from November 16, 1989 newspaper which was the day of the massacre of six Jesuits priests in El Salvador. I wanted to present it as a day in the life without portraying images of the dead. I printed them on fabric to reference clothing and garments,” Lopez said.
LBCC Alumni, Rodrigo Miguel Lopez presented his multi-dimensional artwork which represents the massacre of six jesuit priests in El Salvador. This was done by creating photo transfers of newspapers dated on Nov. 16, 1989 which was the day of the massacre printed onto different pieces of cloth. The piece had a doorframe that opened to a “hallway” with the image of the Virgin Mary. This was presented at the Alumni Art Gallery on Nov. 2, 2024 in Long Beach, California. (Samantha Navarro)
All of the newspapers were actually collected and kept by his father, creating an unintentional collaborative piece.
The alumni art gallery is free and available to all for viewing from Nov. 2 to Dec. 5.