Students Picture Architectural Wonders

By Julian Bermudez
Gazette Art Writer

One of the most intriguing and well-thought-out photographic exhibitions currently on view does not highlight a well-known artist or an up-and-coming prodigy of the art world. Surprisingly, this exhibition features the works of 5th grade students whose focus was Long Beach’s architectural wonders.

The “Edificando Momentos-Building Moments” exhibit displays more than 40 framed photographic prints in the Toyota Children’s Art Gallery located on the basement level of the Long Beach Museum of Art. The series of images — some black-and-white, but mostly color — portray architectural translations through the eyes of the students from the Westerly School here in the city.

This year’s theme asked students to look at the various local architectural landmarks and to photograph their unique properties. They studied architectural composition with Shannon Buchanan, an art teacher, and technical aspects of digital photography with Jeremy Dodgen, a professional photographer. Site visits included the Aquarium of the Pacific, Rancho Los Cerritos, downtown Long Beach and Bluff Park.

The school-sponsored project, in its eighth consecutive year, chose photography as a vehicle to create learning opportunities that combine technology, art and language. Gina Ashworth, a fifth grade teacher, and Elva de Jarnett, a Spanish instructor, were very much involved in this process. All didactic materials, including the exhibition title, are in English and Spanish; elements considered vital to the project.

Each image was evaluated for subject, composition and clarity. The result is an exhibition worthy of being displayed in the main galleries of any art institution.

Twelve-year-old Nathan Horn’s “Untitled” captures a wide-angle view of a pedestrian promenade. The contrasting hues of the black and red clay bricks juxtaposed alongside the smooth, gray concrete caught Horn’s eye. In another untitled work, Horn captures the fish-like scales lining the interior wall of the Convention Center. The use of light and shadow highlights the negative space within the photo.

Eleven-year-old Katie Cox took advantage of the reflective, vertical position of a glass-paneled apartment building. “My Best Photo,” with its skewed view, represents an edifice on Ocean Boulevard across from Bluff Park.

Maliena Brodsly, age 12, photographed the corner of an older building through the branches of a tree in bloom. Brendan Williamson, age 10, took an image of a flag atop a building while it was blowing in the wind. And, Sarah Flores, age 11, created an homage to surrealist photographers everywhere with “The Forbidden Door,” an image of contrasting pink and turquoise tones surrounding the void of a shallow entranceway.

Many of the photographs portray familiar places that many have seen here in Long Beach. The difference — despite the obvious in regards to the artist’s age — is the perspective in which the photograph was taken. There is a freshness to these works, a sense of fun that tends to lack in some works that exist today. LBMA’s exhibition offers inspiration and pleasure simultaneously without preening. It’s worthwhile show in every sense of the word.

The exhibition ends Sept. 28. The Long Beach Museum of Art is at 2300 E. Ocean Blvd. Visit www.lbma.org or call 439-2119.