San Diego City College student photographer Ale Laguna uses her art as an outlet for her life experiences, seeking connection in the process.
A raw black-and-white print of a woman seemingly peeling off a piece of their skin by Laguna was not only selected to be showcased at City College, but honored with a first-place prize.
“For a while with my photography, I was exploring women in more vulnerable positions,” Laguna said of her award-winning photograph. “My goal ultimately is to feel like I’m connecting with a client or myself, my friends or family. Diving deeper. That’s my favorite part.”
Laguna’s work is among those included in the City College photography department student showcase “Silver and Pixels,” which has been extended through Sept. 12 at the Luxe Gallery.
The annual showcase acts less as a contest and more as an artist outlet for students, despite prizes being awarded. It also functions as a low-stakes way for City photography students to submit portfolios, as well as digital and darkroom photos.
City students’ artwork was selected to be presented in the Luxe Gallery, located on the fifth floor of the V building at 1061 16th St. Additional prizes, like film and gift cards, were awarded at the gallery’s opening in May from local photography shop George’s Camera.
Open to the public since then, including during summer break, “Silver and Pixels” includes nearly 75 original pieces and invites art lovers to share the space with student artists who may be seeing their work in a gallery for the first time.
Curated by assistant professor Caity Fares to include “some juxtaposition and some images that naturally referenced themselves to one another,” the showcase lends space to highlight the individual pieces, as well as the exhibition as a whole.
“Whether it was the gaze in a portrait leading our eyes in the gallery to another image that seemed conceptually connected to that portrait or I might pair black-and-white or color images together that seem to be naturally in conversation with one another,” Fares said.
For Lori Wivart, a photography major, connection to the earth with a focus on landscapes helped win her the Best of Show prize for her landscape portfolio.
Wivart’s “Portfolio of Nature” encapsulates coastal beauty and includes the vastness of the desert in an eight-piece featured art display.
“I love to get out into nature,” Wivart said. “Even in black-and-white you can still see the beauty.”
The contrasts of the student work – be it natural landscapes, San Diego hidden gems or colorful portraits – highlight the artists’ creativity entwined with a love of picture taking.
For the showcase selection, the photography department looked outward to avoid bias and include another professional eye. Faculty tapped San Diego Community College District multimedia specialist David Brooks to award the top submissions and assist in the selections that comprise the showcase, according to Fares.
“I was immediately taken by the variety of student submissions,” Brooks said in a phone call with City Times Media. “There are a lot of photographers who are happy to just take photos, but when you are a new creator, it is helpful to see your work on a wall and in front of people.”
“Silver and Pixels” may be coming to a close, but the photography department and Luxe Gallery will host another opportunity for students to showcase their work later this fall.
Titled “TEO City,” the next show will be part of a dual exhibition seeking to highlight the reality of many Latinx/Chicanx people in the greater San Diego area. The exhibition opens on Oct. 17 from 4-7 p.m. and will run through Nov. 21.
Submissions for “TEO City” are open now. For more information, contact Partricio Chavez at [email protected].
