By Stacy Cruz
Staff Writer
Many Costa artists create works of art that bring life to otherwise blank walls, but Costa seniors Chad Sumen and Tyler Stroh went further, taking a new direction on art in their exhibition, “Experience.”
“Experience” took place in the Costa Art Gallery April 25-29. The artwork featured in the show was literally off-the-walls, unlike common painting exhibitions where artwork is hung up. “Experience” included sculptures, projections and thematic music, which was all meant to take the audience out of the traditional exhibit experience.
“Our goal is to transport viewers into a space disconnected from reality, where art is approached from a unique angle,” Stroh said. “We welcomed audiences to disregard the expectations of reality and simply experience what was there.”
According to Stroh, the theme of the show was greatly dependent on technology. The artisits brought this theme to life by surrounding audiences with representations of technology, including powerpoint projections that made a statement about teenagers’ overuse of modern electronics and compact disks that hung from the ceiling and reflected light. These installments were meant to overwhelm viewers and show them a portrayal of their dependence on technology.
“Our peers constantly surround themselves with various forms of media and have become slaves to technology,” Stroh said. “We wanted to present this theme because they inspired the exhibit and can relate to its meaning.”
Another inspiration for the show was the opportunity to showcase unique art, such as the disks hanging from the ceiling and large prisms in the center of the room.
“We wanted to take art off the walls and into an interactive space, and we joined that with our fascination with experimenting with projectors,” Sumen said.
Stroh and Sumen plan to create more art shows after “Experience.” They have created a Facebook page to announce any upcoming shows that they will hold at Costa. Stroh and Sumen say that “Experience” had a great turnout and was a good learning experience for those that participated in the show.
“Our art show gave us insight into the logistics behind putting together an exhibition,” Sumen said. “Now we understand how much time, money and energy actually go into an art show.”
Both Stroh and Sumen plan to continue to produce art after they graduate Costa. Sumen will be studying ceramics and industrial design at San Jose State University, and Stroh plans to study fashion merchandising as well as fashion design at Parsons the New School for Design in New York.
“We hope to put together and another exhibition on display at Mira Costa when we are on a break from college,” Stroh said.
Apart from “Experience,” Costa art teacher Katherine Martin has three other upcoming art shows in May, including a week-long photography show starting today, a Fashion show May 28-June 3 and the Advanced Placement Studio Art show June 4-10.
“The shows start with a teacher, class or group of students designing a concept,” Martin said. “I look forward to every show because of the talented students at Costa.”
According to Martin, these shows will include drawings from Jennifer Mireles’ Ceramics 1-2 class, photography from Chris Lee’s class, a student-run fashion show, including sketches and clothing, and a show designed by the AP Studio Art class.
“The upcoming shows are more traditional art exhibits,” Martin said. “However, we are planning more installation art as seen in ‘Experience’ in future shows,” Martin said.
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