The Cerritos College Art Department is currently displaying the 2010 Student Art Exhibition in its art gallery, which features various works by students from the department.

According to a press release by the Art Department, the show includes over 100 works by students that were hand-chosen by instructors in the several art classes on campus.

The exhibition began with an opening reception and award ceremony on April 22.
At the ceremony, awards were given in several categories including drawing, painting, ceramics, photography and computer graphics.

The reception, which was juried by UC Riverside’s Sweeney Art Gallery director Tyler Stallings, gave awards and cash prizes that ranged from $25 for the honorable mention to $200 for first place in each category, according to Sonia Hernandez, the gallery’s file clerk.
Regarding the turnout for the opening night, Hernandez said, “There were a lot of people. I would say that there were a lot more people than last year.”

Hernandez also went on to say, “I also think that the work is a lot better than last year.”
The reception also featured a live performance courtesy of the Cerritos College Music Club.

The exhibition features paintings, sculptures, photography, and even videos and stationery design.

Some works that can be seen in the gallery include Hernandez’s “Foxy Flakes.”
Hernandez’s work is a screenprint of four cereal boxes with a psychedelic design.

“Foxy Flakes” won third place in the John DeMott scholarship award competition.

The exhibition is also displaying a work by Thanya Martinez that is a real-life representation of J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” carrying the same name.

The piece shows two beer bottles, one covered in a paper bag and a copy of Salinger’s critically-acclaimed novel.

Another display in the exhibition was a small television screen showing three different student-submitted videos.

The video screening begins with  Michael Bogdonoff’s “The Hand That Shakes the Mouse.” The short movie tells the story of a young woman who drops her newborn child off at an undisclosed location, only to find out that the child was later picked up by another woman.

The rest of the screening featured an untitled video by Jorge Sanchez and a video by Michael Velazquez entitled “Spirit Quest.”     

Velazquez’s work is a video set in what seems to be a post-apocalyptic world where only a few young people fight to survive.

The movie begins with four people playing “Go Fish” and each revealing weapons and shooting each other shortly thereafter.

Another scene shows three more people pointing at each other, using their fingers as guns and shooting at each other.

One person survives and notices a computer. He tries to log onto his facebook page, only to find out that the computer is crashed due to a virus.

Close to the video display, there are submissions for stationery and logo design.
Some submissions included works by Roan Magpantay and Bryan Xilonzochlit, who provided stationery and business card models for the Chief Executive Officer of Carl’s Jr.
For undecided major Esther Rodriguez, the exhibition was very eye-opening.

“It’s beautiful and it’s creative. You see things that you wouldn’t normally think about,” Rodriguez said.

The exhibition is set to run until May 13 and admission to the exhibition is free.