Arts, Etc.Fine Art

Turning old memories into art

Executive Vice President, Phil Hawkey, alumnus Bill Neill and his wife Charlotte Neill, along with Photography Department Manager Kevin Bowman talked to René West via video conference. A reception was held for her on April 23 in the Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography in Miller Hall. West spoke to gallery visitors from her office at Amarillo College in Amarillo, Texas. West’s exhibition, titled “1929,” is on display in Miller Hall. The exhibit will run through May 24. / photo by Stephanie Arellanes
Executive Vice President, Phil Hawkey, alumnus Bill Neill and his wife Charlotte Neill, along with Photography Department Manager Kevin Bowman talked to René West via video conference. A reception was held for her on April 23 in the Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography in Miller Hall. West spoke to gallery visitors from her office at Amarillo College in Amarillo, Texas. West’s exhibition, titled “1929,” is on display in Miller Hall. The exhibit will run through May 24. / photo by Stephanie Arellanes

Marla Bahloul
Staff Writer

The “1929” exhibit displays images not commonly portrayed during the early 20th century.

Composites of young, adventurous women depicted a common animated spirit amongst the youth of America in the 1920s.

A reception for René West’s “1929” exhibit was held at the University of La Verne on April 23 in the Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography.

The exhibit is a collection of images of items composited into a scrapbook.

The photograhs in the scrapbook were taken by a West Texas woman who was known simply known as Bob.

Pages of the scrapbook were filled with photographs and other momentos from 1924 to 1929.

They portrayed a carefree Bob along with her friends.

The pictures displayed an essence of humor, also encompassing the coming of age during the roaring 1920s.

Though West was not physically present during the reception, thanks to the era of technology, and the ability to use Skype she was able to speak to students and faculty throughout the reception.

Skype is a fairly new Web site that allows individuals to communicate with others via the internet through video chatting.

“I found this beautiful scrapbook in a flea market, filled with beautiful images. The book was overstuffed and falling apart, but not a single image, playbill, card or lock of hair was missing,” West said.

She discovered the scrapbook on a Sunday afternoon and bargained relentlessly to bring it down to a price she could afford.

West attempted to create a history to Bob’s photographs.

“I contemplated this woman’s life and tried to put together the story based on the fragments neatly collected and assembled in her red leather, ‘Memory Book,’” West said.

The gallery displayed 20 of West’s images.

The composites were manipulated by Adobe Photoshop, including montages of archival pigment prints on matte paper.

“I would say they took me several days to make,” West said.

“I continued to work on them over a period of time. They’re each different. They’re like little puzzle pieces that just seemed to fit.”

About 12 students attended the reception.

It was a combination of good food and vibrant images that enticed the students.

“The elegance of the images gracefully captivates the viewer,” said Michael Gutierrez, a senior art major with an emphasis on photography.

“The images show the amount of time and preparation the artist put into it,” he added.

“The images encompass more than one type of art, from photography to mixed media, to the obvious collage,” Gutierrez said.

Among the composites were images of two women kissing and a soldier.

West’s creation allowed viewers to relive the early twentieth century through a light not strictly related to war.

The exhibit revealed the fun, quirky side of life through the eyes of an average person.

Snapshots of fashionable girls with the latest haircuts captivated a majority of West’s composites.

Eric Almanza, also an art major was taken away by the images West created.

He was mostly intrigued by the amount of time West put into her work.

“This sort of art takes such an incredible amount of time. What takes her only a couple of days, may take another artist an extensive amount of time,” Almanza said.

“Though this type of art is not my forte, I still am captivated by it,” he added.

West’s exhibit will remain open until May 24.

The Irene Carlson Gallery is open Mondays-Fridays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., or by appointment.

Marla Bahloul can be reached at marla.bahloul@laverne.edu.

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