Arianna Rodriguez
Staff Writer
Fifteen local emerging artists presented their work at the Claremont Art Show held Sunday at the Laemmle’s Claremont 5 theater in the Claremont Village.
Inside, the hallways of the theater were transformed into an art exhibit.
The main event took place in a theater room where soothing jazz music played as the audience took their seats. Some of the artists’ pieces were displayed as a slideshow.
Joshua Elias, curator of the Claremont Art Show, began the presentation by acknowledging the artists who made it this far as the final 15 in a 150-entry competition.
“I juried it blindly and decided to show different types of media at the end,” Elias said.
The presentations of the artists began and the lights dimmed to showcase the art on the big screen.
Artist Yeu Q. Nguyen displayed her artwork of red white and blue lights arranged together to spell ‘“We Are One,” titled “American Vision.”
She said she was inspired by the elections of this past year.
“I was watching fireworks from my balcony and filled with a sense of sadness and wondering if everyone else watching felt the same way,” Nguyen said.
The piece signifies the ideologies people typically see our country behind, and the display of fireworks shows the reality of what we live in, Nguyen said.
Artist Sean Vaccaro, who was trained as a filmmaker before switching to photography, showcased his black-and-white photo of an abandoned parking lot, which included a tall, black lamp post in the middle.
“I try to create an image from a film that you can almost remember.” Vaccaro said.
Vaccaro, who grew up in suburban Massachusetts, said he wanted to capture the empty and hollow spaces of suburbia as something beautiful, he said.
Eric Mecum’s piece had a similar empty space theme, with a brick building, showing a street sign right in front.
His painting on canvas looked from a distance like a photo, but up close, it was a detailed painting.
The artists were pleased to see their work in this context.
“It’s really exciting… to see my work projected on the big screen for everyone to see.” Vaccaro said.
The art will remain displayed in the halls of the Laemmle’s Claremont 5 through January.
Arianna Rodriguez can be reached at arianna.rodriguez@laverne.edu.
