Intermediate Photography students had the opportunity to present their photos at the opening reception of “Underexposed” at Moorpark in the Humanities and Social Sciences building last night.
“The students worked really hard on their photos,” said Professor Bill Short, the instructor of Intermediate Photography. “They all seem to enjoy showing off their work.”
Short believes that it is important for the students to express what is important to them and to let others see it. He has been working at Moorpark for over 20 years, and last fall semester he introduced the idea of having a student art gallery.
Although the space could only fit around 10 people at the most, the art-filled room was constantly packed as students, family and friends came and went throughout the evening.
The Intermediate Photography students hung around their art as patrons asked about the meaning of photos.
“All of our photos represented exploring diversity, but we all showed it in different ways,” said Chris Keating, a 17-year-old Intermediate Photography student from Camarillo High School. “I wanted my photos to show the underrepresented.”
Keating says that he has found his niche in coupling his photography with literature, and he decided to combine his photos with quotes from the novel, ‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison.
‘invisible Man’ is about an African American man in the Harlem Renaissance who realizes that because of the color of his skin, society deems him invisible and therefore, underrepresented.
Keating’s photos portray a young black man with a shirt that reads “Respect” and overalls with a patch that say “The Dream,” largely meaning to display “respect the dream.”
“It’s empowering because the way that he’s standing in the photo and how he’s just looking straight at you makes you see that he’s realizing his identity,” said Keating.
This portrayal of empowerment seemed to be a common theme with other photographers as well. In fact, Kelsey McConville, a 32-year-old Photography major, decided to exhibit her photos from the March For Our Lives march in Los Angeles.
“This movement hits close to home and to my heart,” said McConville.
She expressed that her 3-year-old son will be attending school next year, and she wants him to be safe. She thought it was great that so many different people from different backgrounds came out to the march to fight for safety.
“The students photograph what matters to them, and recognizing those issues that evokes personal importance allows them to open up,” said Short.
The “Underexposed” art gallery will be continuing until April 13 in the Flamingo Gallery in the HSS building, room 129. It will also be open for students to observe on Multicultural Day on April 10.
