Artistic beauty through a child's mind

Walking into the University Union Gallery felt like walking into a scrapbook. Glitter, paint, text and photographs of children created a room-sized collage that documented the development of a child’s mind.

“Making Learning Visible,” the art exhibit occupying the Epicenter from Oct. 4 to Oct. 22, displays the artwork of children from the Orfalea family and ASI Children’s Center.

The new student supervisor to the fine arts, Kiki Kornblatt, said the children’s center brought her the artwork and sorted it by classroom.

“The idea for the show is that the samples show the steps in learning through art and exploration over time.the artwork serves as a timeline so that we can visually see the progression of the children’s learning,” Kornblatt said.

Interspersed with finger paintings, hanging orbs and paper cup collages were photographs of the young artists and quotations, such as “a bug,” that perfectly reflected a child’s growing mind.

Farther along in the progression of learning was a geography lesson in the form of a three-dimensional felt model. On the wall behind that was a yellow, blue, black and green lump of China-the country.

The gallery was full of the beauty of abandon: unhindered, raw art only children can create.

Kronblatt said this quarter the UU Art Gallery will feature a variety of artists, from children to business and history majors.

“Although there is an art gallery already on campus (in Dexter, building 34), it is used specifically for Art and Design students. The UU Art Gallery is used for artists of any major, and even guest artists from the community. It is important to allow students to showcase their talents and their passions, whether or not they are in the art department,” Kornblatt said.

One of the artists slotted for Oct. 30 to Nov. 17, business sophomore Jessica Coker, said people should come see her show for the very reason that she’s not a professional artist.

Coker’s sketches, oil paintings and possibly acrylics will be hung with the work of journalism junior Mollie Helmuth. Their show “In the Spotlight” consists of portraits of friends and celebrities. Coker describes her style as realism, mostly taken from photographs.

“Sometimes the way the photograph is taken just grabs my attention and I just want to draw it,” Coker said.

The last exhibit of the quarter will showcase the photography of history senior Marlene Blum. Her show is entitled “Art and Lies: There’s no such thing as an autobiography, only art and lies,” a line she borrowed from Jeanette Winterson’s book, “Art and Lies.”

“I loved that quote because that’s how I see my photography.anything I could write or say or do could not capture me as completely as my photography will,” Blum said.

She has done a lot of work with homeless people and one study on ex-convicts.

“My favorite thing to capture is people and especially people with a different look,” Blum said. She describes her style as “a focus on realism with an urban twist.”

Kornblatt said she would like to see a broad turnout at the art gallery this quarter.

“Even if someone isn’t interested in the specific style, content or artist there is always something intriguing and inspiring that will catch your attention.”

Anyone interested in displaying their work during winter or spring quarter can reach Kornblatt at uugallery@asi.calpoly.edu or 756-1112.