Have you ever stopped to notice the beautiful photographs hanging all over the library? You probably passed by it multiple times in the last month. But did you ever stop to appreciate it?
Or maybe a more appropriate question would be, did you know that the library holds art exhibits for local artists?
“The DVC library is an art venue,” says Ruth Sison, the librarian in charge of instruction and exhibits.
Throughout September and October, the DVC library hosted an exhibit for Ryan Russell, a fourth semester DVC student and film photographer.
According to Sison, the DVC library hosts a variety of exhibits from students, faculty and community members in order to “communicate ideas [and] stimulate thought,” with topics ranging from “art, culture, aesthetics, diversity, literature, history, politics and current events.”
This fall, the exhibit titled “The Wild and Robust Life of Ryan Russell,” displays 27 pieces of black and white film photographs of Russell’s ongoing collection. The pieces are arranged chronologically, going all the back to his first experience with film photography in spring of 2011 to as recent as a couple months ago. Russell’s work comprises mostly landscapes and his dog, Pepper, is featured in several shots.
“I find beauty in the simple things in life,” Russell explains as he describes the purpose for his exhibit. “I don’t think that you need a whole lot going on in the picture; sometimes just a simple picture can have a whole lot of meaning”.
As cliche as that sounds, the famous proverb does state that “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
But rather than focusing on the process of taking the photos, Russell states that “the process [of developing them] is what [he] live[s] for and [he] would not have it any other way.”
He describes three difficult trials he went through in order to complete the piece titled “Masterpiece”.
“I had to focus the picture projected on a wall, tact together thirty pieces of paper on a board, tape them together in groups of four, print, and develop individual picture… all [of this process took place] in the dark room,” Russell said.
In addition to the interesting story behind “Masterpiece”, Russell shares that his favorite pieces are the ones with unusual details. There is one called Pepper in which Russell’s dog sits in the middle of a grass field that turned out to be black in the photo; there is another one titled Bridge Spot, printed on old fog paper that gives a grey tint to the photo.
Surprisingly, this is Russell’s first exhibit. He started photography through an introductory class during his first semester at DVC. He “went crazy that first semester” and fell in love with developing photos, spending “24/7 in the dark room.”
Russell credits his first photography professor, Alice Shaw, for his interest in film photography. According to him, she is “fun and exuberant” and has “taught [him] so much.”
Even after Russell’s exhibit, the library will continue to hold art exhibits. “My upcoming exhibits include art from College Park High school and a painter, Boris Lyubner,” Sison said.
Andy Kivel, the interim library director aims to create a good environment for those in the library, saying, “the library’s art exhibit program helps create a welcoming, interesting environment where students can hopefully find a quiet, comfortable place to study and maybe be inspired to new creativity while they complete homework and contemplate the art on the walls.”
The library encourages students interested in submitting their own work to fill out a proposal and contact the them for more information. Art enthusiasts are admonished to be on the lookout for more local art exhibits in the future.