ASCC artist Regina Meredith (front, seated) is seen here with some of the Art students whose work will be included in the show "Welcome to the Drawing Board", which opens this coming Monday with a reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the ASCC Cafeteria. The show will remain on display in the Cafeteria through Friday, April 25th. Back row (l-r): Teuila Villarica, Desmond Applin, Adi Tuatoo and Meghan Tennison. (Photo: J. Kneubuhl)
ASCC artist Regina Meredith counsels art student Meghan Tennison. Meghan is one of the student artists whose work will be included in the upcoming show "Welcome to the Drawing Board", which opens this coming Monday in the ASCC Cafeteria with a reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The show will remain on display in the Cafeteria through Friday, April 25th. (Photo: J. Kneubuhl)
ASCC artist Regina Meredith (front, seated) is seen here with some of the Art students whose work will be included in the show "Welcome to the Drawing Board", which opens this coming Monday with a reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the ASCC Cafeteria. The show will remain on display in the Cafeteria through Friday, April 25th. Back row (l-r): Teuila Villarica, Desmond Applin, Adi Tuatoo and Meghan Tennison. (Photo: J. Kneubuhl)
ASCC Student Art Show Opens Next Week
April 14, 2014
By James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer
Visual artworks typically start off as just an idea on a drawing board, and a group of Art students at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) have expanded on that truism to come up with “Welcome to the Drawing Board” as the title of their student art show that will open on Monday, April 21st in the ASCC Cafeteria and will remain on display through Friday, April 25th. The show will include the work of current and potential Art majors, and is open to the public.
“The title refers to us being the younger generation of artists in American Samoa,” explained Rata Afalava, one of the student artists whose work will be included in the show. “The drawing board is where things begin, and we see ourselves as very much at the beginning stage of our involvement with art.” Some who have viewed Afalava’s work, which has been displayed at previous local exhibitions, might disagree with his self-assessment, but there is no denying how the work of the ASCC art students reflects the influence of their times as much as the great artists of the past were influenced by theirs.
“We artists are driven in part of the trends of the day, while trying to keep true to our personal vision of the subjects we choose to create,” reflected Regina Meredith of the ASCC Art Department. “There has to be a degree of tradition in the manner of application of paint to canvas, but once that is understood, then genre and subject matter evolve naturally with the times.” Meredith said most of the works on display will be two-dimensional works on canvas and paper, but added that some of the participating students have yet to reveal their entire mediums, which leaves room for surprises.
Student artists confirmed to participate in the show include Afalava, Dominic Taylor, Teuila Villarica, Zach Faulkner, Roj Singh, Edmund Manoa, Adi Tuatoo, Meghan Tennison, Tanu Luani, Desmond Applin and Ashley Hisatake. “Putting together an art show for the College and the community helps students develop a greater awareness of what it takes to be a productive artist, capable of creating work and interacting with an audience,” said Meredith. “It develops artistic skills, people skills and communication skills, which are essential in the art field where it never hurts to be an extrovert.”
The opening reception for “Welcome to the Drawing Board” will take place Monday, April 21st in the ASCC Cafeteria, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., and will feature live music and light refreshments. Thereafter, the artworks will remain on display for the rest of the week. Business hours for the ASCC Cafeteria are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. For more information on “Welcome to the Drawing Board”, contact Regina Meredith at 699-9155, ext. 460.