This weekend at Arts! Arcata the work of Don Anton’s advanced photography class will be shown at the Upstairs Art Gallery in the Umpqua Bank. The collection, titled Obscura Illuminati, is the work of 14 HSU students. The diversity of the photos is representative of each photographer’s idiosyncratic eye.
An exhibition oriented around HSU’s advanced photography class has not taken place in two years. The show is the result of the efforts of Joseph Wilhelm, director of Meridian Fine Art, HSU photography professor Don Anton and the students of advanced photography.
“I value the student perspective,” said Wilhelm. “There is an edginess to student art. They have different concerns.” A 1989 HSU graduate with a degree in studio art, Wilhelm has remained active in the Arcata art community. Wilhelm understands the challenges of bringing the university and the community together. He views Arts!Arcata as an event that could bridge that gap.
Umpqua Bank provides an intimate space for a gallery. As you walk up the stairs to the second floor, the building transitions from a bank into the Upstairs Art Gallery. As a small regional bank, Umpqua makes it a point to be involved in the community. The fact that the Upstairs Art Gallery is a venue devoted to art, rather than a local business or restaurant that displays art on the side, is rare in this town.
A week before the unveiling of Obscura Illuminati, eight of the 14 photography students gathered in Wilhelm’s personal studio. They discussed the logistics of the exhibition and took a closer look at Wilhelm’s work. Located in a remote region of Blue Lake, the studio is spacious. The initial space is pure white. Deeper in the studio, the walls turn black. The contrast provides an environment that is conducive to Wilhelm’s work and emulates the divergence of dark and light in his photography.
For some students, this will be their first exhibition. “It’s been pretty exciting because it is my first show,” said studio art major Joey Hiller. Hiller spoke of the pressure that comes with displaying a single photograph that represents a larger body of work. Hiller explained that his photograph, titled “Looking Into Myself,” is part of a series “illustrating the process of why I take the photos I do.”
Anthropology major Nicholas Seckington’s photographs will also be on display at the gallery. Concerned with the union of HSU and the Arcata community through art Seckington said, “the exhibition was a beautiful collaboration of the two.” Seckington went on to say that the exhibition will “bring HSU artists out into the community where they normally wouldn’t be seen.”
Obscura Illuminati is an opportunity to view the world through the intimate eye of 14 artists. Anton said, “The images on display are as diverse and meaningful as the photographers who’ve created them.” In a flyer about the event, he said, “They give us a significant perspective on the issues confronting our next generation of artists.”
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