MHCC FACULTY EXHIBIT SHOWCASES ART & EDUCATION
Updated: 9 hours ago
MORE THAN ART ON THE WALLS
MHCC's annual faculty art exhibit highlights the creative work of instructors while giving students opportunities to learn how galleries operate and artists communicate through their work.
By James Van De Mark
The Advocate
Mt. Hood Community College’s annual faculty art exhibit gave students a chance to look at different types of artwork and enjoy refreshments and snacks. Students walked around the gallery, shared their thoughts about the artwork, and learned about the different ideas behind each piece.
The exhibit includes different types of art, such as sculpture, drawing, ceramics and more, showing that art instructors continue working on their own projects while teaching students.
The Visual Arts Gallery hosts about nine exhibits each year. These include student artwork, exhibits from regional high schools and work from artists who have shown their pieces nationally and internationally. Admission to the gallery is free and it is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“The Visual Arts Gallery is not only a fine art gallery; it is also a teaching tool that we use to show and instruct our art students on how to display, how to apply for exhibits throughout the region and nationally.”— Nathan Orosco, MHCC visual arts instructor and gallery coordinator
The gallery is not just a place to look at art; it also helps art students learn skills they can use in the future. Students can learn how to set up displays, prepare gallery walls, organize exhibits and apply to have their work shown at other galleries.
Nathan Orosco, a visual arts instructor who has taught at MHCC for about 18 years, is also the coordinator of the Visual Arts Gallery, the only art gallery east of 82nd. He helps organize exhibits, works with artists and makes sure the artwork is ready to be displayed. Orosco said the faculty exhibit is usually the first show of the school year and gives students and community members a chance to see the work created by their instructors.
“The Visual Arts Gallery is not only a fine art gallery; it is also a teaching tool that we use to show and instruct our art students on how to display, how to apply for exhibits throughout the region and nationally,” Orosco said.
“We consider the arts a visual language, much like reading, writing, singing, music.”— Nathan Orosco, MHCC visual arts instructor and gallery coordinator
One of Orosco’s pieces in the exhibit is called A Small Anchor. The artwork uses everyday objects to express ideas about what is happening in the country, including economic problems, political disagreements and uncertainty about the future. This piece includes several bags hanging from ropes and arranged to look like an American flag, along with a small anchor. Orosco explained that the bags represent the personal and cultural baggage people carry, while the anchor represents the small amount of stability people may feel during uncertain times. This piece gives people a chance to think about how artists can use ordinary objects to express bigger ideas. Art does not always have to be a painting or drawing. Sometimes, the objects themselves can tell a story or send a message.
9 EXHIBITS ANNUALLY
MHCC's Visual Arts Gallery hosts approximately nine exhibitions each year, featuring student artists, regional high schools and nationally and internationally exhibited artists.
VISIT THE VISUAL ARTS GALLERY
HOURS: Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
ADMISSION: Free
LOCATION: MHCC campus, Visual Arts Gallery
“We consider the arts a visual language, much like reading, writing, singing, music,” Orosco said.
Orosco encourages students and community members to visit the gallery and support the artists. The exhibits give new artists a chance to share their work and help visitors see things from different perspectives. The gallery gives students more than just a place to view artwork. It helps them learn about the art world, develop useful skills and understand how artists use their work to communicate ideas with others.
Check out the Advocate interviewing MHCC artists on our Youtube channel at https://youtu.be/-5ox2owAERc?si=k4iY3Grs-EH95cqp.
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