Art Exhibit

By Noe Ramos |Staff Writer|

The exhibit “Beyond The Fences/Mas Alla de los Fences” opened on Jan. 17 at the University of Redlands’ art gallery.

CSUSB professors Thomas McGovern and Juan Delgado, along with professor Raul Acero from the University of Redlands, collaborated to make the exhibit possible.

Delgado specializes in poetry, literature, translation theory and creative writing. McGovern specializes in documentaries and photography.

Acero specializes in ceramics and sculpture art.

“I think art has great power to portray, and illuminate at a very deep and human level, and both these artists are adept at communicating humanistic, important, and poetic ideas about community, identity, and love,” said Acero.

The exhibit was open to the public for viewing on Jan. 17, and a reception was held at the exhibit on Jan. 18. where Delgado and McGovern discussed their pieces.

This exhibit came to be as a result of months of preparation, once Acero was able get into contact with the two professors.

Acero had taken an interest in the community of San Bernardino after he had heard about the shooting that took place on Dec. 2, 2015.

Not long after, Acero had stumbled across an article about the two artists in the New York Times.

“I found them and I tracked them down the we got together and sat down to talk about the exhibit here at the University of Redlands,” said Acero.

Soon after their collaboration started, the three of them spent a weekend installing all of the artwork at the gallery.

“I was looking to reach out from the University of Redlands into the broader community, into the community we don’t interact with too much here at the University,” said Acero.

Being the case, Acero thought it was a great opportunity for to create a bridge for the two communities.

As Acero said, the work that is in this exhibit is a direct reflection of the community and that “these are things that we see every day but we don’t look at long enough to really interact with.”

“I heard about the exhibit from a friend that live next to the University of Redlands and decided to check it out,” said student David Barreto.

According to Barreto, his interest in the exhibit began when he found out there are two professors from CSUSB and a one from the Redlands that were working together to make the exhibit happen.

Barreto is a senior and is a commuter from the city of Highland.

“It’s good seeing two cities working together,” said Barreto.

According to Barreto, a lot of the work reminds him of places close to his home, and that he never thought that simple images can be looked at in a different way.

“The older woman standing at the edge of her fence […] I’ve grown up in the city of San Bernardino all my life so to me it reaches out to neighborhood kids in a sense,” said Barreto, in reference to a piece.

For Barreto, it reminds him of his childhood and the environment he grew up in. For others, it may grab them in a different way.

The exhibit will be open until the Feb. 15.