New additions to Art in the Union showcase different mediums, themes

This article was updated at 4:44 p.m. on May 7.

Student artwork decorates the walls of Kerckhoff Hall and Ackerman Union, which upon closer examination, were created between the years 1972 and 2014.

On Wednesday, the reception ceremony for this year’s additions took place. The four pieces, which incorporate a variety of mediums, themes and source material, were chosen from 36 artworks submitted by both graduate and undergraduate students for the annual Art in the Union contest at UCLA.

Raymond Juarez, the curator of the contest, said the annual contest began in 1972 as the Student Commissioned Art Program, which was created with the goal of giving UCLA students a chance to share their work. This year, the majority of submissions were created by non-art students.

Joli Lam, Devin Le, Ray Barsante and an anonymous artist have won the $600 prize for 2015 and will see their artworks added to the collection displayed around campus.

Joli Lam, “Let There Be,” Watercolor and gold leaf paint

Joli Lam, a fourth-year psychobiology student, said when people asked her if she was excited to be finishing college, she realized she was sad to be leaving. She decided to participate in the Art in the Union contest as a tribute to her memories at UCLA.

“I thought it would be really cool to leave a little piece of me behind in the hallways of UCLA,” Lam said.

Lam’s artwork, “Let There Be,” features Royce Hall and Powell Library as its subjects. She sketched both buildings using pencil, then painted them with multiple layers of watercolor and added accents with gold leaf paint.

“The buildings here are not only very beautiful, architecturally, but also representative of everything you can find here,” Lam said. “Powell Library represents academics and Royce Hall represents the culture and the people you meet here.”

Lam said she associates Royce Hall with memories from the annual Chinese American Culture Night, which she has performed in for four years as a member of the Association of Chinese Americans at UCLA.

Through extracurricular activities including ACA, the Vietnamese Community Health Project and the athletic department, Lam has gained experience in graphic design. She said she wants to work in a creative career in the future and take advantage of any free time to draw and doodle.

“I enjoy making art for other people,” Lam said. “A little birthday card here and there is good enough.”

Anonymous, “Glitter Gallery,” Gouache and acrylic

Juarez said in his eight years of curating the Art in the Union, this year’s contest was the first time an artist wanted her identity to stay a secret.

“For personal reasons, the artist of ‘Glitter Gallery’ requested adamantly that she stay anonymous,” Juarez said.

The first-year fine arts student’s “Glitter Gallery” is a gouache and acrylic painting depicting forest scenery in pastel colors. At the contest’s reception, Juarez said the artist told him that in creating the work, her mind was filled only with the vague impression of being alive. She also said that her own expectation to capture life in one small painting was hubristic.

“(It’s) just a pile of glitter hanging on a gallery wall pretending to be something greater,” the artist told Juarez.

Devin Le, “The Optimists,” Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop

After being inspired by UCLA’s “We, The Optimists” video series, third-year Design | Media Arts student and Daily Bruin designer Devin Le made his own addition.

“They have different word combinations like ‘we thrive’ and ‘we succeed’ but they didn’t have any that said ‘we create,’” Le said. “It was interesting how while that word wasn’t included, (the Art in the Union contest) revolves around UCLA students creating images.”

The words “we create” are featured in the cloud of words in “The Optimists.” He created the piece, the only design-based digital media artwork at the reception, after learning about the contest from the Transfer Student Facebook page.

Like Lam, Le incorporated iconic UCLA symbols into his piece. He began by drawing a graphic of Royce Hall using Adobe Illustrator, then transferred it to Photoshop and finished the piece.

“Royce Hall is not only an icon of UCLA, but also a good work of architecture in the gothic style,” Le said. “I also wanted the Bruin Bear to be the largest part of the image.”

Le said the inspiration behind “The Optimists” was the 2014 UCLA Transfer Day, on which he chose to come to UCLA instead of UC Berkeley because of the school’s campus and community.

“I hope my artwork will help students reflect on their own lives and how they can make a difference in their community,” Le said.

Ray Barsante, “Empire of Lights,” Etching and aquatint intaglio print on paper

Third-year art history student Ray Barsante’s “Empire of Lights” depicts a dark tangle of houses-like shapes.

The piece is an etching and aquatint intaglio print on paper. Barsante photographed residential construction around his home then used it to create the black-and-white print.

Although Barsante didn’t attend the reception, on the label beneath his painting, Barsante wrote that the inspiration behind his piece was the residential development that has been taking place in Southern and Central California, which both fascinates and frightens him.

“The uniformity and rapidity in which these complexes take form is remarkable to me as a work of art that deserves documentation,” Barsante wrote.