Thursday, Sep. 8, was the debut night of San Diego Mesa College's 2016 Faculty Art Exhibit.
In this exhibit, art was showcased from different professors for Mesa College from all fields of expertise to highlight the work of those helping students get to where they want to be when they earn their degrees.
In particular, one piece of faculty work stuck out specifically that had a genius construct behind its existence.
Professor Juan Carlos Toth's piece titled "Fuck Up This Painting (No, seriously my friends. Fuck. This. Shit. Up.)," was an oil on oil canvas painting meant to completely draw in its viewers.
Toth's intentions were for gallery and exhibit viewers to partake in the creation of his art using supplied oil sticks to draw their thoughts, in that moment of looking at the red background. This gave free range to anyone inside the exhibit to express themselves however they felt, and gave new meaning to the phrase "Art is in the eye of the beholder."
The inspiration for Toth's piece came partially from the current political situation falling over the United States. Toth believed that due to the frantic-ness of the political world, everyone feels some way about it and figured that people could put their thoughts to art to explain how they're feeling on any subject.
Within an hour of the exhibit being opened, the formerly solid red canvas became covered in a multitude of colors and designs from not only students attending the gallery, but also from other faculty artists there to showcase their work, as well as children accompanying their parents, giving many different views into different perspectives and age ranges adding their own piece of the art. By the end of the first night of the gallery being open, the oil pens were worn down from the eager expressiveness of the gallery viewers, and the piece itself was covered from top to bottom in different strokes, pictures, and words giving light to the different feelings in which every person adding on was feeling in that moment. Toth plans to replace the pens potentially daily and watch the evolution of what was his blank canvas as the days go on for the gallery.
What I had found most interesting about this piece was the deliberate freedom in which anyone and everyone had in part with the original canvas. During a chat with Toth in the middle of the gallery, there seemed to be no worries as to what would be put onto the piece with his name on it. His theory seemed to only be that he wanted everyone partaking in the somewhat communal drawing to not care about how they expressed their input as long as they were putting a part of themselves up there for all to see much like he did.
Overall, the concept was rather enlightening in a way to get people to take part in the arts and find a way for them to express themselves however they seemed fit.
To see the gallery yourself, visit the Mesa College D-Building Art Gallery Patio. Hours for Monday and Tuesday are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, you can visit the San Diego Mesa calendar page.
