This is the Vizlub’s second gallery exhibit, and so far it’s members are showing no signs of lightening up. Club president Brandon Jones and members Jason Forney and Tyrone Schieszler showed up in force last week bringing forth tremendous work that is now being displayed in the new (redesigned) Main Gallery 1172 Market Street. The recent remodel of the space lends itself to the work perfectly. Lorraine Woocheke the associate and interum public relations director and Elizabeth Shurtliff facilitated the instillation and the gallery’s new look.
The opening was exciting and brought forth many questions from students and faculty about the amount of work that went into these stunning and breath-taking pieces. As other members of the club will tell you, (some of who had to withdraw from the project due to time and schedules) that this exhibit has been in the making for over a year. It is important to note that the work displayed was completed by full-time attending students who are also working jobs, and interning simultaneously. This gallant effort shows the kind of dedication Ai students have and that you should never give up on your goals and dreams. Tyrone seen to the right here, gave us a magical and impressionistc vision of his time travel landscape taken from the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park. Tyrone has recently returned to Ai again and is looking forward to finishing up his tenure.
These landscapes are large… and the result of several stages of work, including beginning with a plein-air study, done on location (yes painting outside), a tight rendering done after that back in the studo, followed by the tedious transcription of the new transformed drawing to a canvas almost four times larger in size. THEN… painting it in acrylics. ”Good luck with that” many have said, but the knowledge and experience gained by these students about color, rendering, and developing ideas into good practical concept art was irreplaceable. These future concept artists will have this experience under their belt to help them as visual artists in the field in whatever medium they choose. To the left is Jason Forney’s work that was inspired by his bleak view of San Francisco from Treasure Island. This is a huge piece weighing in at 48×36 inches. WOW!
Featured here to the right is Brandon Jones (club president) in front of his work, completed from his study of Lands End. Brandon transformed this already magical location here in San Francisco back to the time of sailing ships battling at sea. As a veteran Brandon reflected on his experiences in conflict and took it to the canvas to produce a stunning transformation of his landscape and time travel concept that would even make “Doc Brown” check his time circuits. Famous American illustrators Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth would be proud of this piece. Nice going “B”!
New school president Byron Chung was in attendance along with many other faculty and students who gave their support and in Byron’s case a full thumbs up of approval! 
Many faculty and staff were surprised to find out that these students were doing all of this work outside of their class work, and needless to say were proud and impressed. “Where do they find all of that time?” you may be asking… and quite simply they make it a priority in their lives and education.
The finished paintings are accompanied by the prelimary drawings and plein-air studies that went into these magnificent pieces. Jason Forney to the left here discusses with his fellow students the process he went through including research, reference photos, and color studies.
Jason loves revision and had countless numbers of drawings and sketches in order to developed his vision for the final landscape painting. Despite his dark futuristic vision of our beloved city, Jason assures us he is an easy going guy with a unique eye for apocalyptic scenes. He is a lover of the music of Tool, and the bands album cover artists, but also has found a recent interest in poetry.
The work is up people, so make sure you swing by the gallery and check out the fine efforts and inspiration of your classmates and students. The exhibit runs through September is definitely worth a second trip to get the finer details and points, and if you see one of these artist around campus share with them your thoughts and feedback. The VIZLUB is for all majors and is a great way to take on fun projects that you might not get to in a class project. Remember your education is your responsibility, so get involved and push yourselves up and beyond. There are many outlets here on campus and you are always welcome to the VIZLUB! See ya at the next meeting (Summer Quarter ‘08: Thursdays, 4-6pm Student Lounge 9th Floor, Trinity Building, weeks 2-9).
Feel the Lub!
