Mt. 91直播 High School Art on Display in Campus Gallery
January 25, 2023 - 04:33 PM
Update: With the exhibition, closed, please view
Through this Friday, art created by students at , the Dual Enrollment High School operated in partnership with the West Covina Unified
School District, will be on display at the Diana Berger Gallery in the northwestern-most part of campus.
The exhibit is entitles Ambient and, according to 12th grader Lauren Pate's text for the program, it "illustrates a limitless environment and a community of imagination, in which each artist can experiment to their heart鈥檚 desire within the safety of their classroom."
Although students at MECA take both high school and college-level courses (taught
by Mt. 91直播 professors), the art produced was made in high school level art classes,
according to Phoebe Millerwhite, the Director of the Gallery.
鈥淚 was shocked,鈥� Said Art Professor Dan Van Clapp, who brought his class over to view
the exhibit. 鈥淲hat impressed me the most was the vast amount of techniques using different
materials that you don鈥檛 normally see in high school.鈥�
鈥淚 think the students and their families didn鈥檛 know what to expect when they walked
through the door,鈥� said Millerwhite. 鈥淚 think every family was blown away and were
saying 鈥業 can鈥檛 believe it looks so amazing.鈥�
鈥淒isplaying it in a professional art gallery makes you view the artwork differently,鈥�
explained Millerwhite. 鈥淎nd the students view their own work differently. It just
changes everyone鈥檚 mindset.鈥�
On the same day and completely by coincidence, as Van Clapp was unaware of the exhibit, he had brought a piece of art that he made in high school, to show his class to inspire his students. 鈥淚 always use that piece for a demonstration for students starting out.鈥�
Genova Cruz, a Business Administration major in Van Clapp鈥檚 Life Painting class, was surprised the art was done by high school students. 鈥淭hose kids are really talented. I hope they keep going.鈥�
She was struck by the acrylic pieces, hung in layers, that gave the art a 3D effect.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen that technique. I was like 鈥淲hoa!鈥�
鈥淭hat was an inspiration for this class,鈥� said Van Clapp.
The multimedia room of the Gallery featured video produced by the high school/college
students, as well. 
Millerwhite said the 鈥淎bstract鈥� pieces were recycled art and used cabinets that were
being torn out of classrooms at the Academy. 
鈥淎 lot of the work is really clean looking and creative,鈥� said Animation major Aneesa Yameen. A number of pieces were in the Anime style, which struck Yameen.
鈥淚t almost looks like concept art, or the cover art for a story.鈥� 
Administration of Justice major, Kimberly Barbosa remarked while looking at the pieces, 鈥淏ack in high school, I couldn鈥檛 do that.鈥�
Julia Leon, a Plant Sciences major, was particularly impressed. 鈥淪eeing everybody do this,鈥� as she gestures throughout
the room, 鈥渋s amazing.鈥�
Pointing to a digital piece of a koi pond, she said, 鈥淭hey did this perfect. You can
see the detail on the lily pads.鈥�
鈥淭hey all tell stories that I want to learn more about,鈥� said Yameen.
Next week, the exhibit will come down and the Gallery will begin installing an exhibit
by Roberto Benavidez, who was recently profiled in a .
Millerwhite indicated that the MECA exhibit is now available as a virtual reality (VR) exhibit for online viewing.
While there are no future plans for another MECA show, Millerwhite did indicate 鈥淚
think this is going to become a regular thing. Winter is a perfect time to do this.鈥�
Visit the Diana Berger Art Gallery on its website.