This is a review of the gallery at OCC located in Costa Mesa, California
Orange Coast College Art Gallery
A gallery is a place where many different types of art can be shown and it can be shown in a variety of ways. It is up to the people who work in the gallery to decide where the art work gets placed and how the lights will accentuate the piece. The lighting plays a big role in the installation process because it can play up the drama of a piece or make a piece subtler. Key aspects galleries should address are the general layout of the gallery, the use of color, lighting, how labels are placed, the quality of installation, hospitality of employees, and does the gallery have an educational impact. These aspects will be applied to the Art Pavilion at Orange Coast College.
Walking through the front doors to the gallery you have the option to go into two rooms. The one on the right is a smaller room that is a shaped like a square while the room to the left is much larger and has two quarter walls that help break the space up. The larger room flows smoothly from the front of the gallery to the back of it while the smaller room feels like it just pushes you out back through the door.
The gallery in the bigger room was painted white which helped some of the artwork pop off of the walls. The use of color was appropriate to the exhibition that it was showing and the lighting helped create softer areas where it was needed as well. I thought the lighting was done well especially since this particular gallery had several skylights that let in natural light as well as the artificial from the bulbs. The skylights are a plus to have because natural light gives pieces a different emotion at different times of the day and I would have liked to see them being used a little more.
Labeling is a big part of having a show in a gallery because it lets its viewers know whose work they are looking at and what kind of medium was used but unfortunately there were no labels up when the class went to visit this gallery. Their show didn’t open until later that night so they were still getting things together for it which is understandable. The quality of their installation was amazing and it was nice to see that one of the artists actually helped build something to make it easier for them to install his work. The use of magnets shows that there was care put into each installing process so the work does not get damaged. Each art work takes a lot of time to ensure that nothing gets damaged while it is being framed or hung.
For many people, walking into a gallery is nothing special but to many others it is a life changing experience. Being greeted and introduced to the gallery can help this experience. Having someone who has a passion for art be at the front desk to greet people and answer questions can help somebody else start to feel passionate about art as well. The front desk person at OCC was amazing. She greeted us right away with a smile and made us feel welcome and she answered every question that was thrown her way. She made me feel comfortable while walking through this gallery because I knew that I could ask her anything without feeling weird or awkward. Having this person definitely helps with having an educational impact because having someone so knowledgeable about the place and showing enthusiasm can help start a love for anyone who walks through those front doors.
The OCC Art Pavilion was an incredible gallery to see because it was so big and even had to separate spaces in it. The staff there was just as amazing and to see how excited they were while talking got me more excited that this is what I chose to pursue with my education and career. I don’t think that there is anything I would change about this gallery because it was so breathtaking to me.