The LaGuardia Community College family has once again turned the camera on itself. Over the past two semesters students in LaGuardia’s Commercial Photography program took photographs of their classmates, school faculty, staff and, when possible, their families and friends in an attempt to find the collective face of one of the most diverse colleges in the country. The fruit of their collective labor will be on display next month when the photo exhibition, “Faces of LaGuardia; LaGuardia’s Family,” opens Oct. 16 in the LaGuardia Gallery of Photographic Arts.
LaGuardia’s Director of Photography Scott Sternbach said the exhibit, subtitled “A Look into LaGuardia’s Extended Family Beyond the Classroom,” include 72 entries submitted by more than 40 students, with a few submissions shot by alumni.
“Most classes in the photography program were given a related assignment to prompt the students to get out and work on the project,” Sternbach said. Entries were also solicited on hallway posters, on the department’s Facebook page and via email.
Students approached fellow students, faculty and staff members and asked permission to photograph them and their extended families. Some did photographic studies of their families.
LaGuardia students come from 157 countries and speak 111 languages.
Photographs in the exhibition cover the gamut of subjects, styles and sizes.
“Participants used digital and analog cameras,” Sternbach said. “They shot individual portraits, group portraits, journalistic essays and alternative approaches. The results are seventy-two photographic images ranging in size from smaller framed pictures to poster sized to multi-panel installations.”
A panel of experts chose the exhibit images, which includes a video slide show created by student Bianca Anglero that chronicles how her family reacted to and recovered from her mother’s death.
Anglero’s film will be played on a continuous loop on a gallery monitor.
The Faces of LaGuardia is a semi-annual competition run by the Photography Department. Participants compete to have their work included in the exhibit and an accompanying catalogue.
Opening ceremonies will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 2 in the LaGuardia Gallery of Photographic Arts on the third floor of B building at 30-20 Thomson Avenue, Long Island City.
The Faces of LaGuardia exhibit will be open through Dec. 31st.. Hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday.
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