Images captured by Pierce College Media Arts Department students as part of a documentary photography class associated with the Getty Center will be on display starting Monday, March 21 in the Pierce College Art Gallery.

An opening reception will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, March 21. The 40 to 60 photographs will be on display through Thursday, April 21. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

In addition to the images at the Pierce College Art Gallery, there will also be podcasts of interviews with each of the participating photographers. The podcasts were conducted by philosophy students enrolled in Multimedia 802, taught by adjunct instructor Jeff Favre. The podcasting students were part of a learning community and are enrolled in both Multimedia 802 and Philosophy 40 (Art in Philosophy), taught by instructor Melanie McQuitty. A grant from the Foundation for Pierce College provided the iPod Shuffles for the podcasts.

The showcase is the result of an independent study class built around the exhibition “Engaged Observers: Documentary Photography Since the Sixties.” Students from each of the four colleges participating in the Getty program received a private tour of the exhibition and attended lectures, documentary film screenings and received on-the-spot training from Indian photographer Sudharak Olwe.

While the Getty has offered a similar project with other community colleges in the past, this was the first time Pierce College has been involved. College of the Canyons, East Los Angeles College and Santa Monica College also participated. Pierce’s class was led by Jill Connelly, assistant professor of photography and adjunct instructor Gerard Burkhart.

Each college worked with different topics to help their students decide on individual projects the students would work on over the course of the semester. Pierce College’s topics were “labor” and “identity,” which translated into different variations of the meaning of the words. Projects looked at Haiti following the earthquake, a fire station, an architect, downtown Los Angeles and a gender-queer individual.

The Pierce College Art Gallery is located in Art Department Building 3302. The closest parking is available in Lot 6.

http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/pdnedu/Project-X-Engaged-i-2476.shtml