There is a new and growing trend in this year’s Annual Student Awards Show: modern art with electronic components including sound, video and music as a means of expression.

Featuring artwork ranging from photography to sculpture, the awards show is now in progress at Sacramento State in the Robert Else Gallery in Kadema Hall. This year, 34 students have submitted their work in the show and 47 pieces are on display. Many students were able to have two of their pieces accepted into the competition.

The annual event allows students to enter their work in a competition to give them a sense of real-world art exhibitions. As in the professional world, their work will be critiqued by art experts and awards will be given to students with the most appealing pieces.

Jason Kodani, senior art major at Sac State, is one of the students whose work is on display in the Else Gallery.

Kodani created his work entitled “The Light Illuminating Darkness” out of oil painting on canvas. Kodani finished his artwork a year ago over a period of time, taking him an estimated two to three days to complete in total.

Kodani also serves as attendant to the gallery during hours of operation and says students come to see what is new this year.

They are generally interested in the work, they like the diversity and quality of the work,” Kodani said. Kodani also notes that students aren’t critical of the art, they like to come and see the different mediums on display which he says includes the bizarre and unusual.

The gallery is open through Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m. for the campus community to experience what the students have submitted for the show.

The show was installed in the Else Gallery by Kevin Ptak, the art department’s instructional technician and former Sac State student.

In addition to the show, an art history essay competition is set to be judged by Susette S. Min, assistant professor in Asian American studies and art history at the University of California, Davis. Judging for this award will take place during the award show reception on Feb. 22.

Three local high school teachers are judging the show this year: Allison Stiles, art teacher at Mira Loma High School; Jeffrey Carter, art teacher at Folsom High School; and Annie Murphy Robinson, art teacher at Sacramento High and former graduate of the Art Department at Sac State. Professor Rachel Clarke, a member of the Art Department at Sac State, helped to choose the judges.

“We pick judges who have experience in the visual arts,” Clarke said. She said the judges have an extensive past in dealing with the arts and are experts in their own rights.

The judges measure each piece individually on its ability to create the biggest impact. There are a variety of art mediums on display for this year’s show to be judged, including photography and new media, such as electronics, painting, drawing and sculpture.

Students were required to submit a form in December and enter their pieces by Jan. 31 in order to be eligible for the competition.

Each student was allowed to submit as many as three art pieces for the show. They usually have at least one piece that is selected to be in the show, Clark said.

Dean of the College of Arts Jeffrey Mason will announce the winners at the reception.

This year’s prize, the University Art Product Award, was provided by the University Arts, an arts and crafts supply store located on Marconi Avenue. The award will be dispersed as four individual certificates, each worth a total of $150 and good at the University Art store. The prize will allow art majors to acquire more supplies to further their work in the arts.

Clarke encourages students who have not seen the show to stop by and see what their fellow students have created.”It shows the best of what the art students of Sac State are doing,” said Clarke, adding that it also represents the variety of students on campus and their talents.

And that is exactly what this show is all about: variety. Not all students in the show have to be art majors. The award show is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as those representing a variety of majors, Clarke said.

“It’s a great show, it’s visually interesting,” Clarke said. “I’ve been seeing these shows for six or seven years, and I think this is a nicely balanced group.”

Clarke said this year’s art show is especially interesting due to the variety of mediums, including a piece submitted by a student that represents how some forms of modern art uses electronic components.

As a result of showcasing their work, students have an opportunity to be a part of the real-world experience of art competitions.

“It’s a morale boost for the students and gives them a sense of the exhibition world and the competitive nature of the exhibition world,” Clarke said.

The art work featured in the awards show will be displayed through Friday.

Robert Else, for whom the gallery was named, will be acknowledged at the reception for his contribution to the Art Department. Else, a former art professor at Sac State and chair of the Art Department, died last month.

For more information on the awards show, visit www.csus.edu/arts/else.

Isela Reyes can be reached at [email protected]