‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Long Island College Art Competition (LICA) is currently being exhibited in the Student Activities Center Art Gallery, and will be open until March 28. LICA is open to all colleges and universities in the counties of Suffolk and Nassau, and this year’s participants included Adelphi University, C.W. Post, Dowling College, Hofstra University, Molloy College, Nassau Community College, New York Institute of Technology, St. Joseph‘s College, Suffolk Community College, SUNY Farmingdale, SUNY Old Westbury and SBU.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ There were a total of 93 participants: 23 from Nassau, 19 from Suffolk, 16 from C.W. Post, 13 from SBU, 9 from Dowling, 8 from St. Joseph‘s, 4 from Adelphi, and 1 from SUNY Old Westbury. The Grand Prize went to Ko Yu-an from Dowling College for a video installation titled ‘Green Spring.’ First prizes went to ‘The Dinner Guests’ by James Lord (Nassau), ‘Abstract Dyptych’ by Joseph Motroni (SBU) and ‘Daydreaming’ by Matthew Willet (Nassau). Those who received honorable mention include Aimee Rupp (Suffolk), Nikki Walsh (Dowling), Greg Ike (Nassau), Jonathan Carter (Suffolk), Louis Caruso (SUNY Old Westbury), Christina Page (Nassau), Linda Carlsen (Dowling), P.J. Lora (Adelphi), Michelle Eid (Suffolk), Paul Motisi (Nassau), Jenna Matthews (SBU) and Daniel Pesce (Nassau).

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The moment I walked into the art gallery, I was overwhelmed by the colors and intricacies of the exhibit. The talent and caliber were impressive. Each artists’ creativity, poise and style were aptly displayed through their artwork. It was definitely one of the strongest exhibits that I have visited on campus. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The artwork consisted of sketches, paintings, photographs, sculptures, abstract work, traditional landscapes, portraits, and modifications of all of the above. Many different views and topics were explored through the art, including human emotion, politics and statements regarding society. Judging the competition was probably a formidable task. I personally felt that some of the pieces that deserved to win did not get any recognition.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Since I am not a professional when it comes to art, my judgments are based on simple aspects that appeal to me, like color scheme, creativity, the skill that went into its creation, and how well I can interpret what the artist’s purpose was in making the piece. It is easier for me to simply choose what I like and what I like better.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Among my favorite pieces were ‘Roadside Memorial,’ by Matthews, ‘Vanishing Reference’ by Carlsen and ‘Daydreaming,’ by Willet, all which received recognition. On the other hand, many pieces that I personally liked did not receive any recognition. These included ‘Sirloin Half’ by Lauren Colonna (C.W. Post), ‘Envy’ by Patricia Barcia, ‘Cascading Nature (Beata Kruk), ‘Agatha’s Dark Side’ by Carla Arancibia, ‘Man with Cup’ by Vincent Osmers, ‘Left Behind’ by Christina Simons (Suffolk) and ‘Hands’ by M. Quinn (Suffolk).

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Roadside Memorial’ was very touching. The large scale of the piece helped capture the emotions it needed to convey. ‘Daydreaming’ was a beautiful blend of vibrancy, creativity and cleverness. ‘Sirloin Half’ was provocative and said a lot with little on the canvas. The slight blurring in ‘Envy’ added to its content, making it very evocative. ‘Cascading Nature’ had intricate patterns and the concept was interesting. ‘Man with Cup’ was amazing when you consider how much skill had to go into making the collage. The artist was able to capture an interesting 3D effect. ‘Left Behind’ showed that color is not necessary for artwork to be effective. Done solely in pencil, and depending greatly on shadows, it was a wonderful piece. ‘Hands’ stayed true to realism and ‘Vanishing Reference’ was remarkable.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Art is very subjective. There are no rules guarding expression or viewpoints, and so judging it also becomes very subjective. What appeals to one person does not necessarily appeal to another. For that reason, I suppose subjectivity is art’s weakness. All we can really do is maintain an open mind and appreciate all art forms because of the skill, time and effort involved.’ ‘ ‘

‘