Art exhibit spotlights Pima artists

By Ana Ramirez

Photos courtesy of PCC Center for the Arts

As the dog days of summer linger, people seek new ways to entertain themselves while staying cool. One way to beat the heat is to visit the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery at Pima Community College’s West Campus Center for the Arts.

From Sept. 7 to Oct. 22, the gallery will exhibit “Portraits,” featuring works by Louis Carlos Bernal, Ann Simmons-Myers and Hirotsune Tashima. Admission is free.

'Self Portrait,' Louis Carlos Bernal, Douglas, Ariz., 1978

Bernal, an internationally known photographer, taught in the art department at PCC for 17 years before a fatal bicycle accident in 1989. Simmons-Myers directs PCC’s art photography program and Tashima is PCC’s director of ceramics.

What will attract people to the exhibit? “A wonderful sense of humanity, a sense of intimacy that makes you think about the individual,” Simmons-Myers said.

Many of the portraits on display have never been shown to the public and will be available for sale, she said. Proceeds will benefit the Bernal Photography Scholarship fund.

Gallery talks on Sept. 23 and Sept. 29 will provide a chance for artists and audience to interact.

The Sept. 23 event will include a reception from 5-7 p.m. At 6 p.m., Simmons-Myers will discuss her portrait photography and Bernal’s work. Other participants will be Bernal’s daughters, Lisa Bernal Brethour and Katrina Bernal, who accompanied their father on many of his photography outings.

Simmons-Myers, who was friends with “Lou” for nearly 10 years before his accident, called Bernal a spiritually gifted mentor.

“It’s important to keep his work out there and exciting to show new work,” she said.

Never-before-seen images by Bernal will include color portraits and interiors he photographed  from the 1960s through the 1980s that show a firsthand perspective of barrio life.

'Louise Serpa," Ann Simmons-Myers, Tucson, 2009

Simmons-Myers will exhibit color photographs taken during a recent sabbatical. The portraits honor the lives of her fellow Tucsonans in their desert hometown.

“My job as a photographer is to document my times,” she says.

'Organic Fisherman,' Hirotsune Tashima

Tashima will show self-portraits from an “Organic Banana” series, a metaphor that developed from the relationship the artist has with his Japanese culture.

During a gallery talk Sept. 29 from 2-3 p.m., Tashima will explain how he uses the banana as a symbol for everyday life.

“I want to look at the better side of the things,” he said. “I wish my work to give a little happy moment.”

Gallery hours are Monday and Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The gallery is also open before most evening performances at the Center for the Arts theaters.

For additional information, visit www.pima.edu/cfa or call curator David Andres at 206-6942.

FYI

What: “Portraits” by Louis Carlos Bernal, Ann Simmons-Myers, Hirotsune Tashima

When: Sept. 7-Oct. 22
Where: Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery, PCC Center for the Arts, West Campus

Admission: Free