Hosted in Playa Vista at the CenterPointe Club, the 18th Annual Holiday Art Show for the Culver City Art Group took place on Nov. 9 and included the presence of artist David Wolfram as this year’s judge.
A total of 20 awards were given out, recognizing the work and creativity of a wide range of artists exhibit opportunities around the South Bay and greater Los Angeles area.”
In the members’ theme category, abstract patterns, the winners were: first place for Craig Schoenbaum, second place for Roslyn Wilkins and third place for Richard Rownak’s “Jewel.” Special awards included the winners of the Richeson Award for oil, acrylic, pastel Pamela Waddell, Allison Foster and Leroy Carter.
The Richeson Award for pastel presented by Allison Foster went to Marion Wong while local retailer Samy’s Camera certificate went to Richard Rownak. The Peoples’ Choice Award went to Maria Kurtz; the Rice-Foster-Hensley Artistic Achievement Award went to Pamela Waddell and Barbara Golbin.
“I have only been a member for six years and we have a real good group,” Rownak said. “A lot of art competitions segregate artists based on whether they are oil painters or watercolor or acrylics or photography artists. We compete all together. We do not break it up by different forms of art as others do.”
Members of the CCAG enjoy their holiday competition and hope that the group’s presence in the city can emphasize the importance of art to any community.
“I see the existence of a thriving art community as a means of communication between the artist and the community as well as the members of that community with each other,” Culver City Art Group Secretary John C. Robinson, Jr. said. “The artist, through his art, is expressing his view of life and world around him.
The community in experiencing his art gets to evaluate his art and their response to that art. Whether they consider it good art or bad art, whether it moves them or leaves them indifferent, the viewing public is given the opportunity to recognize their own worldview in the response to the art.”
Wilkins considers art as much a part of the human experience as anything else and hopes that the presence of art will continue to grow throughout the community.
“One could say without art we are not human. As far as I know, cats and dogs don’t have art shows, so maybe that is what separates us from the animals,” Wilkins said. “I know monkeys and elephants have been known to ‘paint’ but only with the coercion of humans, so that doesn’t really count!?”
For Wilkins, there is an artist in everyone.
“Most, if not all, children start out life as artists. What kid has not spent hours with a box of crayons or colored pencils?” Wilkins said. “Nobody has to give a four-year-old finger painting lessons. Creating art is an instinctive desire that only dissipates with society telling us that we need to grow up and concentrate on more serious and important agendas. I believe all adult human beings would be much happier.
