As the semester draws to a close, there is still an opportunity for American River College students to catch a glimpse of some art on campus before summer break.
The Kaneko gallery’s “Homosocial” exhibition runs through May 16.
The exhibition features pieces by Northern California artist Brian Van Camerik.
Van Camerik says the term “homosocial” is an academic one, which describes two people of the same gender interacting in an intimate way. Van Camerik collects old photographs of homosocial couples and is entranced to see them exhibiting that behavior.
“In this exhibition, I seek to protect these images of men hugging men and women embracing women,” Van Camerik said in an email to the Current.
The works range from lavishly framed silver gelatin photos placed in wood shaped like that of cathedral windows surrounded by eye-catching paper, to large intricate reliquaries resembling churches.
“In many world faiths, reliquaries are specialty designed containers that hold relics- hence, relic/reliquary,” Van Camerik said. “But rather than containing the tooth or skull of a saint, the sacred relics I place in my constructed reliquaries are vintage homosocial photographs.”
Expanding “Homosocial” is one goal that Van Camerik would like to see come to fruition.
“I imagine “Homosocial” developing into a loose collective of artists that, at its core, maintain the vintage photography collection and create artworks inspired from the old photographs,” Van Camerik said. “I’d like to see “Homosocial” become a banner that other artists work under and the project become synonymous with queer art.”
Van Camerik said that his experience organizing the exhibition was fantastic, and that the lecture and reception which followed was also pleasant.
“I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my work, research and artistic process before the students at the American River College,” Van Camerik said. “The students were very astute, asked great questions and I really felt heard after giving my lecture. I truly want to thank the art department at ARC for organizing the opportunity to speak before the students.”
Patricia Wood, director of the Kaneko Gallery, said that she was taken aback the first time she saw one of Van Camerik’s pieces.
“I thought it was very unique,” Wood said. “So, then I went home and searched him online, looked at the website, and I was really moved by it because it talked a little bit about the history of oppression of the LGBTQ community.”
Wood said working with Van Camerik was excellent.
“He’s great to work with, he’s really professional,” Wood said. “He’s gone above and beyond, giving us spreadsheets and he brought the work here for us to see as an example.”
Some would dub this the inaugural exhibition for “Homosocial,” and that ARC was lucky to be able to host the artist, according to Wood.
“We’re very fortunate because I think this is really important work and I think at some point he’s probably going to be too famous for us,” Wood said. “We’ll get to say, ‘hey we featured this art.’”
