ARTS
8 EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION
International student puts color in black-and-white
ON THE SCENE Friday,
Narihiko Kumagae has only been in the United States for a year but is already winning awards
March 27
The EC Society of Music club will be hosting their Spring Recital tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Marsee Auditorium. The students will be performing in a variety of styles including pop, jazz, classical, and more. Tickets for the event are $10 and they can be purchased at the Ticket Office. All the funds raised will go to the Music Department.
Friday,
March 27
The Torrance Theatre Company is putting on a performance of “The Curious Savage” on Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m. in Downtown Torrance. The play, which also serves as a comedy, tells the story of a widow who was left millions of dollars by her late husband who is sent away to a sanatorium by her family members. The price of admission is $25 and the theatre is located at 1316 Cabrillo Ave in Torrance. Parking is free. For more information on the event, call at 424-243-6882.
Sunday, March 29 The Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center will be hosting the Lunafest Film Festival which focuses on films made by women and catered to women on March 29 at 2 p.m. located at 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd in Redondo Beach. The tickets will be $35 for presale, $25 for students, and $40 on the actual day of the event at the door. For more information, call 424-225-2050.
Jerome Casio Staff Writer @ECCUnionJerome
Imagine yourself in the streets of Los Angeles. You’re walking around. You’re on your way home from work, enjoying a date or just out for a stroll. It’s a beautiful afternoon. The sun’s still out and there are no distractions but the ambient noise of the city until you hear clicking. You look ahead and see a stranger rocking a t-shirt and a dirty pair of Dickies pointing a camera at you – he does so discreetly, but you still notice. Who is this guy? This guy is Narihiko Kumagae, 26, a photography student from Japan. Kumagae, a l s o known as Hiko, has only been in the states for a little over a year, but the impact of his work and personality makes him an honorary Californian. Because of his passion for photography, Kumagae has traveled around the country visiting areas including New York, Portland and San Francisco. There are times when people aren’t too keen on having their pictures taken. “Sometimes people kick me,” Kumagae said. “And I was pushed (in San Francisco).” Thankfully, Kumagae does have a few tricks up his sleeve when he’s aggressively confronted. “Sometimes I pretend I don’t
speak English,” he said. Tim Trezise, owner of Syndicate Barbershop in Long Beach, has been friends with Kumagae for a long time. “He’s just so likable and honest,” Trezise said. “An eager kid that everyone wants to work with. Everyone loves Hiko.” Darilyn Rowan, Kumagae’s photography professor, said that he’s “really at a graduate student level.” “His talent was very obvious,” Rowan said. “He was an exceptional student, very hard working and (produced) beautiful work.” Virginia Chavez, 21, sign language interpretation major, said that most of Kumagae’s work reminds her of photographs from the ‘70s. Chavez is also a friend of Ku m a g a e. Although she only met him this semester, they quickly became acquainted with each other — mainly thanks to his welcoming personality, she said. “He just seems like you can click with him really fast,” Chavez said. “There are only a John Fordiani / Union few people who are like that.” Narihiko Kumagae, 26 an international student from Japan, has been in the United States for only a year When she saw his work online, and is already leaving his mark. Kumagae shoots black and white street photography with his Nikon film Chavez said her mind was blown camera. by the strong resemblance Kumagae’s photos had to rich, blackand-white film. hard to explain, but he mentioned process, Kumagae said that he is ing out in the streets making art “All the shadows come out that he found inspiration in his fa- ready to immediately take photos of his own. But that’s not how he and it looks like black-and-white vorite photographer, Daido Mori- when he arrives at his destination. describes it. film,” she said. yama. Moriyama is also well- However, when he’s been out for “I’m not doing art, but people Kumagae described his admi- known for his black-and-white a while he feels himself gradually in the street are doing art. I’m just ration for black-and-white pho- street photography. “melting” into the city. capturing it,” he said. tography as something that was When he discussed his thought Kumagae said he enjoys be-
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California State University, Long Beach College of Continuing and Professional Education SS_ElCamino2v_Ad1_S15.indd 1
MARCH 26, 2015
3/11/15 1:37 PM Lorinda Owens Ad size: 5.92 in x 10.75 in. El Camino College
New director selected to lead EC’s Center of the Fine Arts Rick Christophersen plans to improve system for the purchasing tickets at Marsee Auditorium and the website to make it more user-friendly Grant Hermanns Staff Writer @ECCUnionGrant
After Bruce Spain retired from the position of the director for the Center of the Fine Arts in September, Rick Christophersen was appointed as the new director in February. Christophersen was previously the Director of Administrative Operations at Chapman University for 13 1/2 years before coming to El Camino. Christophersen describes his new position as an expansion upon his previous one. “I have an expanded role here in the artistic programming,” Christophersen said. “I’m now primarily responsible for the direction of the arts.” Christophersen said he has enjoyed his time at El Camino so far, describing the staff as terrific and very welcoming. He really enjoyed his first day, where the El Camino faculty held a luncheon to welcome him. “It was nice,” Christophersen said. “It was a really good icebreaker for me.” Christophersen said has been getting settled in at El Camino, trying to go around and meet as many faculty members as possible, as well as meet a lot of the students. One of Christophersen’s biggest goals for El Camino is to interact with the students and get their input on what they are interested in. He said also hopes to engage more of the community members around El Camino, in addition to the EC community itself, in order to expand the crowds coming in. One of Christophersen’s goals to help the fine arts division is to improve the ticketing system at the Marsee Auditorium in order to help the local community around El Camino have an easier time getting tickets to events. He also said he hopes to improve the fine arts website, feeling that it could use some polishing and make it more user-friendly. Christophersen has really enjoyed interacting with the professional guest artists, as well as seeing them work with students. “The satisfying part is working with the pros in their fields,” Christophersen said. “And also watching and seeing the students get something out of it [guest artists teaching students].” Christophersen also hopes to really build the season of events well, trying to make sure to spread out the variety of events. “It’s like putting a puzzle together,” Christophers-
Photo courtesy of the Office of Community Relations
Rick Christophersen, the former Director of Administrative Operations at Chapman University, started his new position at El Camino in February. en said. “I really want to make sure to spread everything out, and make it marketable.” Christophersen said he hopes to bring a balance to the programs. “It takes a lot of people to do it,” Christophersen added. “We have a terrific staff to help.” Christophersen has found the location of his office at El Camino both a major advantage and slight disadvantage in his doing his job compared to Chapman University. “The office’s pace is a lot more different here,” Christophersen explained. “At Chapman University, there was a lot more foot traffic by my office. It’s a lot quieter here, which gives me more time to focus.” Christophersen has always wanted to share his love of the arts, and knew early on that he wanted to be on the managing side of the arts. Christophersen hopes to use his knowledge and expertise to help El Camino’s program grow, and to improve the patron experience.