Timothy Robert Smith Mural Unveiling
LCAD UNVEILS MURAL BY MFA IN PAINTING ALUMNUS AND FINE ARTS FACULTY MEMBER , TIMOTHY ROBERT SMITH (2013)
At 1:00 p.m. on the afternoon of Monday, February 12th on Laguna College of Art and Design’s (LCAD) East Campus, located at 2265 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651, the College unveiled, Upside Downtown, a 10’x33’ mural by LCAD MFA in Painting alumnus and Fine Arts faculty member, Timothy Robert Smith (2013). The mural is scheduled to be installed at 1:00 p.m., Monday February 12, 2018
The project was initiated by Smith who asked LCAD President, Jonathan Burke if he’d like to replace an older mural that had been in place for many years.
“Jonathan liked a painting I had done a couple of years ago called Upside Downtown but asked me to do a Laguna Beach version,” Smith said. His proposal was accepted and, over the summer, he and six LCAD students were given a painting studio on LCAD’s Main Campus in which to create the mural. “We have so many talented painters at LCAD, not just in the Drawing and Painting major, but in Illustration, Game Art, Graphic Design + Digital Media, and Animation, too,” he said. “Though everyone has a slightly unique painting style, it was gratifying to see all these different personalities come together to create one cohesive image.”
Burke selected Smith’s dramatic multi-perspective style because it symbolizes LCAD’s commitment to infusing observation and description with a creative and contemporary sensibility. Smith’s work has been exhibited at Copro Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica and has featured in JuxtapozMagazine.
“By engaging professional, successful and recognized artists such as Timothy Robert Smith, and partnering them with our own students, a number of positive outcomes have impacted our LCAD community, as well as our Laguna Canyon neighbors,” Burke said. “Not only has the area been beautified, and professional-quality artwork presented, but the learning experience was a tremendous opportunity for our students.”
Smith describes his style as based on a modern physics theory that posits multiple versions of reality exist in one space. “Everyone has their own perception of reality,” Smith said. “I try to see the world from everyone’s POV at once and all these visions come together. My goal is to get people to think about what’s actually happening outside of their own limited perspectives and to demonstrate how these pieces fit together to create the bigger picture.”
Smith now will install an immersive, interactive project as part of “The Forest for the Trees” at Lancaster Museum of Art and History to open in May 2018. “I’m taking multi-dimensionalism to its next level by using 2D flat painted walls and 3D sculpture with sound and video,” he said.
Assistant Muralists included LCAD students and alumni: Benjamin Askevold, Emily Bertucci, Sansanee Boonyad, Cheyenne Earp, Shannon Fody, Miguel Gonzalez, Stella Magestro, Travis Sparks, Amanda Velasquez, and Laura Weinberger.