Another standout from the film portion of the exhibition was Shawn Petersen’s Sanding on Water. His film explores the personal and the historical. Using 35mm film shot by his family as a child and graphics and surfing footage from both modern and archival sources, Shawn intertwines these threads, creating a narrative that speaks of consumer culture and how it has oversimplified the authentic spiritual experience of surfing. Most visually interesting was his modern water footage shot off the coast of Santa Cruz, California, where Shawn was raised.

After leaving the auditorium, the audience adjusted their vision to the bright light of the gallery. On the walls, floors and ceilings, the remaining 40+ projects of the thesis class were displayed. Immediately, it was apparent how much time, energy and money was put into each and every handmade book, poster, installation, and interactive piece. I was inspired by what many of the students had accomplished.

Scanning the rows of projects in front of me, I was immediately drawn to Molly Skonieczny’s book. It looked scholarly: thick, and bound in brown cloth. Throughout the course of class, Molly sought advice from both paid and unpaid sources in an effort to determine if paying for advice really makes sense. Faced with never-ending decisions, she argues that we spend a considerable amount of time and effort seeking advice that we often never intend to follow from a variety of sources. At the same time, we rarely question the value, usefulness and function of the advice giving and seeking process in our lives.’ Through her use of fine typography, beautiful diagrams and witty writing, her book made for one of the most interesting pieces.

Between bites of my angularly-cut deli wrap I spoke to some good friends I hadn’t seen since graduation, as well as former teachers. After one year, the dread of Thesis was still real. But to quote a currently-on-trial creator of media culture I undoubtedly believe “It’s a good thing.” Ultimately, the stigma surrounding the program is outweighed by the fact that students go through the process of research, proposals, revisions and design to produce some amazing work.

CCA Undergraduate Show 2004
Place: California College of the Arts, San Francisco campus
Address: 1111 Eighth Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: +1 415 703 9500
https://www.cca.edu