Carlson Gallery showcases favorite photos
Campus Times
November 13, 1998
Architectural photographer Marvin Rand gave the fall term's second
Carlson Gallery lecture in the Cabaret Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 5. Rand
has won several awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant
and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the City of Los Angeles. Twenty-four
selections from his portfolio are on exhibit in the Gallery until Dec. 11.
Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday and admission
is free to the public.
A cross-section of some 24 of Marvin Rand's favorite pictures are on
display in the Carlson Gallery in Miller Hall.
Rand and his wife of 13 years, Mary Ann Danin, reside, or as Rand puts
it, "We sleep in Marina del Rey, but we work in Venice."
Rand has had his photographs widely displayed for more than 30 years.
His career began in 1943, when Rand was pulled out of college and drafted
by the U.S. Air Force where he served as a photographer until the completion
of his duty in 1945.
"I got a greeting from Uncle Sam saying I was going to the Air
Force," said Rand on his entrance to the service.
In the Air Force, he photographed everything from parts of airplanes
to flight packets used for air strikes on Japan.
"We were attached to the War Room, so whatever the War Room wanted
us to do, we did," he said.
Rand was also able to utilize extremely experimental equipment while
he was enlisted in the Air Force.
"We were the first lab to use color, aerial photography,"
said Rand.
After Rand's duty ended, he re-enrolled at Los Angeles City College,
and was accepted at the Art Center College of Design in 1948. He completed
a photography major in 1950.
Due to his extensive study in the three schools he attended-the Air
Force, Los Angeles City College and the Art Center College of Design-Rand
never had a hard time finding work and has always freelanced.
During his speech to students at the University of La Verne, Rand stressed
that "a college education is very important."
He said that higher education is designed to "make you a full person,"
with all of the general education classes that they offer and he feels that
one should spend the first years of college taking those classes before
jumping into major courses.
"To focus on one particular area ... you'll never know what is
out there," said Rand.
He said that the education one receives "stays with you,"
especially with art.
"You are always thinking of art when when you are making pictures,"
said Rand.
Rand chose a cross-section of his work to display at the Carlson Gallery
to show "bits and pieces of where I am and where I am going."
He feels that, as photographers, "We are always capturing the moment
of time and always in the most beautiful way" and that is what matters
most.
Rand, who has been a recipient of numerous awards, including a lifetime
achievement award from the City of Los Angeles, feels that respect for one's
achievement and recognition for one's efforts is the best reward an artist
can receive.
"Your peer group has voted on you and said 'Hey, your OK' and that
is the real satisfaction," said Rand, "Awards are meaningless."
He thinks that students can "do things they want to do and have
these experiences then they have a great life."
"Everyday is magic and everyday is precious," Rand said of
his own experiences and life.
The Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography is located in Miller Hall and
is displaying Rand's photos until Dec. 11. Admission is free. Gallery hours
are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
