Professor of Photography and Digital Imaging
I I have been teaching here at Cal State University, Long Beach since 1997. Previously I served on the faculty of the Graduate School of Fine Art at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and the Photo Art Program at UCLA. If you'd like to know more of my history please feel free to examine my resume.
My education in fine art gave me the visual and critical skills to participate in the process of art making and support myself with a camera as well. Making art and making a living do not have to be at odds with each other. The Romantic notion of the starving artist is outdated and destructive. Artists need to be engaged with their work and society -- not totally consumed and exhausted by the task of survival in a market society.
I have exhibited my photo based art work internationally and my work can be found in the permanent collections of museums and universities here and abroad. Over the last twenty years I have photographed over 100 album covers, directed music videos, shot magazine covers and pursued other commercial assignments while producing my art work.
Thoughts regarding teaching art (today): Know your self. Understand the culture. Take risks.
The appearance of things is as important to me as the meaning. Retinal pleasure, the joy of seeing, is what originally stimulated my interest in visual art -- and still does -- along with intellectual substance and meaning. A balance between the thought/concept of the piece and the psycho-visual experience of the object/installation/piece is critical to the production of significant work... for myself.
(gray@csulb.edu)