![\"cynthialujan3\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/cynthialujan3.jpg\")
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Above photo courtesy of Tokotah Ashcraft. All other photos courtesy of\u00a0Cynthia Luj\u00e1n<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cynthia Luj\u00e1n is a boon to the Long Beach arts community, as a graduate of Cal State Long Beach\u2019s (CSULB) Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting program and the Arts Council for Long Beach\u2019s Special Projects Assistant. It\u2019s only fitting that this visual artist, whose paintings are rife with vibrancy in color and movement, be given the chance to show her work at The Allery. Her installation will debut this Friday at Bixby Knolls\u2019 First Fridays event.<\/p>\n The work Luj\u00e1n created for the outdoor art space is a continuation of her Ardent series<\/a>, upon which she laid the first brush strokes last year with Ruminations<\/em>. The series is a three-faceted concept, where visually, Luj\u00e1n references photographs she takes of public spaces, philosophically, she considers how public space is ephemeral and emotionally, as the artist confronts the inevitable, the fact that nothing lasts forever.<\/p>\n Luj\u00e1n’s\u00a0<\/em>Ruminations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI try to use a lot of construction or public signage or signifiers in these pieces because I find it ironic that as a society, we constantly want to battle entropy,\u201d she explained. \u201cI kind of see public maintenance as rituals: fixing potholes, repainting old walls, restoring buildings\u2013decay is inevitable. Ultimately, I see the series as an exploration of alter\u00ad-space using paint.\u201d<\/p>\n Movement, another major characteristic in the series, implies time, says Luj\u00e1n. Her paintings give off an immediate sense of spontaneity, as if they just happened to be that way, sans the time, thought and hours of labor needed to create each one. As far as her process goes, she collects the imagery she plans to reference then lets her gut decide what to do.<\/p>\n Luj\u00e1n\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0Alter-Space III.<\/p>\n \u201cI do plan ahead a general composition and I have a tendency to a certain color \u00adpalette…but I like spontaneity to take over,\u201d she said. \u201cI lose myself and also lose track of time while painting. So, it feels good to let it take its natural course[…].\u201d<\/p>\n While Luj\u00e1n\u2019s educational background may be in fine art, over the past year the artist has been creating a Public Art Archive of all the public art located in Long Beach as part of her duties at the arts council. Meanwhile, growing up, she made connections with a handful of artists who made graffiti and sticker art through Flickr, something she\u2019s always wanted to do despite her inclination to practice traditional painting.<\/p>\n Luj\u00e1n\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0Alter-Space II.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to think I\u2019m not an art snob […] and I really hope I never become one\u2013so public art is important to me and one kind of art that I\u2019ve always been pretty passionate about,” she said. “[…]So it\u2019s really nice to be able to get my work installed temporarily for three months and out there for people to see.\u201d<\/p>\n As far as how showing her work in an alley is concerned, Luj\u00e1n\u2019s opinion is blatantly for just getting your work out there. A handful of Long Beach artists have used the rotating exhibit<\/a> that is the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association\u2019s innovative idea to show local artists\u2019 work, especially during First Fridays when Atlantic Avenue is busy with foot traffic.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/small> <\/p>\n \u201cSome people think traditional galleries are the only way to go, especially academically speaking\u2014but I think if you have an audience who supports you in your endeavors\u2014anything goes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For more information about this upcoming First Fridays event, click here<\/a>. For more information about the artist, visit her website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cynthia Luj\u00e1n is a boon to the Long Beach arts community, as a graduate of Cal State Long Beach\u2019s (CSULB) Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting program and the Arts Council for Long Beach\u2019s Special Projects Assistant. It\u2019s only fitting that this visual artist, whose paintings are rife with vibrancy in color and movement, be given the chance to show her work at The Allery. Her installation will debut this Friday at Bixby Knolls\u2019 First Fridays event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":67295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[948,949],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-1923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-bixby-knolls-first-fridays","tag-the-allery","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1923"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=1923"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ruminations\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Ruminations.JPG\")
<\/p>\n![\"Alter-Space](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Alter-Space_III.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Alter-Space](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Alter-Space_II.jpg\")
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\n\n\u00a0<\/div>\nLong Beach Artist to Unveil Public Art Installation at Bixby Knolls First Fridays Art Walk<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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