What some may not know, however, is that he’s a graduate of Cal State Long Beach with a degree in fine art photography. Not only that, but his work is featured in the current exhibition at Gallery Expo in Bixby Knolls, and his photo “Ocean Bunker” took top honors at this weekend’s Urban Ocean Festival, taking place at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

“For the past few years now the Aquarium has been doing some great art events,” said Kelly, “and I had been interested in submitting work, but never did until now. I submitted four images, each very different, but encompassing my concept of the ‘urban ocean.’

“When I got the email [from the aquarium] I quickly glanced at it, thinking, ‘Cool, I got in the show,'” Kelly said, “but, when I actually opened it, I was surprised to find I had won first place for the photography category! The images depicted scenes of the ocean with a kind of ‘human interruption.’ Not grand vistas of beautiful beaches or cascading waves, but more utilitarian, like a location but not a destination.”

The images Kelly submitted were part of his existing portfolio, taken in Indonesia, Thailand and California. 

 “I have been a profesional photographer for about 12 years,” said Kelly, “and have taken my camera with me everywhere. I am also a big fan of the ocean so the hard part was choosing the best images.”

Below at right, Kelly’s “Ocean Bunker,” which earned him first place in the photography section of the Urban Ocean Festival’s art contest.
 
Kelly’s love of photography began at an early age, when his family moved to Europe. “We did as all Europeans do and traveled over the summer,” Kelly explained. “[We took] camping trips, mostly to France and Italy. I wanted pictures to show people where I had been, so my Dad bought me my first camera when I was about 7. It was a 1984 L.A. Olympics commemorative 35mm. I shot casually until I took a black & white class in High School.

“After hating college for a few years as a biology major, then as a communications major, I realized I could be an art major and take all the art classes I wanted.bout half way through my fine art degree I started getting work doing head shots, and studio work.”

Kelly then began getting work as an architectural photographer, working for various construction companies. “That doesn’t sound as awesome as it was. The companies build skylights and polymer elements, so I was called in to shoot buildings like the Broad Contemporary at LACMA, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and the Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas. Imagine having these entire buildings to yourself for several hours, laying on the floor or climbing around in the rafters to get the best shot. It was a lot of fun.”

Still, his love of fine art photography led him to discover that there were few opportunities for him to exhibit his work locally.

“In my last year and a half of college, when I had a collection of work piling up in the garage, I was frustrated to find that there were very limited outlets to show and sell work at the school,” explained Kelly. “When I started poking around downtown and in greater Long Beach, I found even less, so I started making my own opportunities, organizing shows in empty buildings and trying to build on any event I could find.

“Over the past few years that has been echoed, it seems, throughout the City, and the art scene is slowly growing, building roots. Still, I have been so involved in the art administration side of it that I have not been very productive as as artist, and have shown very little of my own work until very recently.”

Kelly believes that the art scene in Long Beach has yet to become “established.” 

“That means that Long Beach is pretty low on the totem pole for experienced and successful artists. It’s going to take a lot of work showing emerging artists and slowly building our reputation before we start pulling big names and the attendance to appreciate them.

“A lot of successful artists live in Long Beach but show in L.A. and Orange County,” continued Kelly. “Long Beach does a great job of showcasing its emerging artists, and that is something we need to build on to gain momentum and establish strong foundations. If we continue to aim for the clouds we will continue to fall short.”

Kelly feels that Long Beach is appealing to artists, in part, because of its geography. “It has everything L.A. does, but in a smaller, manageable footprint. Everything you need is always right there. For me, at least, there is always another opportunity just over the horizon.

“I have been able to do a lot of really good work here that I don’t think I would have been able to do anywhere else,” Kelly said. “I would have had to get a crappy nine-to-five job and not been able to point my efforts at building community through the arts.

“I know a lot of artists who need that ‘comfy’ space in order to create their work, a space they feel is theirs. I think it is easy for people to carve out their own space in Long Beach.”

—