Kirkman Amyx returns to CCSF

Arts and Entertainment

A four-decade retrospective traces photographer Kirkman Amyx’s path from City College pupil to a profession in industrial and positive artwork, now on view at Ocean Campus.

City College college students and college are invited to expertise industrial and visible pictures created by Kirkman Amyx. The exhibition showcases 4 a long time’ value of his work. 

Each part within the exhibition is organized to show his exact consideration to element. “They all have different stories behind them, different purposes,” Amyx mentioned. “Photography can mean so many things, and have different purposes”. 

“10,000 Dice CMY” is likely one of the collection on show, utilizing cyan, magenta, and yellow cube as a part of his knowledge visualization initiatives. 

In this assortment of pictures, Amyx is rolling 10,000 shade cube, capturing the cube rolls with the digital camera pointed straight down.

 The pictures are then composited collectively to create a brand new {photograph} utilizing Photoshop. The outcomes of the images create a special perspective for the viewer utilizing shade and form.

Amyx has labored independently with promoting companies, design companies, native companies, and native manufacturers like Anchor Brewing, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, and Old Potrero Whiskey.  

When he initially began working with Anchor Brewing, Amyx collaborated with the corporate’s designer. Shortly after, the advertising supervisor entrusted him with full inventive management over the initiatives. 

Amyx’s highschool images instructor sparked his curiosity within the artwork medium and instructed the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. However, the value to attend was too costly. Instead, his images training began at City College. 

City College was pivotal in making his choice to pursue a profession in images. The affordability and accessibility of City College on the time have been good for him. 

“I looked around the Bay Area to find the best program for photography, and City College stood out by far the most vibrant with a lot of depth,” Amyx mentioned. 

He acquired a Photography Pathway Certificate from City College in 1980, and within the following 12 months, Amyx acquired a Photo and General Pathway Certificate at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California.

It was in 1985 that the chance to check on the ArtCenter College of Design got here to Amyx. Through a scholarship, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction in images. 

After a few years working professionally, he returned to highschool in 2006 to earn a Master of Fine Arts in images from San Jose State University. Currently, Amyx serves as chair of the Photography Department at Sierra Community College in Rocklin, California.   

 Sarah Christianson, school and photograph curator of the gallery,  believes it’s essential to carry folks like Amyx to City College for college kids to listen to and see a direct and sustainable profession in images. 

“By presenting a retrospective of Amyx’s work, we’re able to show our students the trajectory of his career and how he has operated within the commercial and fine art worlds of photography,” Christianson mentioned.  

 “We hope this exhibit will show students some of the pathways available to them, as they figure out how to navigate and build their own creative careers,” she added.

As of press time, the Photography Department is anticipated to host Kirkman Amyx for a gap reception on Thursday, Feb. 5,  from 4 -7 p.m. His exhibition has been on show in VARTS 160, at Ocean Campus, since Jan. 19 and runs by way of March 16, 2026.