APPLY
VISIT
GIVE
Art and Design Professor Draws Inspiration from Brazilian Roots
*By Larry R. Hygh, Jr., Ed.D.
“Right now, I’m thinking about the challenge of being a designer who wants to make art…make my art be a design, and make my designs be art” says Victoria Gerson, Assistant Professor in the Art and Design department at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH).
Gerson uses collage as a medium for responding to socio-political issues within the classroom and as a personal practice. In her work and research, she explores localized techniques, traditions, and cultural heritage. Currently, she is teaching web design, app design, and interactive design. “I hope to redesign the web and interactive parts of our program.” She added, “I’m working on a book proposal about teaching ethics in the graphic design classroom.”
She cites her teachers as her greatest influences, “All of the design teachers that I had that encouraged me to do more, go to school for design, go to grad school, continue on the path.”
Gerson comes from a family of Brazilian teachers and Jewish-American printers who inspired her to become a designer and educator. “I am a Brazilian American born and raised in Miami, second generation.” Her own creative practice is grounded in a design practice from Southeast Brazil.
Gerson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Florida, and a Masters in Graphic Design from North Carolina State University. In her graduate work, she explored emerging technologies as a tool for educational purposes such as climate change communication and science education. “My first teaching position was at University of Houston where I was a scholar in residence for a year.”
She is a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) National, AIGA Design Educators Community, University and College Designers Association (UCDA), College Arts Association (CAA), and Letterform Archive.
What’s the best part of being at CSUDH?
“I’m really enjoying being in a smaller school. It has a lot of pros, feeling connected to the dean and other faculty…The people, the staff and faculty have good energy, the campus itself has good energy, it smells really good (landscaping and nature). It has a good vibe.”
What advice do you have for students?
“Apply for everything, all opportunities that are available. Go for them. Consider everything that happens in school as part of your development.”
What do you like doing outside of being a professor/hobbies
“I enjoy yoga and fitness activities like walking. I have my own design practice on the side with different projects I’m taking on. I love to go to the beach. Growing up in a coastal town I like to go the beach.”
What is your favorite quote?
"I've learned so much from my mistakes, I'm thinking of making a few more!" (Terri Guillemets, Comedian and Actress)
Website
www.VictoriaGerson.com
*Hygh is an Assistant Professor in the Communications Department teaching in the Advertising and Public Relations degree program. Prior to academia he spent 20 plus years as chief communications officer in The United Methodist Church. Visit him on the web at www.LarryHygh.com.
