Art Contest Full of Heady Competition

It was an art contest that asked students not only to combine their sculpting and creative talents, but also to use their heads--literally.

The Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA accepted entries from 500 students countywide based on the theme of sculpted headrests. Such headrests are popular forms of folk art in part of Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands.

“It was strange when I told my friends or my family what I was doing,” said Ilana Gatti of Grant High School in Van Nuys, who won second place among high school students. “They asked, ‘Why a headrest?’ ”

The 16-year-old junior created a mushroom-like headrest decorated with stars, flowers and hearts--some of which glow in the dark. The idea, she said, was to commemorate friendship.

The top three winners at the high school level were from the San Fernando Valley and Glendale.

Along with winning entries from college and middle school students, their creations will go on display Jan. 23 beside the museum’s own collection of headrest art.

Under the contest rules, students were to first sculpt their headrests, and then make sure that the works could hold up under the weight of their heads.

Glendale High School junior Estineh Mailian won the top high school award for making from clay a bronze and gold pillow with miniature human figures attached around it.

Titled “Gulliver’s Pillow,” the work is based on Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels,” a satire whose main character wakes up surrounded by tiny people with very small minds.

“They told us to make something I would like to sleep on,” said Estineh, 16, an advanced art student. “I thought it was real comfortable to sleep on the pillow.” Estineh’s award came with a prize of $500.

San Fernando High School senior Geronimo Ramirez put together two walls of clay, sprayed graffiti on each side and called it “My Reality.” The former graffiti tagger earned a third-place award of $100.

“I used to write graffiti before and that’s why I did it,” said Ramirez, 19, who quit tagging to stay out of trouble.

Students from Culver City and La Crescenta took the top three awards at the middle school level, and Santa Monica Community College and UCLA students took the top awards at the college level.