JANA SUMMERS The Timothy Yarger art gallery displays and
sells artwork by Pierre Marie Brisson. Those interested in art are
invited to visit and enjoy, whether or not they plan to buy.
By Kenny Chang
Daily Bruin Reporter
If the Getty doesn’t quite hit your craving for fine art,
then there’s always Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
“Why Rodeo Drive?” one might ask. Unbeknownst to
many, but knownst to some, and now knownst to you, Rodeo Drive
houses a diverse selection of art and antique galleries. Amid the
posh designer-name stores are posh, renowned collections. They
range from the fine European works in Galerie Michael, to
contemporary works in Art Brilliant and Timothy Yarger Fine Art, to
the ancient art found in the Barakat Gallery.
There is a world of culture at any UCLA student’s
fingertips.
It might appear that the glitz and glam of Rodeo Drive is not
the ideal environment for poor college students. Since these
galleries are all retail stores, with the intention of selling
paintings worth thousands of dollars and up, how do they feel about
a little Bruin window-shopping?
The answer is, surprisingly, a resounding welcome.
Contradicting the stereotype of snooty collectors with funny
accents (“mah-vel-lous, simply mah-vel-lous”) smoking
cigarettes in long cigarette holders, the galleries welcome
cash-strapped youths with a taste for art.
 JANA SUMMERS Tourist hot-spot Rodeo Drive in Beverly
Hills is home to many posh designer clothing stores, cafes and art
galleries. “All students interested in art are welcome to
come here. They have an open invitation,” said Fayez Barakat,
owner of the Barakat Gallery.
His attitude might be unexpected, considering some of his
ancient artifacts date back to before Christ and sell for millions
of dollars. However, his opinion is echoed by other gallery
owners.
“We welcome people to come to the gallery. We are open to
the public. It is our intention to be the liaison between artists
and collectors ““ artists and art enthusiasts,” said
Timothy Yarger, owner of Timothy Yarger Fine Art.
“I think what distinguishes us from many galleries is that
we are inviting,” Yarger continued. “It is our
objective to speak with people, and whether or not someone is a
student or a corporate CEO we can’t judge people, what their
interests and abilities are, without speaking to them.”
There is a gap, however, between what these art merchants say
and what students expect from Rodeo Drive stores.
“It’s surprising that they feel this way about
people coming in. Since it’s such a high profile area, I
would think that they didn’t want extra people around that
aren’t buying,” said Bo Aye, a third-year design
student.
For the merchants, though, there can be too much of a good thing
when it comes to hoards of students descending on the
galleries.
“Obviously it would be difficult for us to accommodate
groups ““ students en masse filing out of a bus,” said
Joseph Michael, gallery manager of Art Brilliant.
However, these students can always be possible buyers.
“Even if the students come in by themselves on their free
time and look around, when their parent comes to visit them, we
would like it if they brought their parents to the gallery,”
said Richard Rice, senior consultant at Galerie Michael.
Even if Bruins don’t bring their parents along, galleries
hope that today’s poor art-loving college students will
evolve into tomorrow’s rich art-loving college graduates.
“If it is a UCLA student to come in and look at the art,
and they couldn’t afford it, that isn’t disinteresting
to us, because sometime they will, if they are so inclined,”
said Yarger.
Regardless of sale, profit, or the bombardment of students,
representatives of the galleries also emphasized that they are in
the business for the art itself. They serve to provide aesthetic
and cultural influences in people’s homes.
“(Art) impacts people’s lives, it impacts the kids
lives, Yarger said. “It endears people to their
surroundings.”