Photo Showcase Encourages Creativity

Art 2 and ADV Honors students had the opportunity to present their Art History Homage pieces in the library from February 4 till the end of the month. These pieces are being displayed in order to pay tribute to a certain artist and their art style because of the impact that they had on art’s history overall.

These pieces ranged from landscape to abstract styles, replicating the style of the artist that they were assigned to. Art 2 and ADV Honors teacher Justin Seligman explained,“[The students] chose artists of their own that they were interested in and did research on that artist, defining their style and time period. Then they developed their artwork through a series of thumbnail sketches and preparatory drawings, and finally prepared their own original pieces that were inspired by the artists that they were looking at.”

This project was meant to push a lot of these artists out of their comfort zones and force them to work in a style that they are unfamiliar with. However, this discomfort created room for growth and strengthened the skills of these artists. Seligman said, “The goal was to get them out of their comfort zone. To encourage them to look at things that they might not otherwise look at.”

Having their work displayed in the library creates recognition for these artist’s skills and projects that usually only get displayed around their classroom. ADV Honors student senior Anna Mooradian said, “No one has really come up to me and said anything, but I am proud to just have it displayed in the library for people to see”.

This project taught the students about the history of the art styles that they are creating in class and allowed them to further explore certain styles that they were interested in. The lessons learned throughout the assignment helped grow these students as an artist and gave them experiences that they can take into their future art careers.