Today, the Convent & Stuart Hall visual arts department hosted the spring visual arts showcase: Unearth and Discover. It featured artwork from four different classes: Art Foundations I and II, Digital Design and Video Production, and Advanced Art Portfolio. As a student in the Advanced Art Portfolio class, we spent the whole year composing our work for the art show as our final project that counts toward our grade in the class.
Students from grades 9-12, submitted their work to the showcase in a variety of mediums and artistic styles. There are some works inspired by famous artists, such as Bob Ross’s Alla Prima landscapes, while others are completely original pieces created through the artist’s imagination. While most of the foundational art classes had similar pieces focused on traditional techniques as according to the visual arts curriculum, we had to develop our own style of art and apply it to a cohesive exhibit through our unique pieces.
The art show was an adventure across the Pine-Octavia campus, with artwork showcased in hallways, around corridors, and even under stairwells. The layout was designed with the intention to allow all pieces and exhibits to hold its own space and capture the essence of the artists. For example, the Digital Design class was in the learning commons, while the special Voice of Our Founders exhibit was held around Rose Philippine Duchesne’s relic on the first floor.
The Advanced Art Portfolio class congregated in the Panel Room to individually showcase our art to guests. Each student was assigned to a panel to create and arrange a unique exhibit of six to eight thematic pieces for our final project. In addition, we were tasked with creating a curatorial rationale, an art portfolio, and specific descriptions for each piece.
The theme, Unearth and Discover was demonstrated through each art piece, all of which were bold, experimentative, and curious. The main features across most of the artwork were bright colors and imaginative line work. Some artwork, namely senior Annabelle Lowenberg’s exhibit about climate change, and the Digital Design and Video Production class’s work, were created to address social issues and find solutions to world problems.
The most exciting part of the art show was having the opportunity to share our art and creative processes with the audience. I hope that my art, which helped me unearth and discover new parts of my artistic identity, gave others a new perspective and outlook on how cool art can be.
