On Thursday, Jan. 6, the art gallery premiered pieces from both the Advanced Studio Art class and English symposium class.
The gallery was a hit; there was a great turnout with many parents in attendance. Though the gallery contained works featuring many different mediums such as installation, mixed media, and painting, many of the students had the unifying inspiration of Symposium author Tracy K. Smith’s poetry. The gallery was set up to get students excited about Ms. Smith’s upcoming visit and to display what the Symposium students and Advanced Studio Art class had been working on all semester.
The idea of the collaboration was first mentioned back in October when English teacher Mela Frye reached out to creative arts teacher Katie Burnett about using the gallery space. By coincidence, many of the students in the Symposium class were also in Ms. Burnett’s Advanced Studio Art class, and, thus, the two classes decided to share the space.
Senior Caroline Boardman, a member of both classes, created a multisensory installation with lights, music, and streamers inspired by the common theme of light, space, and religion in Ms. Smith’s poetry, specifically in her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, “Life on Mars.”
Though originally given the assignment early in the year, it took Caroline most of the semester to land on an idea that felt right. “I have done so many little sketches of ideas, but, honestly, it wasn’t until a week or two before break that I really found an idea that I was inspired by,” she said. “I knew what I wanted to do, and then I found the line I wanted to use, but it was bringing it all together that was really challenging.”
Senior Symposium student Megan Murphy showcased two paintings that portrayed the imagery in Smith’s poems, “Museum of Obsolescence” and “Unrest in Baton Rouge.” Megan felt that the gallery was a great opportunity to push her creative boundaries. “Creating pieces with deep meaning and support makes me want to do it more with future artwork and pushes me to connect poetry into visual art,” she said.
The gallery was not only a wonderful chance to connect with Ms. Smith’s poetry and channel creative thinking, but it was also a way to reach out to the community and see students in a different environment.
Ms. Burnett felt that having the gallery was really important for students, as much of their work goes unseen. “Advanced studio is a very independent class,” she said “They are all doing something different. Some people might be doing photography, some people are doing painting, some are drawing, some are doing sculpture, but it was nice to come all together and see what everyone was creating.”
Caroline agreed with Ms. Burnett, noting that galleries show everyone what is going on in the school. “I think it’s always really special when you get to see what other students have been working on because, even in an art class, you’re working on your own projects, so you don’t really get to see what everyone’s been doing,” she said. “I think it’s just a fun way to remind everybody that there’s so much talent.”
