Anna Grzymski, Reporter
@annagcourant
In the recent online Carriage Barn art exhibit titled Capturing New Canaan, 15 pieces were selected in a competition to showcase the New Canaan Sculpture Trail. The Carriage Barn Arts Center closed in late March, however they used technology to their advantage and made this exhibit an online gallery. Out of the 15 selected pieces, nine were from high school students and only six were taken by professional photographers.
The jurors looked at over 100 submissions from students and adults and proceeded to select 18 of their favorite pieces. The jurors further narrowed down their favorites by selecting three pieces they thought deserved awards. “The process made the competition even more selective,” high school photography teacher at NCHS Jeanne McDonagh said.
Students at the high school submitted around 50 art pieces showing the various sculptures displayed around New Canaan for the competition as an assignment for their class. “I have two classes, Doc Photo and AP Studio Art, that submitted their art pieces because there was no fee,” Ms. McDonagh said.
High school photography student Anna Barnard shared her experience creating her piece that was selected in the top nine. “Mrs. McDonagh didn’t show us real photos of the sculptures, so I had to make it up by myself,” she said. “I tried different shots until I found the one that I thought looked best. Once we started editing, I lightened some parts and darkened some other parts to add more contrast to the photo.”
Ms. McDonagh tested her photography class’s eye for photography by having them do a mock jurying session where they selected photography pieces from their class. “They ended up picking all the photos but one. I couldn’t believe it,” Ms. McDonagh said.
Executive Director of Carriage Barn Hilary Wittmann worked hard to allow people to see the art from the comfort of their homes and in person, in order to continue hosting the shows the Carriage Barn does annually. “We did an exhibit with Live Girl primarily online, but we still hung most of the art work in the gallery and we were open by appointment,” she said.
With technology being a big part of our world today, the Carriage Barn’s ability to adapt allowed them to expand their reach into the community. “In some ways we were able to reach a broader audience of people than we maybe normally would just coming into the gallery and it was also during a time when people were really looking for new things to do and learn,” Ms. Wittmann said.
The Carriage Barn hosted the New Canaan Sculpture Trail art exhibition to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in early fall. Besides simply looking at the sculptures, there was another technological way to interact with the art. “There was an app that you can download to tell you where all of the other sculptures are located. You can actually watch videos of the artists talking about their piece or installing their pieces,” Ms. Wittmann said.
Photos taken of the sculpture trail were featured in the gallery, Capturing New Canaan, until November 4. “Artists were out all around New Canaan painting and taking pictures, and they then had a few weeks to finish those pieces and exhibit them here,” Ms. Wittmann said.
Photos taken by Bella Koon, Grace Crowell, Jasmine Robertson, Kiera Hynes, Marina Mallozzi, and Serena Platt. Photos contributed by Jeanne McDonagh
