Audrey Piehl
Arts & Entertainment Editor
As students stroll through the lobby they will find themselves immersed in a free-of-charge art gallery. However in place of Van Gogh, Picasso or Monet, the new generation of art is expressed through the works of the class of 2011. The Senior Art Exhibit, officially presented on the night of May 23rd, displays the works of, you guessed it, the seniors. But for us and them, their artistic achievements mean more than just a few photographs and sketches; it’s about a statement.
“The Senior Art Show allows students, many of whom will be attending art school next Fall, to come up with a one-person exhibit that is entirely their own creation,” AP Studio Art teacher Ms. Jeanne McDonagh said. “NCHS’s senior show is unique in that it challenges any senior to present his or her work inside their own space as a one-person “retrospective” of art that can be drawn from anything the student has created throughout their high school years,” she said.
Senior Zack Zannini, an earnest photographer, found his classmates were an essential attribute in making his exhibit the best it could be. “Everyone helped everyone else choose what to put up. They would recommend things, like what best represented you,” he said. “It’s such a positive environment. We all build off of each other’s creativity. Without it, I probably wouldn’t be nearly as expressive.”
Despite the high-tech Macs and other new gadgets adorning the photo room, Zack finds it’s up to the artist to make their work worthwhile, “People think that photography is all about the equipment, but it’s really just making do with what you have. it’s about the vision.”
Fellow senior and photographer Henry Eschricht discovered his passion nearly by accident. “I took Intro to Photo freshman year and didn’t really like it. Then during the summer, I was stuck inside for a week while it rained. There was nothing to do, so I just started taking pictures, and I continued throughout sophomore year,” he said.
Henry continues to find inspiration by collaborating via social media sites. “Everyone looks at each other’s Flickr every night. We all feed off each other,” he said. “You can also scroll through it and find new ideas from random artists online. You can find new effects like strobe-lighting, something Zack has experimented with.”
Senior Casey O’Neill took a slightly more three-dimensional approach. He produced approximately thirty-five works for the gallery, though only about fifteen were eventually displayed. “I used any material I could get my hand on. I even swiped metal from the train wreck a few weeks ago. I think a piece of twisted metal is a whole lot more interesting than your traditional painting,” he said.
Casey finds inspiration in external sources. “I’m inspired by an artist called Robert Rauschenberg. He never liked photography because even back in his day (the 1950s) he thought it was too mainstream,” he said. “It was all new ideas that one had ever seen before, kind of like Andy Warhol. He would take something like a juice box and make a big deal about it.”
Junior Ryan Van Vleet found Casey’s exhibit most engaging, “The sculpture stuff was cool. It felt like you were walking through some kind of museum gallery,” he said.
Meanwhile sophomore Veronica Hoeft admired some of the photography, “I thought one of Zach Zannini’s photos of Paget was especially good, because it had a great color contrast and seemed very three-dimensional.”
Overall Zack believed the exhibit to be a profound success, ““I thought it was great. You can really see the development of people’s work. Sometimes people don’t think their work is good enough or they just don’t bother putting it up, but the exhibit gives them the opportunity to show it off.”
Lest we forget one of the major characteristics of the Senior Art Exhibit: leaving your legacy. Several pieces were purchased to remain at the school as a part of the Fritz Eager collection, including Casey’s bicycle sculpture. “I hope future students can look at my work and be inspired,” he said. “When somebody says they want to be an artist and they draw or paint or whatever, I tell them they’re already an artist. You just have to keep at it and you’ll get where you want to be.”
