Carolyn Kemp, Reporter
On April 23rd, the Senior Art show had its debut reception to display the artwork of this years seniors. These pieces come from students in advanced art classes and even those who took classes earlier in their high school career but have come back to display their work. This is the 28th annual art show, run by several different teachers and headed by art teacher, Jeanne McDonough.
The Senior Art show is a collaboration of 19 seniors sharing their artwork with NCHS for one last time before graduation. Senior artist, Sky Mercede, believes that the show is a great opportunity for a “last hurrah” of their high school career. “It is a chance for all seniors to represent what they’ve done over the past four years,” he said.
The show is a way to represent themselves for the last time at the high school. “It represents us and who we are,” Sky said. “Some people wouldn’t know that you would be as talented as you are.”
Jennifer Sinski, an art teacher at NCHS, explained how the art show works and how there are so many different components that are compiled into the show. “The seniors get together, chose a theme and are given a task or responsibility. Some are in charge of publicity, graphic design, or event promotion,” Ms. Sinski said. “If they have photography they will be getting it printed, if they are in the fine arts they are getting it prepared to show and getting the pedestals painted. There are a lot of little details that go into making the show great and also putting the art up on the walls.”
With the amount of work that goes into bringing the show together, it takes a lot of coordination and teamwork from every senior and teacher. “It really gets the seniors to work together as a big group, the job responsibilities are all collaboration,” Mrs. Sinski said. “It’s not always an easy thing for everybody to work swiftly together.”
The students also benefit from the experience it gives them as true artists. “I don’t think a lot of the seniors really realize how powerful it is to have an art show until the night of at that reception because they see all these people come just to see their work,” Ms. Sinski said. “It is almost a realization that this is their next step which I think is a huge benefit of it.”
Seniors artist, Corinne Vietorisz, agrees that being able to display artwork in the show is a great opportunity that is very beneficial. “The senior show is a great place to display your artwork, because you get an entire wall of gallery space to set up your own personal show,” she said. “It helps you put your work out there for an audience, which is a great publicity experience.”
Fellow senior artist Lillian Engel explained the importance of having such a diverse gallery. “It’s a way for the other students in the school to see just how many different kinds of art there are,” she said. “Art isn’t just confined to painting and sketching, but can include sculpting, mixed media, photography, and in my case, film. It’s really different for everyone.”
