Ellen Ludtke, Arts, Entertainment, and Technology Editor
@ELudtkeCourant
Upon entering through the red doors in the front of NCHS, one is immediately greeted by student artwork. The upcoming “Inspired By…” Art Show, taking place on December 2, will update the lobby with new work from NCHS art students.
The theme of “Inspired By…”, which was created by the students on the Art Gallery Committee months in advance, will be the the basis of all the compositions for the show. “‘Inspired By…’ is really whatever each individual artist wants it to be,” senior and gallery chair Izzy Marshall said. “As long as the artwork takes inspiration from a particular artist, movement, genre, or anything or anyone worth being inspired by, then it will be considered.”
Along with their piece, students must send in a picture or explanation of the thing that inspired them. “If you create a drawing, painting, photograph, or film, you also need to submit the artist, filmmaker, or whoever that inspired that work,” art teacher and gallery head Jennifer Sinski said.
After all the pieces have been submitted, the Art Gallery Committee as well as the art teachers convene to look at each piece and decide which ones to put in the show, a procedure called ‘jurying’. The students and teachers keep an eye out for work that fit the theme and will look best in the show. “We get together and we pick which artwork which we think uphold the theme and work the best for our show, because sometimes, some submissions don’t fit the requirement of the theme or aren’t technically sound enough,” Ms. Sinski said.
Once the pieces are chosen, then comes the curation process, which takes about two to three days of hour long after school meetings. The gallery committee members plan out where each piece of artwork will be exhibited in the lobby. According to Ms. Sinski, this is the most important step in the process of planning the art show. “You can’t just put up artwork and expect it all to look great you have to move things around and play with arrangements and ideas,” she said.
The last step is to hang up and arrange the pieces in the lobby in the afternoon before the show begins. Senior and gallery chair Jessica Dantas believes that seeing all of the artwork after meticulous planning reminds her of her love for the art program at NCHS. “I just like how the art program is not exclusive,” she said. “It’s just a huge group of people that come together and collaborate together, as we do for the art shows.”
Make sure to stop by the “Inspired By…” Art Show at NCHS on December 2 at 5 pm!
