By CHRISTINA WARRINER
The Studio Arts students are currently preparing for their exhibit tomorrow (Thursday, July 28) from 6-7:30 pm in the Hargate Gallery. As they arrange this culminating project to show off their work, much of the Advanced Studies Program (ASP) community is wondering what they will find if they attend. With many also unaccustomed to the course, some may also assume that the work undertaken by the Studio Arts students has not taken as much effort as their own courses have required. However, this is not true, and these students are being pushed to meet the same high expectations as all students here at the ASP.
This showcase represents just one example of the many unique experiences these students have taken part in. “It is very rare that high school students get to be part of something like this,” said Studio Arts intern Alicia Pacelli. Different from writing a paper or solving a math problem, the way Studio Arts students are learning is unfamiliar to many other students at the ASP. However, Pacelli and fellow Studio Arts intern Anna “Mackie” Sewall are adamant about earning their students the same amount of appreciation and respect as their peers.
Studio Arts students have jumped head first into a world of two-dimensional art while working through different mediums and styles. They have studied technical drawing, portraits, sketching, collage, painting with oils, landscape, and Photoshop among many other skills. They are developing a completely new set of abilities that connect hand and mind in a way traditional academics do not. They have also studied famous artists, art history, and have focused on the progression art has made throughout time.
“Anyone who believes that the Fine Arts are a less demanding discipline shows supreme ignorance and a lack of cultural understanding,” said Sewall.
Sewall and Pacelli are disappointed when others do not consider their class as legitimate or challenging. “It is insulting to the students and teachers,” said Pacelli, adding that “we all should be smart enough to appreciate something other than math and science.”
Living a day in the life of a Studio Arts student is sheer proof of the rigor of this course. “We start our work at the beginning of class and work from after dinner through study hours. You just can’t rush art,” said student Beau Landis. Class begins with free drawing and is followed by thirty to forty five minute long critique sessions. Students constructively analyze their work and the work of their classmates under the guidance of their instructors. A lecture and work period for their current projects will commonly follow this, emphasizing that practice is extremely important for their artistic growth. “We learn as we do,” said Landis.
“There is not a precise answer,” said student Tess Hamilton, who is adjusting to a learning style she has never faced before. These ambiguous tasks have quickly increased students’ talent and have also taught them to be independent learners.
Pacelli hopes that she has shown her students the importance of leaving their comfort zones, while Sewall hopes she has taught them how to disregard their preconceived concepts of images so that they can truly see art. They respectively believe that art education is “crucial” and “essential” and hope that their students continue their studies when their time at the ASP is over.
“There is a definite use for art,” Landis said. “In any field you will find some use for it.”
Hamilton agreed, saying that “whether it is professional or as a hobby, (she) sees art as a part of (her) life for the rest of (her) life.”
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