On Feb. 8, AP Studio Art students presented their portfolios at the exhibit entitled fiVe.
The artist presenters included seniors Jee Yeon Kim, Lily Sumrow, Virginia Beshears, Raney Sachs and Kate Cooper. The event allowed the artists to speak on behalf of their pieces and technique.
This was the first year that the AP Studio Art Students were asked to prepare PowerPoint presentations and talking points for the reception. Previously, students would simply stand in front of their artwork and answer questions that attendees might have about the pieces.
AP Studio Art Teacher Emily Howard felt that the new style of presentations was very advantageous for the young artists. “It’s a good preparatory way to introduce AP artists to what it is like to be a professional artist,” Howard said,” And to be expected to explain their art work and what their thought process was behind it.”
The AP students work to complete a portfolio to submit in May. Their art work is divided into three sections and each section is reviewed by a set of jurors. They are then given a score based on the normal AP scale. Howard also helps the students take high quality images of their artwork. “I teach them how to professionally photograph their art,” Howard said, “As a professional artist it’s important to have a digital portfolio.”
As each student has a different personality, their art is wildly unique. “The students are really independent,” Howard said, “it’s definitely fulfilling to see them develop as artists.”
The Fourcast reviewed each of the seniors’ art pieces displayed at the exhibit and found out about their artistic processes.
Senior Jee Yeon Kim
Kim’s pieces of art are full of color, often using watercolors and digital mediums. Kim looks to social media for inspiration, where she asks friends for a word or two. Kim then uses the words to inspire her art. In once piece, she uses this process within a “five hour challenge” to create a beautifully colorful abstract that allowed her to let go of the technicalities.
Senior Lily Sumrow
Sumrow’s art is both appealing to the eye and intriguing to the mind. She describes the process of learning to see the world through an artist’s point of view. Sumrow plans to continue making a series of art regarding the relationship of the human body to mundane objects. Her interest in this relationship began with a piece comparing a spine with scoliosis to a spiral staircase and has continued with another piece comparing an eye to a camera.
Senior Virginia Beshears
Beshears loves experimenting with different mediums for art. Beshears wanted to use a pencil for a piece that she was working on, but she found that the lines of the pencil were too specific. She taped a pencil to an electrical screwdriver and continued on with her work.
“I learned a lot about creating my own techniques and I loved how unique it was,” Beshears said, “[it] reflects my fascination with lines and movement.”
Senior Raney Sachs
Sachs was inspired by gesture drawings, a simple assignment that began freshman year which gave students sixty seconds to draw a person in a specific position.
“[The gesture drawings] forced us to get rid of our preconception of human form,” Sachs said.
She continued to focus on the gesture of humans and has decided to focus her series of art on people that have impacted her life.
Senior Kate Cooper
Cooper is modest about her art but, her pieces speak loudly to the depth of her thoughts. While canvases and other rectangular papers hung around the room, a swarm of butterflies stuck up off the wall. Cooper researched specific species of butterflies and paired them with the personalities of people in her life. She then recreated the three dimensional insects and carefully orchestrated their display.
“I am a novice at art and I think I always will be, but I am good at trying new things,” Cooper said, “I would suggest that to anyone who wants to try art.”
The pieces of artwork are samples of the students’ AP portfolios and they will remain on display in the Centennial Science Center.
