Student artworks are currently displayed in PMAC.
On Friday, December 10, the Arts Department hosted the annual Fall Term Student Exhibition where students in the Arts Concentration program and all fall term visual arts courses — Design, Photography, Filmmaking, Drawing, Mixed Media, and Ceramics — displayed the fruits of their hard work at the entrance of the Paul Mellon Arts Center. Here are a few students that showcased their artwork:
Paola Diaz del Castillo Rosique ’23, a newcomer in the Arts Concentration program, stepped out of her comfort zone and explored different art mediums for her project. “I had the idea that I wanted to make a series of pieces that depicted different themes of my identity and things I have been struggling with that I felt a lot of people could relate to,” said Diaz del Castillo Rosique.
Her collage took advantage of its flexibility in creating layers and depth. “Each piece took between one to two weeks, but often more because of the planning and trying to figure out the most organic way to express my ideas than the actual ‘difficulty’ of the piece. There was a lot of time for introspection and asking myself what I wanted to show,” she said.
She noted that her work was profoundly inspired by the discussions in her Moral Reasoning class with Mr. Morgan Harris last term. The pieces were presented in chronological order from right to left. The first one demonstrated imposter syndrome, an internal experience where one doubts one’s competence and accomplishments. “We are influenced and corrupted by outside opinions that let us doubt ourselves,” she explained.
The second piece commented on the pressure of the desire to reach one’s lofty goals in a limited amount of time. More importantly, how many of those goals arise from oneself, and how many are influenced by the surrounding environment? Diaz del Castillo Rosique explained that when pursuing “goals,”one risks the potential of losing themselves in the process due to constant comparison with other people.
The third piece explored the extent to which one should share their personal experience. “Sometimes you want to tell the whole story but still feel like you need to keep parts of yourself just to yourself to fit into the narrative society has created for you,” she said.
The last one signified that everyone is a “work of progress.” The continuously growing flower demonstrates individuals’ constant personal growth, while the Mexican ceramics, which are part of Diaz del Castillo Rosique’s identity and culture, indicate the importance of learning to be vulnerable. Additionally, Diaz del Castillo Rosique deliberately designed the color scheme of her work. “The pieces go from completely black and white to more color as it becomes less about the pressure of people around you and more about yourself,” she said.
Macie Simmons ’22, another student in the Arts Concentration program, was inspired by a photograph. “It’s based on a photo I took of my roommate in her bed. The lighting looked really cool, and I felt like it was supposed to be a painting – so I decided to paint it.” Simmons created her piece right after midterms and college application due dates, and the photograph encapsulated a feeling of bliss following weeks of stress.
“I was trying to catch up on all the sleep I missed the weeks before. I didn’t intend for it to, but the painting managed to capture the quietness and peace of the moment,” she added. “I used an acrylic base to lay down the main shapes and went over it with gouache paint. The hardest part was all the folds on the comforter.” Simmons stressed the importance of paying attention to detail and illustrating the right emotions with the choice of paint and various techniques.
Sean Guzman ’22 is also a senior in the Arts Concentration program who showcased his project, “Boys Cry Too.” “I originally planned for a few male-identifying students to answer questions in a rapid-fire manner that would be displayed through illustrative type and design.” The interviews consisted of questions about perceptions of masculinity and what that means to them personally. After conducting the interviews, however, Guzman came to a realization: “A lot of these guys had never sat down with another guy and talked openly about vulnerability – it was foreign to them. Each interview I conducted was a story. Stories that I felt deserve their individual spotlight.”
Guzman decided to reorient his original goal of forming “Boys Cry Too” as a mini-zine to a bigger magazine, “I learned how individual experiences manage to shape one’s perception of who they should be. The pictures I have taken are visual manifestations of the stories they’ve told me,” Guzman added. “Each photo has its own color palette for this reason. Each story is its own.”
Reflecting on the journey of arts students, one of the advisors for the Arts Concentration program Ms. Smita Sen commented, “There’s so much growth. You really see how students start to hone in on what it is they want to say and why, so then their artistic vision becomes clear and even the kids that don’t consider themselves artists really think of themselves as a creative soul which is kind of cool. ”
Ms. Jessica Cuni, another advisor for the program, added, “I think a marker of the show’s success is the variety of the work that’s up. Seeing how much diversity is on the walls is very exciting.”
