Senior Art Showcase: the final show and tell

Eight white pillars varying in size punctuated the Roberts Art Gallery the evening of June 6. Atop each pillar sat a ceramic piece ranging from a roman sandal to a blow fish to Jack from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Parents and students mingled between the pillars admiring the paintings, drawings and photographs that hung on the walls while intermittently nibbling on cookies found on the patio outside.The Senior Art Show, organized by Samo drawing teacher Dave Jones, was an event for graduating seniors to display their art and a chance for teachers to hand out awards and scholarships.“It’s just a nice send-off for the kids who have been working hard and keeping up with the arts and hopefully they will continue to sustain an interest in the arts,” Jones said.Jones went on to detail his devotion to art.“The reason that I’m teaching is because I’m interested in keeping art alive and public schools are cutting art so much that someone—myself and others—need to maintain the system so that kids grow up and enjoy art and make it a part of their lives,” Jones said.This was Jones’ first year organizing the art show and, like most events, it had its ups and its downs.Senior Danny Dresher sarcastically expressed how this was the “most packed show” he’d ever seen. While recent student-organized art shows drew a livelier crowd, this evening’s art show was largely attended by parents and art students but few, if any, non-art students.To this, senior Lily Jacobius added, “It would have greatly helped the show’s turnout if [the Senior Art Showcase] was right after school instead of 6 p.m. because then it would have been easier for people to come.”Nodding in agreement, senior Samantha Casale noted that there seems to be a better turnout at Art Gallery showings when there are student musical performances involved; that way, more students get involved and there are more entertainment opportunities with which to entice people to attend.Casale also noted that the timing of the show limited the amount of student work available.“I would have rather have put in other art but, due to the timing of the AP, my stuff was on the other side of the country,” Casale said.That being said, a Senior Art Show can realistically only be held at the end of the year, therefore the Art AP will inevitably interfere with even the most meticulously planned events.Instead of blaming the timing, senior Ariana Stultz attributed the show’s mediocre turnout to the students themselves.“A lot of it comes down to people’s procrastination. I know a lot of people worked on art the last day—myself included,” Stultz said. “The teachers were amazing and did a lot of good work and in general it went very smoothly. The teachers put in more effort than the students and it’s a shame because it’s all for the students.”Nevertheless, the students did seem to benefit from the art show and their years of art at Samo in general.Senior Ethan Barrett, standing proudly next to his collection of six photographs sporting a black blazer and fedora, coolly told the story of his inspiration. The photos of the Rocky Mountains, Utah and Colorado are printed on aluminum paper, giving them a slight sheen and enhancing the depth of the photos.“I was on my way back from England, flying back from college visits and no one was in the seats next to me, so I leaned over and the scenery captivated me. I went to the overhead bin to get my camera out and I started shooting. I took about 200 but only chose the few that I thought were spectacular,” Barrett said.Barrett attributes his eye for photography to his deceased aunt.“I found her camera while going through some of her old belongings and I just started shooting away. The whites and blacks accentuated each other, which really caught my eye,” Barrett said.Senior Lily Jacobius also gathers her inspiration from the people she sees and interacts with around her. Her proudest piece is done on a scratchboard where the density of the scratch made on the black paper produces varying values. The picture, entitled “Thank you for…growing old together” is of an elderly couple tenderly kissing.“There’s this couple in particular where I volunteer who are adorable, very much in love and they’re in their late 80s,” Jacobius said.Jacobius recognized the passion that the couple shared and sought to recreate it using the scratchboard. In acrylic paints, senior Inji Isaac also captured people’s passion — this time their passion for music.“I did a short series ‘Thank you for Passion’ because I’m lucky to be around so many amazing musicians,” Isaac said. “I was inspired by the way people are so completed by music and they pour their hearts into it; it gives me something to pour my heart into as well.”Isaac’s father John Isaac, standing proudly by her side, elaborated on what Samo’s art program meant to his daughter.“During the last four years I’ve seen a very unique growth. She’s developed unusual strengths and I’m looking forward to seeing where they’re going to take her in life—I know it will be far. I hate to repeat the idiosyncrasy but she’s very unique and the sky is the limit,” John Isaac said.Blushing the way students do when parents give them compliments Inji says: “expression is expression, whether it’s in words, notes, paints or even motions. It’s all art, the medium is just a vessel.”Tessa NathSenior Feature Editortnath@thesamohi.com