High School hosts annual art show, displays student masterpieces for attendees
Photos by Libby Duncan and Nicky Gutierrez.
RHS student’s booth at the art show displays their artistic ability.
The Revere High School gymnasium swarms with students, faculty, and parents. Artwork of various media cover booths and temporary walls brought in for this special occasion. The entire room smells of wood. Piano music drifts through the room as people view the artwork, quietly discussing the pieces they see.
The 2016 Revere Celebration of the Arts took place from Monday, April 25 to Wednesday, April 28. Students from all grades in the Revere district could enter their artwork. The media that they could submit include ceramic pieces, drawings, 3D mixed media (including jewelry, fashion, textiles, mobiles, etc.), sculptures, 2D mixed media (defined as flatwork utilizing more than one medium), paintings, graphic design and printmaking, and photography. Students can enter up to six works and no more than two works per category.
Other students particpated in the art show as well.
Revere has hosted this art show for over 30 years. Revere High School art teacher Bob Pierson elaborated on the history of the event.
“Originally, there used to be an art show in the 70s. It was for local artists, and . . . [their works] would be for sale, and they would have demonstrations. It was a community art show. Somewhere in the 80s, the PTA decided to make a Revere art show and have student work. At first it was a fundraiser, . . . and originally it was [only for] the high school students, and then it became an all district event. It has always been the PTA art show and always been run by the PTA, but it evolved from a community art show,” Pierson said.
Seniors at Revere also have a chance to create booths that showcase their works over their high school careers, an opportunity available for over twenty years. Current seniors Russell Klein and Logan Mackulin have decided to work together to create a joint senior booth. They stated that they planned to utilize “rustic, earth tones” in their booth. Klein explained what types of mediums they displayed this year.
Many Revere seniors particpated in the art show.
“We are both in AP Drawing, so [we had] mostly drawings, but we have done a little bit of watercolor as well,” Klein said.
Mackulin enjoys creating graphic design pieces and photographs. He also discussed his favorite pieces that they included in the booth.
“I did a drawing of a couple of these old-timey light bulbs in Klein’s house. It is such an abstract [piece] with all these weird formations with the light and how it curves with the glass, it was not until I took a step back and looked at it, [I saw] that it was coming together. The whole time I was drawing it looked like a little bit of nonsense, but when I stepped back and looked at it, [it began to come together],” Mackulin said.
Klein said his favorite piece is a drawing of Coca-Cola bottles he created, saying he spent time working on minute details ranging from the label of the bottles to the lighting.
Revere High School photography teacher Paulette Colantone explained how the PTA judges the various pieces submitted to the show.
“Judges come in and [look at] all the pieces. They break it up into categories, . . . and they pick first, second, and third place, and honorable mentions. The rankings depend on the judges. The PTA can have 2 to 6 judges depending on the year,” Colantone said.
Art from Revere students displayed at the show.
The PTA does not choose judges that work as art teachers at Revere, as that would prove a conflict of interest, as Pierson stated.
“As teachers, we have our favorites. It would not be fair for the art teachers to judge the works of their own students. [The PTA selects] former Revere students who work in the arts,” Pierson said.
Along with the booths and general pieces, students also submit their designs for the Celebration of the Arts logo each year. Colantone clarified why the event uses only students design it.
“It is a competition to show what art students can do . . . a graphic design student, a photography [student], anybody can design it. It is their work on the shirts, so it promotes students working with art. [The PTA gets] to sell those shirts, so they always want a different logo each year, [and they do not want to use] the same old logo for 20 years. That promotes kids to get involved [in the event],” Colantone said.
Pierson explained why students should enter their pieces in the Celebration of the Arts, saying that people will never see their work if they do not present it in some way.
“It is nice to able to show off your accomplishments and what is going on in your classes. . . . Whether you win an award or not, the reward is the experience and other people can be entertained by seeing your work,” Pierson said.
Colantone expressed her view on the overall importance of the Celebration of the Arts.
“The main thing [about the] Celebration of the Arts is [to] get the community to realize how important art is in these students’ lives, and . . . it helps the student really enjoy their time in school years,” Colantone said.
Seniors with booths include Hunter Bridgeman; Abby Brock and Caitlin Vari; Dani Buser, Hayley Demchak, and Jonna Lee; Sharon Caldwell and Evie Solis; Taylor Cherotti; Savana Cox and Megan Travers; Caroline Edwards; Michelle Fazzio and Alyssa Byvoets; Joe Gabel and Joe Grajzl; Christian Harwick, Matthew Kemer, and Simon Staiger; Ileana Hernandez; Bobby House and Margo Solitt; Priyanka Jain and Aly Milks; Thomas Kantaras and Keegan Lind; Hailey Kline and Crystal Mortimer; Sia Konstantinopoulos, Ryan Nadzam and Henry Wathen; Hannah Lovejoy; Logan Mackulin and Russell Klein; Ellen Race and Emily Wright; Asha Ravichandran and Leah Weisburn; Allison Remec and Dana McKinney; Nicaela Schultz and Maddy Young; Danielle Schwanek; Jordan Stidd; Dana Suchy; and Brittany Vacha and Ally Thailing.
The judges have presented the awards, and the crowd strolls through the rows of artworks to see what won before they leave for the night. The final stragglers take one last look at the artwork before the night closes. Once the last person leaves, the lights flicker off in the gymnasium, bringing an end to this year’s Celebration of the Arts.
