WHAT THE KIDS ARE DOING
Take the
iconic post-impression vision of Van Gogh’s tumultuous universe, a
Starry Night of epic color, shape and movement, hand it to a
handful of Junior High kids and say “Go”.
What you get is a
kaleidoscope of paintings that at first resemble the redundancy of a
wallpaper pattern, but upon closer observation you realize that each
has a spark of individualism, a varied range of color palette and
the unique and beautiful styling that only can come from untrained,
innocent early student work. This was the project, the challenge and
the outcome of the Leesville Junior High School’s main body of
representative work in the current Student Exhibit at GALLERY ONE
EIIIEVEN in Leesville.
Isabelle Massart-Bursh has deftly guided her class to produce a
wonderfully varied and personal body of pieces for this show. The
temptation is to glaze over them as all being similar, but the
viewer realizes early in that each piece is unique and worthy of a
lingering study.
And if the color of these pieces is a bit
overwhelming? The Leesville High School student’s work in the
exhibit focuses
on black and white. Scratchboard, pen and ink, pencil and renderings
highlight most of their entries. These pieces all promise of early
technical ability and interesting subject matter. Pickering High
School is represented by a variety of media and subject matter. One
particular piece that shows maturity and great promise for the
Pickering student Ashley Simpson is a tempera painting reminiscent
of later paintings by Georgia O’Keefe and is a real show stopper.
The Hornbeck area is also represented by a student artist, Alli
Rushling, who has become a gallery volunteer and is being mentored
by gallery artists.
The Vernon Middle School students have presented,
for this exhibit….masks. Lots and lots of masks in a variety of
colors and designs. Displayed on a black background they resemble
floating faces in a dream of a fantasy Mardi Gras.
The Louisiana School for Math, Science and
the Arts is also widely represented in this exhibit, and you quickly
see why this school produces some of the best student art work in
the south. Department head Chris King provides his students with an
incredible depth of knowledge and experience and the tools to
express themselves in a variety of media. Large door-sized
monochromatic collage and mixed media, traditional painting in hot
high key color, sculptural work created from computer parts, collage
and drawings….the work is as varied in style as it is in subject
matter.
The Student Exhibit at GALLERY ONE
EIIIEVEN in Leesville will be up for the month of March, and there
will be a reception for the students, parents and the public during
the Spring ARTWALK on March 19 at 5:00 in the Main Street District.
The reception is being sponsored by Fox’s Pizza of Leesville, and
everyone is encouraged to come and beam with pride at the depth of
local student talent that is represented in this exhibit. Music in the street will be provided by Henry Reggans and the
Sidemen with the Leesville Junior High School Youth Jazz Band
sitting in for several sets.