One stroke. One mark. One drip can change the entire meaning. Focus and breathe. The message is hidden behind the design, waiting to be understood.
There are people who believe that art mimics life; while there are others who argue the idea that “Life mimics art” suggesting that people often adopt the behaviors, styles, or perspectives found in creative works, essentially shaping their reality to match artistic ideals rather than creating art based on real life. This concept, popularized by Oscar Wilde, proposes that art offers the “beautiful forms” through which humanity expresses its energy and defines how it perceives the world.
Her at BAK, under the artistic guidance of their art teachers, visual arts students learn about both perspectives, demonstrating techniques and new talents as they experiment in the artistic process.
Visual arts not only hones in on individual talents, it encourages each student to reach their full potential. Doing art, many have found, can also help people, especially teens, in how they embrace and portray their emotions, whether it’s on a canvas, a pedestal, or even a camera. When taking a look into the lens, everyone sees and feels something completely unique to themself. They capture beauty differently too. After all, we have heard the adage that says, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Inspiration also comes from everyone and everything.
“I’m just inspired by how I’m feeling,” said Jake Kirshenbaum, eighth grade, visual arts major. “I tap into whatever I’m feeling at the moment and then I portray it through my art.”
Visual arts impacts people, whether it be artists or viewers. Art has the power to connect people and tell a story in a new and innovative way.
“I think ever since I was a little kid, I liked seeing everything blend together and seeing it evoke emotion in people,” Mia King, eighth grade, visual arts major said.
Art definitely evokes emotion in people. It acts as a visual mirror that reflects and sometimes even amplifies internal feelings. Think of the color red. It reflects deep, intense emotions like energy, passion, love, rage, desire, aggression, and urgency. When an artist applies this vibrant color to a canvas or image, it helps process feelings through that color. In visual arts classes like art, graphic design, and photography, these techniques are learned and applied.
BAK’s visual arts major offers students a variety of activities and classes to try. While some may just think of painting and drawing, where they learn art elements and principles such as color theory, line, shape, form, value, texture, and space, there are some even more unique aspects such as film and photography developing. Students get special memories when exploring photography, as BAK is one of the only middle schools in Palm Beach County to have a dark room.
“A film negative is special, because it’s one of a kind,” said Stephanie Chesler, creative photography teacher. “If you think about it, it’s kind of like time travel. The film you hold in your hands captures a moment that did not exist before or after you took a picture.”
Another unique area of visual arts is sculpting. Students have the opportunity to learn about a whole new media of art, working with clay and sculpting tools.
“Our program tries to help the artists identify their strengths and weaknesses by introducing them to many art materials and techniques as well as Art History. I most enjoy Monster Mask making with my students as well as other sculpture assignments,” said Glen Barefoot, visual arts teacher.
Mr. Barefoot and other visual arts teachers attempt to connect with every student, fostering creativity, self-expression, and critical thinking. From sixth to eighth grade, there’s great growth, they say. “Typically the improvements we see among our students is quite striking for both us and themselves,” added Barefoot. “The improvements are mainly seen in their art technical abilities but there are lots of improvements in their ability to see differently and think differently.”
So the visual arts department is a big beautiful crazy family, said Barefoot, who usually compares it to the Island of Misfit Toys from the cartoon Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.Their curricula covers art history, design principles (color, form, composition), and digital media, often organizing exhibitions to showcase student work throughout campus, including hallways and the theatre hall, where the best work is displayed.
“The unique aspect of visual arts is that it captures the artist’s vision and intent with a physical, tangible piece that someone can view over and over, touch a sculpture, or permanently capture a moment in time such as a photograph,” said Chester. “Visual arts is one of the only art forms that produce two and three dimensional pieces that are the “frozen” evidence of a person’s thoughts, skills, and intentions,.”.
In every class and every form, art projects serve as a classic and simple way to preserve moments, emotions, and memories. As students go on from BAK, they can look back on the pieces they created and the skills they learned, but more than anything, they can appreciate how their visual arts classes trained them to see the world in color.
“Everyone should have at least one visual artist as a friend,” concluded Barefoot. “Your life will be enriched by getting a chance to look through this artist.”
