Within the Coop world, we have many different disciplines, or arts as they are called. People can go on and on about how amazing dance is, and how wonderful it is to watch theatre shows, and even some people sing the praises about the creative writing showcases. But some of our greatest unsung heroes lie within our visual arts department, which sits in the background decorating our school’s walls and at the gallery openings of each show they put on. This background status has led to unease within the visual arts community, especially among the students, who face a plethora of issues plaguing them.
A professional artist and teacher, Ms. Michaud has some great insights on her department’s seeming lack of representation. “I don’t think it’s intentional,” explained Michaud. “The nature of visual arts not being performance based, sometimes we get a little overlooked. Visual arts teachers could also become better advocates.”
Recently one student painter created a painting of a tree in just a few minutes while live on stage at our school’s Black History Assembly on Feb. 5. Michaud offered some new thinking about creating more exposure for visual arts students similar to this new performance mode. “We could have gallery shows during the days in addition to night shows,” explained Michaud. “Scavenger hunts to allow teachers to use the art gallery as a place of learning. More collaborations with other departments. I think we can do a better job at working together.”
Visual arts student Sienna Donovan-Claw discussed other areas of concern while working in Mr. Chernak’s visual arts class. “We could use more funding,” explained Donovan-Claw. “We have a paper shortage and don’t always have as much stuff as other schools. Specifically, we can’t do a lot of oil painting because the school windows don’t open.” Donovan-Claw thought that inviting guests in during gallery hours to see students actively working on projects might draw more attention to the long processes that ultimately lead to finished work in a gallery.
Mr. Randall has been teaching photography as part of the visual arts program for 5 years now at Co-op. He also sees the opportunities to get visual arts students more exposure by collaborating with other art disciplines. Previously there was a fashion class as part of the department which shared a showcase event with the creative writing department. “I think [collaborations] are an interesting concept to explore,” explained Randall. “I believe that each department becomes singularly focused on its own discipline when there’s a lot more room for interdisciplinary cohesion.”
Like other teachers and students, Mr. Randall feels more resources would help to expand his students’ work. “I wish we had more lighting equipment and more backdrops to better simulate a studio environment,” explained Randall. He also felt that a big part of professional photography was developing client relationships and working through the business side of the art. Mr. Randall’s own professional photography work helps him build this learning into his courses and he is seeking to expand this effort. “I’ll hire students to give them the experience and offer a headstart in professional photography,” he offered.
Visual arts student Anica Edwards feels that visual arts recognition limits go beyond the walls of Co-op. “I feel like our work as artists isn;t appreciated enough, not just at Co-op – everywhere. I feel like art isn’t valued when it’s everything we have!” explained Edwards. “Somebody has to design clothes, shoes, buildings, phones. Not many people realize that art is in everything we have!”
Edwards thought Co-op could do a better job by making sure the most current student work is displayed around the building instead of old work from alumni. Edwards was also vocal about not censoring student art. “Political or controversial artwork should be allowed to stay up,” offered Edwards. “Art is political, art has been political, and art will always be political!”
Senior visual arts student Tamar Levy-Gedacht just completed a capstone presentation in front of many in her visual arts department as well as other teachers and professional artists from the community. “Students believe that visual arts is the easiest art because you don’t have to do as much as the other arts,” explained Levy-Gedacht about what is the largest art department in our school. “I had an idea for school spirit week where there is an art-switch day. Students could try out a new art for a day and get a new perspective on what each art does.” Levy-Gedacht would also like students to have the ability to sell their artwork and use school spaces for marketing purposes.
In comparison to other Connecticut art school programs, schools in the greater Hartford area are offering more specific visual arts instruction in “Figure Drawing” and “Textile Art”.
Co-op is a place of … well, cooperation! And even though our arts programs may seem divided or competing for resources, when we’re all engaged with art for 90 minutes daily we know that we are involved with recreating beauty at our school every day.