Beyond the Rules: Student Artists Break Boundaries at IB Art Show

Carmen Thomas
onwardtrojans.com

The art sector is known for housing free thinkers. But the 28 upperclassmen displaying their work at the IB Art Show this year broke molds in more ways than one.
Students can only enroll in International Baccalaureate Visual Arts – part of a larger extra diploma program – through a competitive audition process that includes an extensive portfolio complete with artist statements. Mrs. Taylor McGuirl, CHS painting teacher, looks for independence and originality.
“Do they have any technical skill, are they willing to think about art, can they think originally, can they work independently?” McGuirl asked.
Students experiment with drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, costume design, photography, digital art, and more.
“And we break rules all the time, which you’ll see at the art show,” she added vaguely.
That rule-breaking spirit became clear upon entering CHS’s upper gymnasium: a 3-foot-tall purple hand with the middle finger reaching up to the sky, covered in a felt duck finger puppet. Its message? Censorship, according to the artist, senior Elsa Estridge.
“I wanted to make a piece about censorship – about how it’s broken and doesn’t really work, especially for children,” Estridge said. “So I made what is commonly recognized as a not-so-child-accepted gesture and I covered it with a giant finger puppet, which is easily removable.”
The hand, painted purple with other colorful designs, is impossible to miss. It sits right in the middle of Estridge’s exhibit. As she puts it, “I knew I wanted it to be big.”
Breaking the rules requires preparation, though. IB students have done plenty of that. Aside from actually creating art – which can take seven to nine hours per piece – they get display walls, paint them, build supports, and curate their exhibits.
Senior Chloe-Joi Pablo explained her preparation process.
“My walls were three separate pieces. We had to go out and get extra screws and hinges to make them stand up together,” said Pablo, whose piece Dog Days won Best In Show featured in Purdue Fort Wayne's Juried Art Exhibition last year. “It’s the tallest walls possible for me, because I have bigger pieces…I wanted it to feel more like an exhibit as opposed to something cozier. I don’t want people to feel intimidated by walking in.”
Pablo also broke the mold, by choosing to forgo a theme.
“I didn’t have a certain theme, I just went along with how I usually draw. And I always go with penwork, because that’s my speciality,” she said.
This was not Pablo’s first rodeo, either. She went through this process last year as a junior. Yet, her favorite part remains unchanged: “Having people view my art and enjoy it – that’s my favorite part. Seeing people’s faces.”
Pablo is not the only veteran, though.
“This is my second year…I’m not as nervous,” senior Elena Clark said. “I know what to expect. I feel more confident in my show and put-together.”
Clark’s favorite part? The individual interactions.
“The community aspect. Especially after school, you meet a lot of different people who, even though I’m a teenager, relate to my artwork,” she said. “I had a conversation with someone’s grandfather last night. My theme is childhood and growing up, and he was really touched by it. He was telling me stories about when he was a kid, and I was really touched by that. Even though this guy is four times my age, he can still relate to my pieces.”
This art show may seem like the culmination of a year’s hard work. But it is only a part of IB Art students’ final grades. They also are graded on their sketchbook/progress logs, and an artist study they do at the beginning of the year.