Identity Art Show 2023

The 2023 Prescott Art Show was a huge success!  As a school-wide social studies goal, identity was the theme chosen to inspire student artwork in a variety of mediums.  Students in grades 6-8 invented individual projects focused on identity.  They began with group brainstorming and wrote proposals for what they wanted to do individually to address this theme.  Throughout the quarter, they checked in with activities for reflection and feedback as they adapted their work in preparation for the art show.  The K-5th grade students were invited to exhibit any identity-themed work saved from classwork or created at home, making this a truly school-wide exhibition.  Enjoy these photos and samples of student art and writing from the show.  To view all of this year's projects, visit this Artsonia Gallery.

Jeremy, Grade 6, wrote, "I took inspiration for my artwork from Son of Man by Rene Magritte.  I changed the background, and I replaced the apple with zippers.  Zippers make people think of closing something.  In my picture they cover and close my mouth and my heart.  This ties in with identity because in my life I sometimes have felt silenced and like I couldn’t talk.  That made me feel sad and stressed.  I feel like that changes whenever I get the chance to speak up.  I feel like I can do that when I am with people I care about. I want people to speak up for themselves and not be scared."

Sisters Shivani and Salila stand in front of Salila's (Grade 5) assemblage based on the work of artist Betye Saar.  Salila wrote about stereotypes that girls can overcome. "I think that girls can do just as much as boys can. They can play sports. They are more than just how they look."

Marco (pictured with his mom and brother) created a painting and collage based on Barbara Carrasco's famous mural A History of LA.  He showed his love of soccer, food and family!

The second floor became an art gallery for the evening!
  

Yalexi, Grade 8 wrote, "I made this to show a feeling of being lost and feeling like your missing a piece to your life. My artwork has broken pieces of the mirror on the floor and black holes where the pieces are supposed to be. The black holes represent feeling lost and not knowing what's next. Each piece of glass represents something different. Insecurities, mental health, loneliness, stress are all ways that can negatively impact someone. I choose this art piece because of current problems going on in the world that is causing people to lose themself. My original plan was just to do paint throughout the whole painting. But I then decided to add spray paint for the mirror frame and the shimmery part of a CD to create the broken pieces of the mirror. I hope when people look at my painting they realize that they are not alone. Everyone has there moments of feeling lost, but once you put those pieces back together you will be able to find your whole self again."

6th graders in room 304 created portraits with puzzle pieces as pieces of their identity.

A community art project was arranged at the entrance for each person to add what unique attributes they bring into the school community.  Check out the completed community puzzle on the 2nd floor landing!

Oscar created a portrait to shine a light on Tourette's Syndrome and to bring awareness to how tics like whistling make Oscar unique.

Caroline, Grade 8 

"This art piece is a portrait of a young girl, based on me.  She has phone chargers wrapped around her neck to represent the chokehold that our devices and social media have on us. There are also phones covering her heart and mouth, reminding the audience that social media is telling us what to say and believe.  My inspiration for this artwork is Tik Tok, because that is the app where I see the most negativity and arguing, and I spend a lot of time on that app. I wanted to show the effects of too much time on apps.  I hope that after they see my portrait, people will remember the importance of staying true to yourself and not letting others' opinions affect yours.

Lila, Grade 8

"This artworks shows a big part of my identity, performing. But along with that there are some big decisions, I need to decide whether i want to be onstage or on camera. I need to decide where I want to live and what I really want to do, these are difficult decisions and I think about it every day. This artwork was inspired by "Self Portrait of the Painter Hesitating Between Painting and Music" by Angelica Kauffman. In the painting a women is choices between painting and music. To create this artwork I first made a sketch on paper, then transferred to a canvas. After that I started painting. I used to tape to get clean lines and took reference photos to get the hands to look the way that I wanted them to. I changed my plan many times for the bottom left corner, I went through a lot of different options but I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope that after viewing my artwork they will understand the pull between the two worlds. I love performing with all of my heart and it is so difficult to pick a side. I want people to walk away understanding that it's okay to not have a plan. I know that this is what I want to do, but I don't know exactly how or where I'm going to do it, and that's okay."

Brenna, Grade 8

" My artwork tells you about my identity by showing you how connected I feel to the universe.  Being connected to the universe is one of my beliefs, and my beliefs are part of my identity. My painting shows some of the connections I see between humans and the universe. 

 In my painting, a figure representing me is surrounded by space. The neon shapes on each side of the person show what the birth of a cell looks like, and also the death of a star.  They are so similar looking, and I wanted to show a connection. At the bottom, lines represent brain cells. They look almost identical to images of a universe. There are also black holes, because they can be different colors and look like eyes. Stars can even resemble freckles.

 My inspiration for this was my love of space and my love for my dog Cooper.  One day I looked at his eyes and realized how much his eyes looked like a black hole and space.  That got me thinking about how we are connected to the universe and how we are the universe. 

From looking at this art, I hope people remember how connected they are, how interesting we are, and how interesting the universe is."

Ava, Grade 8

" I painted a hand holding a compass, signs on arrows, a phone with GPS, and a folded map.  In the background is the skyline of Chicago.  The skyline shows my current location, and the other components are showing how I am still finding my identity in where I want to go, who I want to be and what I want to do.  There is a brick wall in the middle.  I first added it because I had done a separate painting of the skyline with a brick wall in front of it, but in this painting it looks like it could hold meaning.  It could represent barriers I have along the way.  I didn’t mean for this to happen, but it works well for the theme. 

       This painting shows my indecisive tendencies when it comes to my life and my future.  The good thing is I have a lot of options, but it is difficult for me to choose one.  

       To make this painting, I used a dabbing motion to add color to the grass.  I also added different colors and shading to bring in the realistic aspects of the hand.  I thought a lot about the hand drawing project we did earlier in the year, and I thought about the island project where we drew a compass, and these projects helped me a lot.  

      I hope people notice and remember the small personal details of my painting like the small Korean flag in the compass or the tiger footprints to symbolize Korea’s national animal.  The bracelet is one I got from my baptism into the Catholic church.  "