Page 17 - the NOISE March 2016

THE KIDS BRING IN THE NEW
YOUTH ART AT THE CENTER
FROM LEFT: A few of the pieces at the Youth Art Exhibit — Lady Liberty by Kaitlyn Jesus, Grade 2; Notice Me Oppa by Aja Drury, Grade 10; and Madonna by Cree Brothers- Watahomigie, Grade 12.
STORY BY
ALLISON KLION
“Come see the future of art,” boasts the postcard for the Youth Art Exhibition, the perennially popular exhibition at the Coconino Center for the Arts (CCA). Since the arts center first opened in the mid-1980s, CCA has proudly showcased the talents of young artists, grades K-12, enrolled in art classes in Flagstaff schools. In fact, one hundred percent of Flagstaff-area schools participate — all of the schools in the Flagstaff Unified School District, charter schools like Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy, and private schools. In some years, even children who are home-schooled participate. Each art teacher chooses ten standout works from their classes to be included in the exhibition. The result is always chaotic and invigorating, overwhelming even the enormous main gallery space of CCA with over 350 works of art. Flagstaff Arts Council Executive Director, John Tannous believes it is the largest
display of K-12 art in a professional gallery setting in the entire region.
This selection process keeps the numbers somewhat manageable for the CCA staff, led by
Artistic Director Travis Iurato, and Northern Arizona University art education students — led by Associate Professor of Art Education Pamela Stephens — who hang the show. I asked Mr. Iurato — who at the time of publishing, was just beginning to receive the artworks from teachers
— how he plans to grapple with this massive amount of work. While thumbing through some ballpoint pen self-portraits from Summit High School students he discusses his goals for the hanging. “I plan to organize it by classroom to showcase the students’ work, as well as the ideas and concepts the teacher focused on in the classroom. By grouping the works this way, the viewer can get a sense of what the students were learning in the classroom. I also hope the students will be excited to see their work alongside their classmates’.”
Opening night is always full of energy. All of the students included, brimming with pride, drag their parents or grandparents into the gallery to show them his or her work of art. Mr. Tannous calls this “the drag effect.” The atmosphere is joyful and family-oriented with performances by student musicians and performing arts groups, and with popcorn, cookies, and Tang — instead of the usual wine and cheese affair.
According to the Arizona Department of Education, the state does have standards for the arts, which “embrace the idea of Artistic Literacy — the ability of students to create art, perform and present art, respond or critique art, and connect art to their lives and the world around them.” However, the sheer variety of techniques and ideas in the student work is a testament to the creativity of their teachers in interpreting what those standards actually mean. While the basic goals of these art teachers may be linked to state-mandated standards, there is still ample space for personal interpretation and expression.
Each year the work is eclectic, often related to things the students are learning in other classes, or occasionally current events. Mr. Tannous does recognize some consistent themes year to year. High school students draw detailed portraits of their idols, “Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and other rock ‘n roll icons, are all big in the teenage mind,” he says.
Younger students, Mr. Tannous has noticed, tend to illustrate the world they live in, “We see a lot of natural scenes; lots of aspens, and mountain landscapes,” he shares. This year is no exception. Kinsey Elementary submitted a cohesive, curated group of Arizona symbols and landscapes. A small collage of a paper cutout petroglyph frog on a bright orange ground bursts with life; another student painted coniferous trees and saguaros silhouetted against a brilliant pink sunset, and a pencil drawing of a cow skull over a Navajo rug motif on purple recalls Georgia O’Keefe. One watercolor painting by a second grader stood out for their particularly advanced rendering of their upturned palms rising from the bottom of the frame against a wet blue sky, reaching for aspen leaves and acorns that float above them. The contrast between the flatness of the natural elements and the fleshy realness of these hands was charming.
Mr. Tannous speaks of a special quality that infuses the pieces made by the youngest participants in the exhibition. “They have a completely different aesthetic appeal, and they’re able to consider things in compositions in really different ways to us.” The drawings and paintings made by children of this age exude vitality and sincerity. The boundary between what is and what is depicted is very permeable; such that one believes the figures almost breathe, the wind blows through the landscapes.
In his nine years as Executive Director, Mr. Tannous always experiences moments of wonder and reflection during the Youth Art Exhibition. He remembers seeing a piece by local painter and muralist, Sky Black, then a Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy student, and being blown away by his natural skill. “I remember distinctly seeing that piece and thinking, ‘Who’s this? This is a high school kid!’” Today a print of Mr. Black’s 2014 painting of a horse turning into a ship (or vice-versa) My Beautiful Friend, hangs in his office.
In other cases, it is the content of the work that strikes Mr. Tannous, rather than the artist’s agility with oil paint at a young age, although in this case, the student has considerable skill as well. During our conversation, Mr. Tannous pulls up a complex image of a dystopian future. In the foreground a figure wearing a gas mask kneels down on bare, scorched earth to reach one gloved hand towards a bald baby atop what seems to be the last patch of grass on Earth. Their iconic gesture recalls Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. Beyond them a densely populated city burns, sending thick black smoke across the sky. The painting, by Seth Partyka, reveals a critical mind, one with a deeply cynical view of the future, but not without optimism. Speaking of this work, Mr. Tannous notes, “There are typically a handful of high school students in the show that will give us images that really reflect what they’re thinking about the world. Sometimes those images are kind of shocking, like this one [Mr. Partyka’s], and I think ‘Wow, what are we doing to this generation?’”
The longevity of the Youth Art Exhibition is a testament to the importance of art to the Flagstaff Community. It goes without saying that public K-12 schools in Arizona have been chronically underfunded since the start of the recession, and that art and music programs are some of the first to lose funding when budgets are slashed. The exhibition, which occurs in conjunction with Youth Art Month, reminds viewers of the importance of art education in young people’s development. There has been a debate in art education advocacy circles about whether or not art experiences like art class or visiting a museum or seeing a theater performance actually impact a student’s academic achievement. Lois Hetland and Ellen Winner of the Harvard University education research group, Project Zero, argue convincingly that art education should be valued and championed for its own sake, not because of weak evidence of correlation to higher standardized test scores. They conclude, as quoted in the New York Times, “Students who study the arts seriously are taught to see better, to envision, to persist, to be playful and learn from mistakes, to make critical judgments and justify such judgments.”
Flagstaff already seems to know this. Mr. Tannous explains that the community is fiercely dedicated to the arts. “I think if arts were cut from FUSD’s budget, you would see this town descend upon the school board and demand that they reinstate it.” FUSD and all of the schools in Flagstaff have dedicated art teachers like Joe Cornett, digital photography teacher at Flagstaff High School, who takes his students to Phoenix and beyond to Los Angeles to expose them to museums, artists, and opportunities to work beyond the city they live in. Non-profit programs like Flagstaff’s Masterpiece Art Program help supplement art education. The aforementioned program uses a combination of art history, art appreciation, and creative projects to expand elementary age children’s exposure to the international art historical canon. In conjunction with the Youth Art Exhibition, work from this program is exhibited in the Center’s Jewel Gallery.
The Youth Art Exhibition opened on February 26 and runs through April 2 at the Coconino Center for the Arts at 2300 North Fort Valley Road, open Tuesday through Saturday 11AM-5PM. Registration for Spring Break Circus Camp, taught by instructors from Flagstaff Aerial Arts, is now open. Students will learn skills such as acro-balance, tumbling, clowning, aerial dance, trapeze, juggling and more. In the process they learn about empowerment of self and others. Registration is now open. 928/779-2300 FlagArtsCouncil.org
| Allison Klion is cheering on the young artists. arts@thenoise.us
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • MARCH 2016 • 17