After being canceled last year due to the pandemic, the Student Arts Show officially started again on February 18th. Artwork made by students is on display for the public at the Arts and Heritage Center until March 12th. The show features art from students from Belvedere, Hammond Hill, Mossy Creek, and North Augusta elementary schools; North Augusta and Paul Knox middle schools; and North Augusta High School. North Augusta High School students’ art can be found on the second floor in its own exhibit.
“Over 50 North Augusta High School students are being represented at the Arts Show with over 100 artworks,” said Mrs. Polvadore, one of North Augusta High School’s art teachers. “Some students also have art from last year that was not able to be shown because there was not a show last year.” Additionally, students in Advanced Placement art classes got their own special exhibit. These students include seniors Maggie Johnson and Max Hooper and sophomores Udorji Obi and Sherry Kong.
The Students Art Show is also a contest. A panel of judges walk around and view every artwork, and students can win first through third place or get honorable mentions. Maggie Johnson received an honorable mention for Coffee Shop, junior Cadence Padgett received an honorable mention for Winnie Harlow, junior Maddie King received an honorable mention for Lost Within the Snow, and junior Grace McKenzie received an honorable mention for Lemur. Sherry Kong won third place for Whip It, freshman Athen Lyse won second place for Tiger Eye, and sophomore Reagan Littleton won first place for Op Art. The Arts Show judges also choose an artwork to be considered “best in show.” While each school has first, second, third, and honorable mentions, there is only one artwork that receives the “best in show” title. This year, a North Augusta High School Student won the award. Odorji Oji won “best in show” for Two Sides of the Same Coin.
Max Hooper elaborated on some of his artworks. Hooper made a piece called Resurrection, which features the alien from Alien, as well as a piece of actor Chris Pratt titled Chrissie Boy. Hooper’s favorite piece he made is Taking the First Step. “Basically, it’s society’s view of LGBTQ people,” he explained. Then, pointed to an ankle with rainbows coming from it, he said, “This is an ankle monitor that’s finally breaking, finally cracking open, and they are breaking free.”
Sherry Kong also described some of her works. “A lot of these pieces are just random pieces that I’ve done at home, but some of these are for my AP Art portfolio. The pieces for my portfolio all have to do with Chinese beauty standards,” Kong said. One of her pieces, The Chinese History of Long Hair, features a Chinese woman with long hair. To her left, there are Chinese characters, and behind her, there are mountains and water. Kong said, “My dad did the writing. It’s a quote by Confucius that basically says that our hair and our skin is from our parents, so anything we do to damage them is disrespecting them. And the mountain and the water represent how parental love is greater than the mountains and deeper than the waters.” This piece leads into her next piece, Whip It, which she won third place for. “[The History of Long Hair] is about the culture of long hair,” Kong describes. “In ancient China, you weren’t allowed to cut your hair because it was seen as disrespectful to your parents. This was the same for men and women…And [Whip It] shows why it evolved.” This piece depicts a Chinese man with a half-shaved, half-braided hairstyle. “This hairstyle was from the time when the Manchus took over China, and having the men have this hairstyle meant that they were Han Chinese and not Manchu. So, it was a social and political meaning behind the hairstyle,” Kong said.
The Student Art Show is open until March 12th. The public is encouraged to come to the Arts and Heritage Center to view the work of North Augusta High School students, as well as others in the community.
Pictured: Third Place winner Sherry Kong's display at the art show
Photo Credit: Greer Worley
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