By David Gremp
I recently had the honor — and pleasure — of being asked to join a panel of judges for a regional high school art competition. The work submitted ran the entire gamut of visual-art media, from painting and drawing, to computer and graphic art, to photography. It was an amazing experience to see such a wide range of visions and creative output by such young and talented individuals. Viva la visual arts!
As a photo educator with over 40 years of teaching experience I am well aware that funding for arts programs has not been kind over the past decade or so. Some public school programs have disappeared completely, while others have struggled to maintain community taxpayer and political support. In the competition I was involved with, which recruited art works from five different high schools, only one offers a robust arts program with numerous faculty in specialized areas, including photography, and that was immediately obvious by the shear number of entries from that school, far outnumbering those from the other schools combined by over 10 to 1. It was obvious that the volume of work from the well-funded arts program offered more students an opportunity to explore their minds in a purely creative manner.
Empty Sign Frame at the Art Institute of Chicago
What wasn’t quite so obvious was any distinct difference in the quality of the work. From my 70-year-old perspective, much of the ideas and themes represented were fairly typical of teenage concerns: isolation vs. conformity, surface vs. internal identity, angst vs. activism, etc. etc. But it’s always interesting to see how each student/artist manifested those concerns through their choice of materials and tools to match their innate talents. The judging experience confirmed to me that you can’t really teach a person to become a great artist; you can only encourage creative thoughts and actions and give it a chance to develop and flourish. AND provide a platform for which to share it with others, which this competition offers.
I don’t think that too many of the students who entered this competition realized how fortunate they are to have such an opportunity. Being in school in and of itself qualifies each of them — gives them an open door — to be a part of a larger arts community. All they have to do is do the work and walk it through that door for others to see.
Once you’re out of school, those doors aren’t always so easy to find. I remember when I got out of photo school (well after high school!), finally free from classwork and assignments and feeling . . .LOST! Left to my own devices. No incentive. No direction. No need to do anything! And it felt pretty scary! I was lucky in that I found ways to fill that void with self-imposed project and a network or community of like-minded folks. But, I had to build it or create it myself.
One of the things about the Texas Photographic Society that I have always admired is their continued efforts to build a sense of community through its membership competitions and exhibitions. As a member, you have an opportunity to share your work on a large stage shared by other like-minded and talented folks. You can either sit back as a spectator and enjoy it, or you can walk through that door yourself and be a vital part of it. Of course I strongly recommend the latter but either way, you win!
I hope that the high school students who participated in the small regional competition I was a part of continue their creative efforts. Whether it goes on to bring them fame and glory is secondary to developing their skills and exercising their freedom of expression! Seize the day and take advantage of every opportunity to get your work out there. And remember the old conundrum: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”