Fine Arts Night

    Decorating the halls of Lafayette High School are collages of student artworks that range from black and white photography portraits to brightly colored pastel pieces. Fine Arts Night is an event that showcases students’ best artwork of the year. Needless to say, the pieces are amazing. Some of the pieces are very powerful and it’s impossible not to wonder how the art came to life. Student accounts of creating their works go beyond simply fulfilling an assignment’s guidelines, but hold personal meaning and retain emotional depth.

Junior Reeve Forget at LHS is praised by many for her gorgeous photography. Two of her pieces were on display at the show and though a bit whimsical and fun, they still could be viewed through a variety of lenses and be interpreted with a multitude of meanings. One of the photos was a highly sharpened, black and white image of a cat playing. The most striking thing about this photo was the clarity of the very close-up shot of the cat’s face. When asked about her inspiration she said, “I really wanted to combine two of my favorite things: photography and animals.” The second image on display showcased a striking texture contrast. Two large, gloved hands cupped around a small, soft bunny. She said “This was my favorite piece. I love how the two big hands compare so starkly to the delicate bunny.”

Magdalena Duemmler is a German exchange student at LHS and she too participated in Fine Arts Night. She had a slightly different approach to the project and took inspiration from former fashion photographer, Irving Penn. She worked with two fellow students who posed as models to recreate images that held striking resemblances to Penn’s. She said “I chose Penn as my inspiration because of the variations he shows in his images. The way he places his models sometimes in weird small corners makes them look very interesting.” Two of her pieces can be found on display in the hallway of the lower commons. Magdalena also said, “I loved working with my models and was glad that they acted and did exactly what I imagined and more”.

Macy Neighbor, a senior at Lafayette, had multiple works on display at the event. Some of her works were created with the assistance of photoshop, but most of her work was done by hand. Her works use a variety of art media and placed on the wall as a collage, they were breathtaking.

The students at Lafayette have worked the entire school year to make these projects. Their efforts have been well worth it and the results are magnificent as any person strolling the hallways can see. The time and passion that went into the projects is spectacular and a beautiful way to end the school year at Lafayette High School.