AP Portfolio art gallery: Allowing students to demonstrate their hard work and dedication through their art

BY ANNABELLE ROSA

From Tuesday, March 5 through Monday, March 18, the artwork of several AP and Advanced Drawing Portfolio students will be displayed at the Hollywood Art and Culture Center, located on Harrison Street, one block east of Young Circle. This event is open to the public, however, a reception will be held on Saturday, March 16 for the friends and family of the students whose work will be displayed.

Not only will the work of Cowboys be displayed, but so will the works of students from different schools.

During the course, students work on a breadth section and a concentration consisting of 24 pieces of art in total with twelve pieces in each section.

AP Portfolio instructor Irma Barr believes the event is well-deserved for her very diligent students.

“I think it’s great recognition for them to put onto their college resumes and for those that are maybe not even pursuing a college career in art— to have your pieces shown publicly in [a] gallery is an honored distinction,” Barr said.

As a result of the nature of AP courses, Barr has had these students for a year or two as AP Portfolio is a two-year course. Students who take the course spend their first year building their portfolio and the second year finalizing it before submitting their work to CollegeBoard.

During the course, students work on a breadth section and a concentration consisting of 24 pieces of art in total with twelve pieces in each section. The breadth section of a student’s portfolio demonstrates their overall understanding of 2-D design issues. The concentration section is 12 pieces of art that are based on a particular idea such as stereotypes or showing movement through coloration in photographs.

In order to provide readers with a snapshot of what can be anticipated at the art gallery, here are a few of the student artists whose work will be on display and a look at the work that they’ve submitted.

Fenix Lobo

Q: Which of your pieces are going to be on display at the art gallery?

A: At the moment I’m deciding between three I could display at the AP [Portfolio] art gallery. One is based on the internal/external conflict in which I used my friend as a subject due to her internal issues with self-image. Another is a still life that consists of a shoe owned by me, my mom and my sister. And the last would be my piece about the effects of certain pesticides against bees to raise awareness of the consequences.

Q: So what have you been working on in terms of your art portfolio? What’s your concentration? Would you mind talking about the art process at all?

A: My concentration is based around human-related effects on animals and the environment. I want to spread messages in my art to raise general awareness of our actions that may cause a negative impact. Usually, whenever I start an art project, I think of a different topic every time that I can bring focus on. It can either be metaphorical or just the face of its reality. The other part of my portfolio called breadth consists more of my still life or experimental pieces that are not related to my concentration.

2. Gabriela Hornstein

Q: What is your particular style of art and your concentration for your portfolio? Which of your pieces are being displayed at the exhibit?

A: My particular style of art is multimedia because I love to use different materials in my art that may seem unconventional. This may be various fabrics, photo transfer techniques or multiple art mediums in one piece. My concentration is the human connection to nature or things part of the natural world. But a large part of my work is based on photos I’ve taken. One of my pieces being displayed is an oil painting I created based on a photo series I did with a friend. This piece is about abstraction and reflections. My other work that [is] at the gallery is a multimedia self-portrait. This piece also includes my photography in it through an acrylic gel transfer overlaid on the drawing.

Q: Do you feel that AP Portfolio has been beneficial in exploring a creative avenue for your artwork? If so, how?

A: Yes, being in this program has definitely challenged me and through that has allowed me to try new mediums that I may have not used before— new materials like using image transfers and pen. I wasn’t really into using pen/ink but after some projects that required us to use them, I ended up really liking how it looks.

3. Isaac Chiu

Q: What is your particular style of art and your concentration for your portfolio? Which of your pieces are being displayed at the exhibit?

A: My artistic style is placing photorealistic portraits into more surrealist situations. My concentration focuses on the distortion of my own identity. My real life and behaviors can be distorted by more abstract concepts like happiness or sadness. So I think my concentration fits my style perfectly. The two pieces I have displayed in the AP Portfolio gallery are very representative of my style. Both pieces include a self-portrait and represent growth either through flowers or hands reaching toward a higher goal.

Students can expect to see several pieces at the gallery that are reflective of the innermost thoughts of the AP portfolio class. These students have dedicated hours upon hours to their work and the fruits of their labor have been abundant and plentiful. Art is subject to the constant evolution of the creative mind; this exhibit is merely a display showcasing the manner in which Barr’s students have continued to challenge themselves and create masterpieces.  

Photo by Kayla Florenco