How Art Has Influenced Morgan Students

Art In Many Shapes Influences Morgan Students

How+Art+Has+Influenced+Morgan+Students

 

 

Junior Collen Weekes (on the left)

Sophomore Collin Weekes likes to dance. He likes to start his day off dancing in the morning because it’s what motivates him to keep going throughout the day. People may find Collin’s constant dancing in the morning a bit obnoxious, but nonetheless it showcases his ability to truly express himself.

Every day at approximately 9:00 am, Collin constantly thinks about dancing or “bustin a move” as he said so himself. Collin would love to share his art with other people, although Collin is not a professional dancer and has not received any formal training.
He stated that if people were more accepting of his artistic expression, then he would definitely be a happier person.

To understand how people view certain pieces of artwork, Collin was given a set of three illustrations and was asked which one was his favorite: an abstract painting by Mark Tobey, a landscape painting by John Constable and a self-portrait by Van Gogh. Ultimately, it was the self-portrait that was his favorite. He even said that it makes him want to “bust a move.” Collin likes to imagine Vincent van Gogh watching him dance and perhaps as a fellow “art-appreciator” would appreciate his form of expression.

Van Gogh painting

Collin believes that the emotional impact of his art is more important than the skill required to specialize in the art.
Collin said, “Art can bring people together by reuniting them to take him down in a giant dance battle.” Utilizing his art as a form of competition, allowing people to finally unite against a common threat and to challenge their limits.

Senior Noëlle Woods that is a member of art club. She also takes art class in Morgan.
Noëlle usually likes is drawing. She also likes to listen to a lot of music from a variety of genres. She likes to draw because it’s a nice outlet that conveys her feelings in a way that people would understand without words.

Noëlle has made numerous paintings of Grimace and Ronald McDonald. She hopes to inspire laughter in her paintings as a way to bring people together through art.
Noëlle typically draws in her free time, despite the limited time she has.
Noelle is already a very artistic person, although she believes there’s always room for improvement. She stated that if she were to dedicate herself to her art more, she would probably be significantly more skilled.

Noëlle believes art should be measured by the emotional impact it has on its viewers’, rather than the skill it takes to create the art. She thinks that art is not something that should be decided as factual and realizes that art is subjective in the sense that it should be something enjoyed and appreciated or not depending on the viewer’s preferences.

To understand her preferences better, Noëlle was also given the same three paintings as Collin. She thought the abstract one with splatters of paint around was weird.

Abstract painting by Mark Tobey

She also believes there’s a reason as to “why we can’t see Van Gogh’s other ear.”

At first, when Noëlle witnessed the scenery painting she was relatively disinterested, but upon noticing there were cows in the illustration, she instantly decided it was her favorite.

Landscape painting by John Constable

Overall, Noëlle enjoys illustrating and thinks that people should give drawing a try if they’re feeling bored.

As I interviewed people, I noticed that not everyone had the same level of interest in the original three paintings. Thus, I decided to switch things up a little more. I switched the pictures that I was going to display to the students from normal paintings to 4 pictures of people performing their art. From a man rapping, to a woman doing yoga and one of the students from Morgan playing basketball and a child reading two books.

 

Freshman Isabella “Izzy” Lee

Freshman Isabella “Izzy” Lee loves sports. Izzy likes to play field hockey and used to play soccer. She is very invested in field hockey. Izzy believes that a lot of people don’t know what field hockey is, and if they knew more about the sport, they would probably be more interested. Izzy likes to play field hockey with her friends and spends a lot of time practicing with her friend Mary. Izzy believes that field hockey can create a bond between friends. Izzy uses field hockey as an outlet in life. Whenever she needs something to do in her anticlimactic life, she turns to field hockey as a way to make her life more fulfilling. I showcased an image of a student from Morgan playing basketball. She picked that image because sports are very integral to her life.

A Morgan student playing a sport (Photographed by Jenna Boylan and Samantha Wayne in 2020)

It also resembles her because she likes to represent her school along with her team. Izzy feels like success is very integral to playing field hockey, but if a player is lacking in sportsmanship and teamwork, then they’re most likely not good at their art regardless of their skill. She believes sportsmanship and teamwork is very integral to winning.

 

Junior Carrie Rosick

 

Junior Carrie Rosick is a musician and a vocalist. She has been singing since she was in 3rd grade. Growing up with music has influenced her life greatly. She is in an alternative rock band outside of school. Being able to play and perform together has helped bring her together with other people. She considers music to be something for people to bond over. I showcased four pictures of people performing arts outside of painting/drawing. Carrie believes she resembles the man performing music the most because she had vocally performed on stage before. She believes that the Carrie listens to music constantly and is in the Rock Band class in Morgan.

A male vocalist performing live

She finds that music already has an immense influence on her. Overall, music is a subject that simply makes her happy. She believes that music should be measured by its emotional impact, easily. She reflects on how she isn’t the most talented vocalist, but nonetheless still puts in immense effort and emotions in her singing to make up for her lack of skill. It makes her very happy knowing that something she is very passionate about is able to allow her to connect herself with other people more easily.