Nogales High students debut senior art exhibit at Puente Hills Mall
INDUSTRY - After years of honing their craft as artists and filmmakers, a group of Nogales High School students finally revealed their creations in their very own showroom.
The 2011 senior art show, titled "Passion Unleased," debuted Saturday at the Puente Hills Mall, where 15 art and three film students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program have nearly 200 pieces on display.
"They've grown so much," said James Ellison, the school's visual and performing arts teacher and student adviser. "I'm proud of every single one of them."
Required to receive college credit, the event allows students to experience what it's like to put on a real art show, including pricing their work, Ellison said.
"That's
While the art mediums vary from acrylic and oil to digital photography, themes include abstract and socio-political statements.
Allison Yoshida spent seven months creating her exhibit, "Down with Society," a vibrant 13-piece art show centered on punks, judgment and pain.
"Punks get a bad rap and I wanted to explain the pain that we go through," said Yoshida, 17. "People think that we don't care, but we're all regular people. We're normal, we just look a little different."
The Walnut resident has been accepted to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
"I've always been into art, and it's good to learn new styles and different
These students have spent much of their high school careers researching different mediums, artists and creating their workbooks, culminating in the annual art show.
"I can teach them what to do, but I can't touch what they create," Ellison said. "They have to put on the show all on their own."
New this year are five short films produced by IB film students Dino Ramirez of La Puente, Stephen Lira of West Covina and Jimmy Ramirez of La Puente.
"We find it really interesting," Lira said, adding that the films vary in themes from near-death experiences to high school dilemmas. "We love making movies."
Mastering their filmmaking skills, working in a state-of-the art studio and producing films has been a three-year process, Lira said.
"They have to learn how to make a movie that is interesting, yet has to say everything they want to say in a 6- to 7-minute window," Ellison said, adding that an official film course will be offered this fall.
"They've done the best that they can do and that's all I ask," he said.
Gallery hours and film screenings will be from 2 to 6 p.m. April 10 and 4 to 9 p.m. April 11-15 near Macy's on the lower level of the mall at 1600 S. Azusa Ave.
626-962-8811, ext. 2446