School news
Art Trip to the Hall Art Foundation
On Wednesday, October 23, three Art classes visited the Hall Art Foundation in Reading, Vermont to see exhibits by Sherry Levine, Barbara Kruger, Zorawar Sidhu, and Rob Swainston. Students in Dr. Gravel’s AP Art History, Ms. Jimerson’s AP Studio Art, and Ms. Piana’s Studio Art toured the exhibits, participated in a "token" exercise choosing works they loved and had questions about in the Barbara Kruger exhibit with Mrs. Kaija, discussed an outdoor sculpture installation titled Waterfall by Olafur Eliasson using Visual Thinking Strategies noting observations, thoughts and feelings with Ms. Piccoli and students went on a sculpture walk through the apple orchard and enjoyed taking breaks on the interactive benches by Jeppe Hein.
One of the sculptures titled Children of the Corn (after the Stephen King novella) by Terence Koh inspired Tegan Miller, a student in AP Art History, to write her own horror novel! She stated, “The Children of the Corn sculpture inspired me to write a horror novel about a field of megaliths that come alive at night, filled with the souls of runaway children.”
When asked about the exhibit that interested him the most, Aksel Oates, a student in AP Art History, said, “I really enjoyed the Doomscrolling exhibit. It was so interesting to see art based on events that we all lived through interpreted in such unique and interesting ways.” Doomscrolling by Zorawar Sidhu and Rob Swainston is a series of 18 woodblock prints that cover events including the Covid pandemic, the Black Lives Matter Movement, the 2020 election, and the insurrection on the Capitol Building that span from May 24, 2020 to January 6, 2021.
The current exhibitions are on view until December 1, 2024. Thanks so much to the Hall Art Foundation for welcoming students from WUHS to learn about contemporary art.
AP Art History is Awestruck by Hudson River School Paintings!
On Tuesday, Dr. Gravel's AP Art History class went for a tour of the Hudson River School paintings at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. Ms. Piccoli engaged the students in discussions about the landscape paintings using Visual Thinking Strategies which encourages participants to observe, think and feel emotions when looking at art. The students just took their AP exam last week and studied the Hudson River School earlier in the year. They really impressed Ms. Piccoli with their observations, thoughts and use of relevant vocabulary terms like "sublime" to describe the paintings and "divine illumination" when explaining the symbolism the artists incorporated in their use of light. The group had the opportunity to look closely at paintings by Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt and William Bradford. Maeve Roylance stated, "It was very interesting to learn about all the different aspects of the paintings, but to then see how they all came together was really incredible."
Come support Woodstock student artists!
The Art Department would like to congratulate several WUHS artists for having their work represented at the AVA Gallery in the upcoming 16th Annual High School Exhibition, with works of art created by regional high school students nominated for participation by their art teachers. The exhibition will be featured in the AVA’s galleries from January 19 - February 10, 2024.
A festive award celebration will occur during the opening reception on Friday, January 19, 5-7PM, awards presentation at 6 PM.
For sixteen years now, AVA has been contacting regional Vermont and New Hampshire public, private, and vocational high schools, encouraging the art faculty to nominate works by students who show exceptional promise in various creative disciplines. The show and the ceremony are open to the public—the artwork is always INSPIRING and AWESOME!
The students whose artwork represents our school include: Delia Morgan, Kamron Yuengling, Skye Cully, Lindsay Bacon, Joe Tsouknakis, Charlotte Nunan, Kuba Marzec, Allie Tarleton, Rue Stahl, and Kiara Nestler.
Art trip to Hall Art Foundation
On Tuesday, three art classes visited the Hall Art Foundation in Reading, Vermont to see the exhibits Andy Warhol: small is beautiful and Susan Rothenberg: In New Mexico. Ms. Gravel’s AP Art History class, Ms. Jimerson’s AP Art class and Ms. Piana’s Drawing class toured the exhibits, saw the outdoor sculpture installations and participated in Visual Thinking Strategies with Ms. Piccoli when looking at Warhol’s Flowers.
Charlotte Nunan, a senior in AP Art and a gallery attendant at the Hall Art Foundation gave a special presentation on Warhol’s The American Man (Portrait of Watson Powell), 1964. During her presentation, she explained the commission, the silkscreen painting process and how the paintings are hung in a grid.
On working at the Hall Art Foundation, Charlotte said, “I’ve really enjoyed working at the Hall Art Foundation these last three years. I think it’s a great opportunity to be close to art and get a feel for the contemporary and business side of the art world. I always love seeing the new exhibits that come in each year, exposing me to new artists and artistic styles! As I’ve worked at the Hall Art Foundation, I’ve met lots of interesting people and connected with them about the art around us.”
Works by ecoart students on display at SculptureFest
A hidden world, a sunken ship, an abandoned picnic, an immersive web and an abstract expression of moving water… These are just some of the ideas expressed at the Land Trust trail by 16 talented Eco-Art students.
The pieces created are a part of SculptureFest and the community and artists enjoyed an art reception on Sunday. This environmental exhibit is always open to the public, stop by anytime on the trail located between Prosper Rd and the King Farm to enjoy their installations.
An excerpt from Aleks Cirovic’s artist statement about her art piece Stability:
“I wished for this piece to represent a part of myself, a part that I have lost. One that has balance, respect, and curiosity surrounding the past. The surrounding space represents what surrounds me.”
