Young artists have something to say

By Jen Eberbach

Reprinted from The Ryder Magazine. (Bloomington, IN). March 2007

Special exhibitions of K-12 art, which are on display this month in town in honor of National Youth Art Month, are providing young area artists with the opportunity to show their art to the public. Your Art Here and the John Waldron Art Center Galleries are supporting young artists’ creativity and emergent interest in art by exhibiting youth art and hosting an awards ceremony in recognition of young artists.

Your Art Here is a Bloomington-based public art project that exhibits art on billboards, city buses, other public spaces, and t-shirts in Bloomington and Indianapolis. Since 2003, the organization’s annual competition Billboard Generation has asked young people to speak out on ideas they want to share with their community. This year’s contest, BBG V, poses the challenge; “Be the Media: What Would You Say?” Four artworks by K-12 students from Bloomington and two from Indianapolis high school students were chosen to be displayed in public spaces throughout the two cities.

More artworks created by area kids and young adults will be on display in the John Waldron Arts Center Galleries, from March 8 – 19. Artists from Monroe County Schools, Harmony School, Aurora, and home schooled students are represented, including Your Art Here contest winners. A public reception will be held on Friday, March 8^th, from 5:30 – 7:00 pm, followed by an awards ceremony to honor exhibit participants and BBG V contest winners.

Bloomington elementary school winners include Nicholas (2^nd grade, Arlington Heights Elementary School), who says, his billboard is meant “to remind people not to litter,” and Alena (3^rd grade, Unionville Elementary School), who hopes “to teach people a lesson,” with her artwork Do Anything to Help Our Community. Stephanie, this year’s Bloomington middle school winner from Jackson Creek, contributed her artwork Freedom, “because people need to know that if we don’t give animals freedom, they won’t be around much longer.”

Ryan Cutshall, a contest winner from Bloomington High School North, created his billboard, Untitled, as a project for his drawing class. Ryan’s billboard began as a project on the issue of hunger around the world and his teacher encouraged him to submit it to the contest. Ryan states that his billboard is a “visual representation of helplessness that most people don’t understand when they see written words.” He claims that if people “don’t get a visual of what’s really going on,” then the media’s words “don’t register.”

Indianapolis winner Dynesha, a senior at Broad Ripple High School, contributed a drawing that “reflects how celebrity crazed American society is today.” She claims that “rather than focusing on the real world issues, our attention is turned towards the secret scandals of celebrity couples.” Jonathan Barlow, who also attends Broad Ripple, investigates how the media controls our attention with his artwork Is No News Good News. Jonathan says that his billboard examines how we are “effected by violence,” in the media, “that spills out into the street.” He concludes that, in America, we “put a lot of violence on TV. Kid’s think it’s ok.” He laments the raise in school shootings and violence among young people, and asks the question; “Why are we letting people becomes famous from it?”

In the past, the project has relied on the support of area public school art teachers to spread the word about the contest and get their students involved. This year, organizers made an effort to reach out to more young artists. A grant awarded by the City of Bloomington’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission funded a workshop for 4^th – 6^th grade aged children, entitled “Be the Media,” which was held at the Monroe County Public Library in January. The young artists learned about artists who use different techniques, including painting, drawing and collage to examine popular culture and the media. Through this outreach effort, they were able to obtain submissions from home schooled children for the first time.

You can support Your Art Here by attending the annual Art Auction and Rock Benefit at the Art Hospital on Friday, March 9^th. A silent auction of 2-D artworks created by Bloomington area artists will be held from 7 – 10 pm, followed by local rock bands racebannon, Mouthbreather, and Dixie Fried Diablo, until midnight. Money collected from admissions, $5, and the auction will support Your Art Here and the Hospital’s on-going schedule of art and music events.

This year’s challenge to be the media is especially appropriate to Your Art Here’s philosophy of artistic intervention into public spaces, which are usually occupied by advertisers and the media. According to organizers, new types of communication technology, from the “Internet” to “podcasts,” “have generated an increased volume of media output and intake.” BBG V gave young artists the opportunity to investigate the power of the media and contribute their own impressions of the world to the larger community.

Winning billboards:

Don't Litter by Nicolas, Arlington Heights Elementary School, TBA

Do Anything to Help Our Community by Alena, Unionville Elementary School, TBA

Freedom by Stephanie, Jackson Creek Middle School, TBA

Untitled by Ryan, Bloomington High School North, 101 E. 6th St.

Is No News Good News? by Jonathan, Broad Ripple High School, 888 Massachusetts, Ave, Indianapolis. 

Celebrity by Dynesha, Broad Ripple High School, 922 Massachusetts Ave, Indianapolis (pictured above)