Students bring energy to Profiles

There’s a pervasive myth that art is only worth looking at if it comes from an adult, a mature person who has cultivated sophisticated ideas and techniques over decades of experience.

Hogwash. Don’t believe it? It’s time for you to think outside the box and check it out yourself. This is the 15th edition of Profiles’ High Energy series, a chance for all local high school students to ante up and show off their pure, unadulterated talent in the perfect venue for it — a place that’s bright and open and willing to take chances.

Thinking outside the box is exactly what a lot of these young artists are doing. Take Kassandra Harvey for example. Normally the dimensions of paintings stick close to a size that most people can carry by themselves but Harvey’s Wish Tree is definitely a two-person job, measuring 1.2 m by 2.4 m (4’ by 8’). No small feat to transport and certainly an impressive fait accompli, considering it’s also gorgeous and thoughtful. The otherworldly scene shows a path through a forest carpeted with blades of orange fire, and the trees seem to be floating, reaching.

She was hoping to have more time to finish adding details but as it stands she had to burn a bit of midnight oil in order to get it done before it was due.

“Originally it was supposed to be grounded and scenic painting but my creativity took over and came out with something more abstract and deeper in meaning. I didn’t get to put in the amount of creativity that could have been put in it. I could have put in a few more knotholes and rocks and things, but overall the painting turned out just the way I wanted.”

She explained there are multiple levels of meaning that viewers can glean from it, playing off the show’s theme of revealing and concealing.

“I wanted them to see the image of warmth and sunshine. Walking through a path into the unknown is the idea of the painting.”

For her though, the image is going to play a very large role in her submitted portfolio as part of her application to university. “It’s like a wish to be accepted.”

Other artists explored textures and techniques, the likes of which don’t often get explored in the exhibits of professionals. Works like Rob Amos’ skeletal Trapped Inside an Artist, Sorchae Costante’s Le Giraffe, Sydney Pickering’s watercolour and ink piece The Road and Nicole Oudenaarden’s hole-punched paper collage called Runner are all brilliant. Amanda Payne’s piece Self-Portrait is both two- and three-dimensional. Janine Karasick-Acosta, the gallery’s curator, admitted, “That was a really unique piece for us. We’ve never seen anything like that come to [High Energy].”

If you’re looking for variety, you really can’t beat high school art. It runs the gamut of styles, subjects and even tests out new media as well. Pencils, pastels, oils and charcoal are all there but when was the last time you viewed art made of licorice, Styrofoam cups or plastic pop bottles? There’s not a lot of abstract paintings and that seems strange considering the content often revolves around social issues, pop culture and teen angst. These aren’t always concrete concepts and that means they are just begging for fuzzy imagery and vague meanings.

Director Frances Gagnon was impressed with the quantity of high quality work.

“I think there’s more variety than the last couple of years. We had a very difficult time narrowing it down. Even the teachers had a hard time. These kids are very prolific.”

Still, the most important thing is that they get to express themselves in whatever way they can and that it’s worthy enough for wall space in a bona fide show. All that the public needs to do to is stop in to the public gallery and support the artists of the future while they’re on the ground floor. If this is their starting point then they’ve already hit the ground running.

With files from Christina Zoernig.