Advanced Placement (AP) Art students have worked tirelessly throughout the year on 15-piece portfolios which were showcased at the AP Art Show on April 22.

Within the portfolio, students develop a Sustained Investigation (SI), an overarching theme of the collection, and provide a written supplement. Senior Nora Albee chose to explore the feelings of losing control and anxiety by reminiscing on past works.

“I did a project in Advanced Painting about fears and I really enjoyed that prompt,” Albee said. “I got the inspiration [for my collection] from that [project].” 

Albee honed her individual pieces after choosing her topic. Her painting is about the anxiety of growing up.

“[The painting] is about how growing up is inevitable, but there is also a beauty in it,” Albee said. “[Aging] is not a scary process, it is a beautiful [one].”

People may separate art into the genres of painting or photography, but senior Cece Biank combined both in her mixed media collection. Biank explored the different human connections and the disconnections that can occur.

“I’m going into psychology and the study of human nature [in college],” Biank said. “Different connections are something everyone has in common, so that’s where I got [my SI].”

One of the most recent pieces Biank completed was a picture of her mother with her facial features removed, replaced with a painted version of her mother’s features on Polaroid film. Biank’s mother, a therapist, has multiple clients who have felt a disconnection in a lot of ways and Biank noticed this as something some people struggle with. Biank decided to model this “disconnection” in her art.

“I want the viewer to bring their [own] story to the piece,” Biank said, “One person might view [the piece as being about] connection and one person might view it as [being about] disconnection.”

Senior Scott Gonzales created a colored pencil-based collection, diving into his relationship with his father. Gonzales incorporates different mediums into his pieces, including various scraps from previous pieces related to his father. Gonzales values the message in his pieces that relationships are constantly changing.

“[I expressed that] there are ups and downs [in relationships], and there [are] going to be highs and lows,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales hopes for someone to view his art and realize they are not alone, proving to them how they can improve a difficult relationship. Also, his art is used to help his relationship with his father.

“[My art] is a way to humanize my dad and not just see him as an authority figure,” Gonzales said. “[My dad] is a person. He has lived his own life and he used to be a kid too.”