By Ben Martin-Katz ’12, Arts & Entertainment Columnist

Last week, Sydney Hershman, Leigh Wolfson, Ashley Ulrich, Nyasia Jones, and Tara Gadde finished dismantling the SLANT art exhibit whose title was an acronym of the artists’ initials. The show was the culmination of the seniors’ art careers at Newark Academy, and displayed work they have made over the past two years.

The exhibit presented a wide range of media, spanning from 3D ceramic sculptures to oil and acrylic paintings, each of which reflected the artists’ unique styles. Ashley Ulrich explained that it was difficult putting the show together because each artist had her own discrete viewpoint and style.

Ultimately, however, collaboration among the artists made for a dynamic and poignant show. According to Tara Gadde, the “pieces actually interacted really well with each other, and although [the artists had their] own distinct styles, it was really cool to see how one piece highlighted some facet of another piece without losing its value.” Each piece, while aesthetically different, was positioned to resonate with the others in form, color, and even in some general themes. In regard to overlapping themes, Ashley and Leigh both made various anti-war pieces, Ashley, Tara, and Leigh created art with environmental messages, and Sydney and Tara both created work that focused on socio-cultural themes.

The show also reflected the artistic growth of the students over their two years in the IB program. Ashley explained how in junior year the art program was very structured and instruction oriented, and that senior year brought with it a greater amount of freedom and responsibility. As the artists continued to explore and refine their techniques, they became more comfortable and took greater risks with their art. Tara said that last year she “started out on a smaller scale, doing designs with a detail brush. As [her] confidence grew and [her] technical skills evolved, [she] worked on large wooden panels, but still kept socio-cultural issues and motifs as [her] main source of inspiration.” Ashley, like Tara, worked on a larger scale and focused on more technical work as she became more comfortable with her style. She explained that she shied away from the human form in junior year but returned to it as her main focus as a senior. Ashley created a series of six oil paintings that closely framed soldiers’ faces revealing their emotions and the burden of war. She was inspired by a picture of a soldier smoking and aimed to capture the harsh reality of PTSD.

Ultimately, the show was a great success and a lens into the visual arts program at Newark Academy. Now we must say goodbye to the senior IB artists and their work—we wish them luck, and hope that they continue to pursue their artistic passions in years to come.