With two years worth of creative and hard work behind them, the artists in the class of 2017 are finally done with their IB Art Exhibition. On the 21st of March, the artists displayed their pieces in the Lemann-Tully Arts Center Gallery. Each student’s artworks were centered around a certain theme of importance to them, and powerfully provoked societal norms, challenged contemporary ideals, offered personal reflection, and most importantly, presented profound and critical thinking in very imaginative ways. To gain a deeper insight into the creative process, The Talon decided to interview some of the IB art seniors.

The responses have been slightly edited just for clarity, not content.

The Talon: What was the most challenging part about IB art for you?

Nathalia: I think that the hardest part of IB art was creating an artwork that expressed and portrayed what you originally envisioned with enough clarity for the viewer to be able to understand it, [but also maintaining some complexity in it], which required personal interpretation.

The Talon: How did you come up with your theme for your exhibition?

Natalie: When I was trying to come up with a theme for my exhibition, I had a difficult time defining what my art was about collectively. When I was making artworks, all of my ideas built off each other to create works that were all interrelated. It wasn’t until I started putting my exhibition together that I was able to officially determine my theme. Once I saw all of my works together, it was easy to see their connections since each idea came from a previous artwork.

The Talon: What part of your IB art experience did you enjoy the most?

Paula: I think what I enjoyed the most about my IB art experience was seeing not only myself grow as an artist, but those around me as well. The process, although an emotional journey, really pushed our boundaries and challenged us to take risks, and I think our exhibition was really a testimony of that. It was extremely rewarding to see how far we had all come individually and as a group, which made me extremely happy and very proud.

The Talon: How is the creative process different from what you do in other classes?

Mateus: To me, in arts you don’t necessarily start with a set base from your teacher. The teacher instead helps you explore what path you want to take [and] allows you to explore whatever shape your creativity could take.

The Talon: What is more challenging: the physical production of art or the creation of an idea?

Marielotte: The creation of the idea is definitely harder as in order to produce an artwork you need to be inspired. Once you have the idea you can [exhibit] your vision in any way you want, but getting to the idea, in terms of narrowing in on a topic or concept and figuring out what you want to say, takes a lot of thought.

The Talon: What was the most important skill you learned from IB Art? Do you intend on focussing on a specific kind of art in the future?

Anonymous: In terms of art, I learned to be more responsible about what I do, keep track of every process in art making practices and also to be open to new ideas as well as opposing ideas because they open new doors to where I can take my art in the next step. It also taught me to view the world in different ways and express my thought through visual communication that can address various issues and inspire other people. For now, I want to focus on design, however, I don’t know which specific field of art. But I think that all fields of art are connected so even if I focus on design I think I can also reach into other fields.

The Talon: What piece of advice would you give to future art students?

Yejin: Do not underestimate art. There is a preconception [in] which others assume that art is one of the easy classes, but art is in fact the hardest course I have ever had in my IB life. Art is very time consuming and open-minded, so it is harder to challenge and develop yourself as there is no set answer. However, I would encourage many people to take IB art courses because people don’t need to have talent in art in order to do IB art. What matters is the development of your creative mind and seeing your mind grow.

If you haven’t already, go see the artworks in the Arts Center Gallery on the 2nd floor while they are still on display!