Main Galleries

May 22-June 10, 2012
Concord-Carlisle High School Exhibit

Reception:
Thursday, May 24
6:00-8:00pm
Awards presented at 7:00pm

Can Art Save the World?

The power of the arts cannot be underestimated. Through the visual arts, young adults find their voice, an original, honest expression of their hopes, dreams, fears, loves and losses. The arts provide an arena for students to frame and understand their experiences as they learn to navigate a challenging world.

Through authentic artistic challenges, students increase the confidence of their visual perception and sensitivity through the careful attention they direct at their subject matter and creative process. Students hone their insight through the adventurous interpretation of works of art that are full of metaphor and meaning.

The arts inform us about the world and about ourselves, especially our ability to think with our intuition, to think for ourselves. The arts challenge us to see the world with new eyes for as artists we must take a leap into the unknown, every day. Artists remind us that in order to appreciate the most beautiful aspects of life, we as viewers also need to take leaps of imagination, because the truths are not obvious, and if we don’t think for ourselves, someone else surely will.

The art department at CCHS includes architecture, drawing, ceramics, painting, photography, sculpture, digital imaging and digital video production. These courses have introductory and advanced levels so that students can take foundation experience from the introductory courses and work more independently towards a personal artistic vision in advanced courses.             The art department at CCHS is always expanding. Over the years, we have begun to offer advanced courses in digital animation including the use of a three-dimensional printer. The ceramics program has expanded its resources so that now students regularly experience alternative firing methods. The photography department has been awarded a generous Concord Educational Fund grant that enables students to experience historic wet plate photographic processes.

The student/artists in the CCHS art program have shown an incredible commitment to their artistic passions. There is a clear culture of working beyond classroom expectations by coming in afternoons and as many have done, setting up home studios and developing a regular practice of creative expression.

So, can art save the world? Perhaps, through increased awareness, through creative problem solving, through honest perception, critical thinking and connection making, art can set a culture in the right direction.