Last year, this writer was a little hard on the high school students participating in the 27th Annual High School Art Show at the Springville Museum of Art. For me, there was a little too much copying and too many derivative works.
This year, however, the exhibit manifests a definite shift toward originality.
The jurors of the 28th Annual High School Art Show 2000 Exhibition— along with SMA director Vern Swanson, and curator of education Sharon Gray — have continued to emphasize individual, conceptual thinking, as well as moving beyond the belief that technique alone makes a great artist.
"We came down a little harder on originality," says Swanson, "and next year we'll do it a little more. We're inching our way to that next level of professionalism, which has been the direction and thrust of this exhibition for the last 15 years."
"We don't want students to be human opaque projectors, just reproducing what they see in a magazine," says Gray.
Notwithstanding, Swanson, Gray and the jurors are all delighted with the show.
"I was really impressed with the judges, and they were, in turn, impressed and heartened by the excellent work coming out of our schools," says Gray.
Since its inception, the high school art show has continued to grow in standards of excellence. Requirements today are much more stringent than in the beginning.
The number of pieces each school is permitted to enter is based on a percentage of the school's junior and senior enrollment. Previously set at 2 percent, the number was reduced to 1.5 percent in 1999. Even with this reduction in the number of entries allowed, 755 entries were submitted from 66 schools in 2000, with 281 selected for display.
Swanson and Gray's goal is to get the exhibit "to look and feel like a normal professional show, rather than a PTA Reflections exhibition."
While admitting this year's exhibit is less flashy than last year's, Swanson says it's because there was less copying of other artists' work. "And next year it will be less flashy again, and people will say, wow, this year's not as good as last year's. But actually, it will be better, because the students will be relying upon their own abilities rather than who can find the best magazine cover to copy."
"I do feel grief," Gray says, "about the pieces that don't get into the show. But I want the students that represent their schools to know that it's an honor to be chosen to come down here."
Since 1995, the museum has encouraged the Governor's Office, the Utah House of Representatives and the Utah Senate to honor the student artists.
"We take them up to the Capitol, where they get to be with the Legislature, and be introduced on the floor of the House and Senate," says Gray.
The students are also honored at a reception at the state Capitol, where Gov. Leavitt reads a proclamation and designates March as Utah Youth Arts Month.
This year, before being introduced on the Senate floor, Sen. Bob Bennett spent 10 minutes talking with the students in the back of the Senate chambers.
The 28th Annual All-State High School Art Show 2000 Exhibition, which runs through April 1, has much to recommend it, proving once again that the future of art in Utah is in good hands.
Jurors for the exhibit were Lila Abersold, Utah Arts Council; Judith McConkie, BYU Museum of Art; Robert Nickleson, StateWide Art Partnership; John Schaefer, Children's Media Workshop; and Fred Wright, University of Utah.