Sculptor Dan Christoffel visits Portledge School:
Mr. Krause, upper school art teacher spend the day with upper school sculpture students creating ceramic portrait busts. The event lasted all day. Mr. Christoffell will return in one week to finish the sculptures with the students.
Mr. Christoffel works with a student on his portrait bust.
Students at work on their ceramic portrait busts.
Jess, a twelfth grade student works on her ceramic portrait bust.
Mr. Krause is hard at work on his portrait bust.
Completed ceramic portrait busts will be on display during the upcoming winter
art exhibition scheduled for December.
Art 9:
The Art 9 course is a required art course which students must complete before enrolling in art electives beginning in tenth grade. Students spend one semester learning about eight historic art movements including: Impressionism, Post Impressionism, Cubism, German Expressionism, Surrealism, Social Realism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. The historical factors that lead up to each movement and the culminating art works that were created during each movement are presented and discussed in detail. In addition, each student paints a copy of a master work by a selected artist from one of the art movements studied in class.
Once the art historical movements are covered in class and paintings are completed, the course culminates with students participating in the semi-annual mock art auction. In order to determine which paintings will be auctioned off during the event, all paintings are put on exhibit in the Meschel Gallery and voted upon by the middle school students and faculty. The mock auction is presented to the Middle School audience who, acting as bidders, make silent bids within their advisor groups on individual art works. The two paintings that earn the most votes within each art movement are selected for the auction event.
On the day of the auction, the art works are placed on the stage in Bahnik Hall. This allows individual advisee groups to view the works before the silent bidding begins. Art 9 students dress up in character as the individual artists and present historical overviews of the art movements being presented prior to the actual bidding. Each advisor group is given a bidding range from $50,000 - $100,000 per painting within each art movement. The Middle School students record silent bids on ballot forms.
After lively discussions within advisor groups, the bids are recorded and collected by the Art Department for review. The object of the bidding is to “acquire” the most art works from the selected movements at the best overall price or bid. The advisor group with the most "valuable" collection of art works wins the overall auction. The auction event is a much anticipated event each semester.
Art Electives:
Students entering grades: tenth, eleventh and twelfth have the opportunity, on an elective basis, to choose various one-credit and one half-credit courses in depth: Architecture, Studio, Advanced Portfolio, Photo/Media, Sculpture, and Ceramics are currently offered. Some elective courses are offered on a rotating basis, every other year.
Recent works created in the Studio Art elective class with Mr. Greene.
Become a Visual Arts Scholar!
Students interested in visual arts are encouraged to apply to become Visual Art Scholars beginning in ninth grade. Once accepted into the program, students are assisted in developing their art portfolios and artistic skills that will benefit them in college and beyond. To complete the requirements in Visual Arts, a student must complete Art 9, along with a total of two art elective credits, carrying a B+ or higher overall average. The requirements also include participation in the spring arts scholars, upper school art exhibition and creation of an art department approved senior art project. Please see the Arts Scholars application for more details.
Art Electives offered for completion of the Visual Arts requirements:
Studio: Three trimesters, one credit
Advanced Portfolio: Three trimesters, one credit
Architecture: Three trimesters, one credit (offered alternating years)
Sculpture: Three trimesters, one credit (offered alternating years)
Photography/Media: Three trimesters, one credit
Ceramics: Two trimesters, 1/2 credit
Graffiti Art I : One trimester. 1/3 credit
Graffiti Art II : One trimester. 1/3 credit