THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604200136
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
An art class field trip to a salvage yard netted Western Branch senior Todd Moy a finalist spot in Student Gallery '96 and a cash award of $251.42 for capturing the show's Dumbfabulous Award.
Moy, also a student at the Governor's Magnet School for the Visual Arts in Norfolk, was one of 527 young artists from South Hampton Roads, the Peninsula and the Eastern Shore who each entered two works in the Student Gallery '96 preliminary competition March 16 at Norfolk Scope.
Student Gallery, a visual-arts show and competition, is open to 11th and 12th graders from both public and private schools. In its 24th year, the program is jointly sponsored by The Virginian-Pilot, Crestar Bank and The Chrysler Museum.
A dozen local judges selected 60 finalists, whose work was hung at the Chrysler for further judging and a chance to win awards totaling $2,650. The judges also selected 29 honorees whose work is exhibited at the Crestar Bank Gallery.
At the Scope exhibit, Sidney Mears of the Dumbwaiter restaurant in Norfolk selected Moy's work to receive the annual Dumbfabulous award, given to encourage young artists to follow their dreams.
Moy's salvage-yard finds included gears, a cam shaft, an oil pan and a few old tool parts, all of which he welded together with several small glass bottles and a book to express the way he sees people masking their feelings.
He was among the finalists whose work was judged by Tom Sokolowski, a former chief curator at the Chrysler Museum who has recently been named director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
``Art is not done just for art's sake,'' Sokolowski said. ``There is a cause behind it, encapsulating strong emotions like love, fear, violence, hunger or war.''
Strong emotions prevailed in many of the Student Gallery '96 entries, which included sculpture, drawings, paintings, pottery, jewelry and even a few pieces of leather craft. Some entries reflected a warm and reassuring view of the world, while others focused on darker, more unsettling themes.
Jequan Parker, a senior at Wilson High School who also studies at the Governor's Magnet School, entered a darkly realistic painting of urban life called ``What a Day.'' Far from the meadows and daisies the title might suggest, the painting focused on life in the inner city with acres of concrete, tall buildings, flashy cars and men with menacing dogs leashed at their sides. Sokolowski praised Parker's work as capturing the turbulent, nightmare quality of an urban drama.
The Student Gallery program, supported by the volunteer efforts of dozens of Crestar, Virginian-Pilot and Chrysler Museum employees, is designed to recognize not only the creative abilities of young artists, but to give them a chance to compare their work with their peers.
Moy, who had entered last year's competition, was eager to compete again this year.
``This is the main gallery for kids around here,'' he said.
Other local finalists included: Jonathan C. Arp, Jeff Malota and Brian Risi from Churchland High School; Jesse Lilley and Brandon Vertz from Western Branch High. Local honorees included: Bonnie I. Benn, Nicole DiTommaso and Dale Wyatt from Churchland High; Steven Freedman from I.C. Norcom High; and Wilton Taylor from Western Branch High. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY KNAPP
Todd Moy, a Western Branch senior, won the Dumbfabulous award for
his salvage-yard work.
by CNB