VISUAL ARTS

Welcome to the VISUAL ARTS SECTION. In this section, you will find the amazing visual artwork created by our community during the quarantine of COVID-19.

"SAVE THE HUMANS"

Famel Zaro '07 Uses Graphic Design to Capture His Feelings

"Well, this situation seems unreal to me. I'm fortunate enough that I'm able to continue to work from the comfort of my home, but this pandemic has given me time to do something I rarely do and its work on personal projects. The pieces I have attached have all been from this past month that I've been in quarantine. The "Purpose" poster was actually something I saw the other night. I was sitting in my backyard looking up at the moon when a plane suddenly flew right under it and I started thinking "who's flying right now?" then it hit me; they must have some type of purpose. The "Essential" piece was inspired by those like me, who aren't out there working on the frontline, but are as essential because we continue to work and contribute to the economy while also homeschooling our children. "Social Distance" and "Save The Humans" are both a product of the negligent behavior I've witnessed from people who are not taking this pandemic seriously. "The 2020 Lockdown" Is just me having fun!"

-Famel Zaro, Graduating class of 2007

Jason Schwartz

All around us there is this invisible enemy constantly threatening us and the ones we love. We have two choices, succumb to fear or continue to fight. I choose to fight. Coronavirus is with us every day, threatening our physical and emotional well being, but it will not break me. We are all warriors, and we will all get through this.

Also, I have a ton of cleaning supplies...and gloves...and masks...running short on toilet paper though. So yeah, come get some coronavirus!

Talia Sinkinson

My grandma passed away on March 18th, 2020, the first day I stayed home because of the Coronavirus pandemic. My grandma lived in Florida in a nursing home and spoke every day about how proud she was of us and about missing her old life—a life in Ohio with my grandpa and her friends and her dogs and her art. My grandma, Marcia Levitas, was an incredible artist, and when I realized I wouldn’t be able to mourn her passing in a traditional way—that we couldn’t have a memorial service or a funeral or see her buried—I started to draw. The first photograph shows one of the first things I drew, a flower wreath. Her name and the years of her life are in the middle, and the falling flowers represent my grief—the sensation of falling deeper and deeper into the pain of missing her and missing my family and missing the chance to mourn the way I wish I could. I am also in the photo with my camera, wearing my grandma’s sweater. The second photograph shows two of my grandma’s drawings, from when she worked in fashion, and a print of my grandpa, whom I hope she is dancing with now in some kind of beautiful afterlife. The candle is for her and all those lost during this time.

I’m not sure if this project represents my version of a gravestone or a funeral or an obituary, but it is meant to keep her memory alive in a small way until this quarantine is over.

Victoria Rodriguez

We are in a pandemic at the moment and things have shifted quite a bit. Many changes have occurred in the past few weeks. For me, change has been online school and getting used to this new routine of doing work online. For others, it has been staying home all of a sudden and not being able to go to work or gym or any outdoor activity. I have created a collage, an arrangement of pictures and images with effects and illustrations, that represents what it is like going through the Coronavirus pandemic. In my work above, there is an image of notebooks with notes along with a laptop. This picture is representing online schoolwork; doing work online is something that I'm getting used to and I'm sure others feel the same way. School in class is way different. Now, classes are being done through video chat and work on the computer. The other images show an empty train and an empty subway. Those pictures symbolize the precaution and fear people have had with the news of the Coronavirus. This can be shown by how empty the subway and trains are since the pandemic has occurred--if not empty, than fewer people. A place that was always filled with many people and noise is now silent due to this pandemic.

Kara Saunders

This collage is made up of different words that resonate with how it is to live during the Coronavirus Pandemic. “Community” is the largest word, because I have found the most hope and strength from the different communities I am a part of. Other words like “connection”, “family” and “CSSJ” all meant a lot to me before the pandemic but now have taken on new meaning while we shelter in place. I have been learning how to do lettering and different hand-written fonts during the quarantine which is why I chose to make the collage. I chose to take a photo of the collage by a window to represent the freedom we still have in quarantine— the freedom to dream, create, and connect. While the collage represents living during the Pandemic, the background is a little glimpse of that feeling of freedom and normalcy.