The Visual Arts department hosted its third virtual Arthouse of the school year May 5. The exhibition, entitled Wolvstock, was organized over Zoom to allow level two art students working across a variety of mediums to display their work.

Chehak organized the event into a series of discussion panels and performance slots  

Visual Arts Faculty member Jesse Chehak ’97 said Arthouse has replaced both student art exhibitions and Coffeehouse events held in previous years. Chehak said that over quarantine, his department conflated the school’s visual and performing arts into larger Arthouse showings, encouraging students who regularly sang, danced and performed poetry during Coffeehouse events to share their work alongside students in visual arts classes.

Between discussions of student work from Sculpture II, Photography II, Drawing and Painting II and Video Art II, members of the school’s slam poetry team Olivia Sparks ’22 and Izzy Welsh ’22 performed their response entitled “Translation Guide of Femininity,” while Chris Lee ’22 shared his classical music composition.

Visual Arts faculty’s efforts in planning Wolvstock

Chehak said the dedication of his students and the Visual Arts faculty’s experience organizing two previous Arthouse events made the planning of Wolvstock enjoyable.

“We really had to come together to pull this one off,” Chehak said. “Thankfully, we have very reliable and dedicated students [who] all met their deadlines, and they’re able to really help us facilitate the show. We’ve all done this twice this year, so we’re a well-oiled machine at this point, and we just had to grind it out and get everybody together, and we’re all so happy that we did.”

Visual arts students enjoyed their experience attending the event and speaking on their work

The Arthouse functioned as a series of panels, allowing students to discuss their inspiration and artistic processes with peers working in similar mediums. Photography II student Therese Enriquez ’22 said that although the prospect of speaking publicly about her showcased work was daunting, she appreciated the opportunity to see the work of other art students.

“I haven’t had much experience or opportunity to talk about my work with people outside of my photo class, so it was a bit nerve-wracking doing something different,” Enriquez said. “However, it was amazing to see the work and to hear the thought processes of students who were able to talk about their work on the panel, and just [to see] the different approaches of students when it came to their art.”

Sculpture II student and Wolvstock attendee Leila Pagel ’22 said Arthouse events have made her feel closer to the school’s art community in a time of isolation.

“I think it’s so valuable and so important that we as students and peers go to each other’s art shows and performances,” Pagel said. “We have so few opportunities to connect with our peers [outside of academic classes], and you can really be surprised by your classmates and the talent they have. I was blown away by everyone’s talent and artistic brilliance; the skills that these people have [are] beyond amazing.”