The second senior art show of the year, “Parhelia”, has been open since Thursday, Dec. 7. The show featured works from VA seniors Reuben Speith, Caitlin Meurer, Isabella Zamborini, Evonne Rudolph, Meaghan Huelsman, Hanna Murray, Kaylee Phillips, Sam Mann and Jessalyn Neagle.
After three weeks of planning, seniors showcased a culmination of their work from freshman year to senior year. “When I was a freshman, we had a different gallery space and I thought my senior show would be insane,” Speith said. “When it actually came around it was rather bittersweet.”
Meurer also showcased her best work from her time at Manual. “It was really weird to be a part of a thing that I had been looking forward to all of high school,” Meurer said. “It was super satisfying getting recognition for everything that we have all worked so hard for the past four years.”
Each show is identified by a theme. Mahamud Osman (12, VA) compared his November show, Chromatic, to Parhelia.
“[Chromatic] was a lot brighter. This show doesn’t use as many lights which works to their theme,” Osman said. “There are a lot more sculptures in here which is interesting. There are also pieces of hands in sculptures that are going around which is really cool.”
Every show’s theme is displayed on ‘the Beyoncé wall.’ “It’s called that because as soon as you walk in it’s ‘to the left’ and also usually flashy. It [also] usually consists of the name of the show and photos of the people in the show,” Mann said.
The seniors showcased in the show came together to create the artwork for the Beyoncé wall.
“My favorite color combo is yellow and blue, and since our theme had to do with winter and the sun, that was primarily the color theme,” Mann said.
Multiple factors have to be taken into account when setting up for the show.
“We only get two days and the day of the show to put up all our artwork and make the Beyoncé wall; [but,] you can’t work on the Beyoncé wall until all of the art is hung,” Mann said. “So it took about 3 to 4 hours to get [Parhelia] set up.”
Parhelia will continue to stay open for a few more days in the Norma E. Brown gallery.
The next senior art show is scheduled to open Jan. 11.
