Along the walls of the 1st, 2nd and 10th floors, Mrs. Jeannie Chu’s Art Appreciation students have been working in groups to create 25 colorful tape art murals as responses to shared worries. These were produced to address the social-emotional realms of being a student at Stuyvesant, and the transition into in-person learning, after having had some form of isolation at home during a pandemic. Worries were addressed either in an imaginative or real way with the aim to acknowledge a classmate’s worry and exercise empathy. Group statements accompany each mural. 10th floor murals have been completed and 1st and 2nd floors will be completed on Monday, October 18, 2021!
Additionally, an exhibit of students’ personal responses in color pencil of the same theme will be up early next week. We hope you will enjoy them!
Photo 1 - The message that we intended to display through our piece was that time tends to trap us, barring us from appreciating and prioritizing that which we find important and dear to ourselves. Tie prevents us from devoting ourselves to the things we cherish doing the most, constricting us like a chain; this was the inspiration for the chain design featured in the piece. The piece also demonstrates the importance of managing time, so that we can devote ourselves to what we find important without feeling the looming presence of ever-shortening time. The piece was made as a way of expressing solidarity with the many students that struggle with managing time, acknowledging the presence of this issue in the school, and showing empathy for those who feel demotivated by this issue. We wanted to express our understanding of this issue that many of us face, and connect us all through this hardship so that we may find a way out. More in the realm of our artistic choices, we decided to implement a very simplified and rudimentary aesthetic to our piece in order to display our message clearly. Despite this, we still managed to include some important symbolism in the form of the red outlines, symbolic of the stress and negativity we feel as a result of time, and the chains, symbolic of the way in which time traps us.
Group #4 Tajrian, Nambia, Evan and Constanza
Photo 2 – Our work is meant to convey the struggles about workload and the general inconvenience of it. The backpack that is portrayed is meant to convey the general work itself and how we struggle to do all this work in general, and how you struggle to complete that specific task. We try to show the work as being hard to do by showing weights in our drawing conveying the difficulties; and then we show it getting uplifted to new heights to try and inspire others to do the same, we seek to inspire people to rise above their problems.
Skye, Sofia, Daria and Matt.
Photo 3 – Our group’s vision is that there are various hardships involved in attending Stuyvesant, but there are methods to cope with them. The largest character (Main Character) represents the student who is concerned about the workload at Stuyvesant and influenced by the rumors that people spread. The other people who are bordered with various colors represent the negativity that surrounds going to Stuyvesant (A lot of work, sleep deprivation, deteriorated mentality, etc.) However, the headphones and the bright clothing that our main character wears represent students; abilities to block out/mute negativity with confidence and positivity. The thought bubbles represent different stresses that the student has, but the music notes represent a sense of tranquility in the midst of negativity and apprehension.
Group #7 – Judy, Prince, Changsun, and Leanna
Photo 4 – Our group’s vision is to inspire and provide comfort to the school community. The message we are conveying is that we students should “tune in” to our classmates when we see they’re struggling. It serves as a reminder that we’ll receive more from listening to each other’s problems than keeping each other out. When listening to your peers, you remove some of their stress and help them cope with their problems. This creates a greater sense of community among students and an overall more peaceful environment for everyone.
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