As the AP Art class reaches its midpoint, students are on the verge of finishing the seventh painting of their 12-part portfolio due on May 9.
As part of the portfolio, every person in the art class chose an individual concentration to focus on throughout their pieces to create an identical theme in their portfolio, according to Gillian Bailey, the AP Art 2-D teacher.
“The art concentration portion is a unified body of work, much like what professional artists would make,” Bailey said. “You don’t see a person just painting two random things, theres always some sort of focus.”
Bailey said that her students start to think about their concentrations at the end of Art 3 and, after thinking about it over the summer, finalize it at the start of their AP Art year.
“The concentration can be anything, as long as it’s not too broad ,” Bailey said. “Occasionally, I might ask a student to refine their concentration, but it’s really what they are interested in.”
Bailey said that though most students stick with their concentration, there are a few who find it uninteresting or too hard to make a 12-piece portfolio out of it, and change their initial one.
“Students can change their concentrations up to a certain point, usually around their third piece, after which they simply cannot due to time constraints” Bailey said. “Finishing the 12-piece portfolio in just eight months is fast-paced, especially with college apps.”
Senior Claire Pinkham chose to do detailed portraiture of perceived facial imperfections.
“I chose this concentration because I love working with interesting colors and textures.” Pinkham said. “So far, it’s been working out great.”
Bailey said that inspiration for each student’s concentration could come from anywhere, not just from art.
“My concentration is a sort of fusion between the abstract aspects of digital photography and the order and space of geometry,” senior Miles Lee said.
Lee said that he chose this because he is interested in the aesthetics of geometry and intrigued by the subtle features of photography.
“So far, I don’t know what to call it yet, but all my pieces express teenage emotions,” senior Eric Wen said. “It’s very broad and I have freedom to do what I want, and I like it a lot.”
