Elie Wiesel 2020 Student Art Show

Senior Division - A through F


Mia Aston
Frank W. Cox High School
Ms. Van Veenhuyzen

Breaking Gold

 

I wanted to express my feelings towards the recent Academy Awards where the first foreign movie won best film of the year, a traditionally American award. There has been lots of controversy towards the South Korean film, Parasite, winning such a prestigious award in America even with backlash from President Donald Trump. However, I believe that director Bong Joon Ho being presented with this award was an incredible moment of progression in cultural unity and further acceptance of diversity in our country, which is what I wanted to illustrate in my project. Therefore, I drew Bong Joon Ho holding an Oscar with the head replaced with a daffodil, a symbol of growth. He is bordered with a pink background, a color symbolic of love, implying that this expansion of acceptance in the Academy is a step forward to a more unified, loving world.

 

 

Sarah Bell   *1st Place (Tie) - Senior Visual Arts
Frank W. Cox High School
Mrs. Van Veenhuyzen

Holocaust Twin Experiments

 

For this piece, I chose to create a visual representation of twin experimentation that occurred in the Holocaust of World War II. Being a twin in the Holocaust often led others to believe that you were “lucky,” as you might be more likely to survive as a test subject. Mothers were often immediately separated from twin offspring, and as such I portrayed a pregnant woman. During pregnancy, the three family members could survive together before ultimately being torn apart. 

Marcelina Bergstrom
Tidewater Collegiate Academy
Ms. Scott

A Delicate Hope 

 

This art piece, A Delicate Hope, was inspired by Karl Robert Bodek and Kurt Conrad Low’s art piece titled, One Spring, made in Gurs Camp, France, in 1941, which is now a part of the Yad Vashem Collection. In charcoal to show the negativity, a concentration camp is depicted, viewed from the outside with a visible barbed wire fence. Atop one of the barbed wire stands a delicate yellow butterfly, based off of the Clouded Yellow, or colias croceus. Butterflies are, in many religions, associated with souls, as well as endurance, life, and in this case, hope. Yellow, the color of the butterfly, symbolizes sunshine and happiness, as well as hope. It is important, even with all the death and pain, to remain hopeful, because this is what can keep us alive through the darkest of times.

Jaclyn Cohen
A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts

Ms. Glosmonova

Flourish

 

The inspiration for my piece comes from the idea of peace emerging from times of hardship, symbolized by a single white dove. Personally, I believe that to truly learn from our past, as a society, we need to first address and accept the pain we have caused to move past it. This is represented in my piece through the use of vibrant colors, juxtaposed against the darker splotches which burst from the broken face-free flowing. The Jewish stars are floating beautifully, as real ones do, show that as we grow and heal our faith grows with us and binds us.

 

Bella Cooke
Cape Henry Collegiate School
Mr. Warden

Struggle of the Heart


This piece of art called Struggle of the Heart represents the struggle of Jewish people during the time of the Holocaust. The heart in the center is being pulled apart and fought over by one hand that represents that of the Jewish people and another hand that is formed by barbed wire that represents the hatred of the Nazis. This time in history was full of religious strife and confusion over what was right as Jewish people fought hard to remain alive and practice their religion under the Nazi rule. So, this artwork represents that struggle between evil and what is right that every person at this time faced.

Jeremiah Crosswhite
Granby High School
Ms. Taylor-Martin

Change Comes With Time

Claire Dailer
Western Branch High School
Ms. Schweiss

The Next Generation

 

My piece of a child gazing at a burning butterfly holds a message of great significance to me and many, many, of my peers. Our world in its current condition is in an extremely fragile state. Its very foundation is crumbling as its exterior is burned and bruised. Yet as the child watches the butterfly disintegrate before its eyes, it doesn’t show any fear. Our generation, as well as the many to come, must have hope in this time of chaos in turmoil. Because we are the only ones who can bring our nations into a new era of light and hope. 

Alexandreah Davenport
Granby High School
Ms. Taylor-Martin

More Alike Than You Know

Adler Dills *3rd Place - Senior Visual Arts
Frank W. Cox High School 
Ms. Van Veenhuyzen

Layers of History 


The layers of the composition represent the multiple cultures and how widespread the Holocaust was. The numbers are real tattoo numbers that victims had tattooed on them. The portrait was based on an old image of a victim, and I used multiple layers to have a sunken in appearance as if the subject was starving. The stars are the ‘Jude’ star that the Jewish people were forced to wear, and the stripes represent the uniform worn at the concentration camps.