West Port Students Win at Art Show
First Place – Shannon O’Leary, Tokei no Seikai
Artist Name: Shannon O'Leary
Division: High School
Title: "Tokei no Sekai"
Medium: Charcoal Pencil
Price: Not For Sale
Artist Statement:
My piece Tokei no sekai, which in Japanese translates to “The Clock’s World”, represents the human nature of constantly wanting more time. The desire for more time is, in a way, suffocating and one tends to find themselves sinking in the dread of the thought of it running out; therefore, the title suggests the subjugation that time has on everything that makes up our worlds. The imagery of the man with a watch around his neck symbolizes the dominance of time over the individual. He is in the middle of the desert after searching for more time, only to sink while the watch remains above the surface. This contrast shows that while the person sinks away and is in a turbulent state, time continuously moves on. His expression does not show panic as if sinking in water but rather the face of inevitable doom as the slow sands that creep up to his neck reach further and further. This gradual process compares to the seemingly unnoticeable passage of time until it is too late. The perception of the momentum of time for the individual remains subjective whereas in reality it does not change; in essence, showing the follies of applying tangible qualities to such an abstract concept.
This piece was done with black and white charcoal pencils using various blending techniques and methods. The composition includes my brother as the model for the sinking man and a fictional desert to place a real-life figure into a dream-like environment that isn’t tied to any actual location to further the concept that our perception of time is our own conception.
Third Place – Gabriela Cortez, Relatively Powerful
Artist Name: Gabriela Cortés-Arroyo
Division: High School
Titie: "Relatively Powerful"
Medium: Charcoal, Colored Pencil, Gel Pen
Price: Not for Sale
Artist Statement:
The symbol of the eight ball has many different interpretations, mine being opportunity. However, it can be agreed by all that it holds much power in the game of Eight Ball Pool. This power can be represented as a great mass. An eight ball is depicted as a massive object, which according to Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, warps spacetime around itself. This dip creates a gravitational field in which other objects might fall into and begin to orbit. In this case, two pool sticks are shown “orbiting” the eight ball, portraying themselves as hands on a clock. The time shown is 3:40, which is the time that I get out of school — my time of opportunity.
Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity states that all laws of physics are the same for a frame of reference, or a body with no acceleration. Wrapped around the right pool stick is a ticker tape. It is a piece of apparatus that shows change in position over equal time intervals through dots. All dots are evenly spaced out in the ticker tape shown, meaning that there is no acceleration. The Theory of Special Relativity also states that the speed of light is constant in a vacuum no matter the speed of the observer. If the roman numerals on the ticker tape are read backwards, including the eight on the ball, it is that speed in meters per second.
Only dry mediums were used in the production of this artwork. The eight ball, pool sticks, and ticker tape were created using Prisma colored pencils. Soft charcoal was used for the black background and put in place with setting spray. I drew the net-like fabric of spacetime on a separate piece of paper. The artwork was next positioned above that paper, all on top of a light box, and I then proceeded to trace the fabric of spacetime with a white gel pen. Finally, stars were added to the background with the same pen.
Link to Results
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