Last Friday as I strolled through the Art Smarts student exhibition at the Savannah Arts Academy, I was completely taken by one particular painting that captured the vibrating color and frenetic energy of Jean-Michel Basquiat, the graffiti-inspired, mixed-media artist. Someone not even out of middle school had captured his essence so perfectly. I leaned in close to read the young artist’s name – Gray Fruisen – and then it struck me. Of course Gray would produce engaging imagery; he’s the son of two gifted SCAD alumni! A passion for art is, at times, inherited from one generation to the next. At SCAD we open our doors wide to all generations of aspiring artists, innovators, designers and ideators to give them a place to let their imaginations soar, and we continually strengthen this creative legacy through SCAD Summer Programs.
Get smart
For local school children, SCAD teams with the Savannah Arts Academy and Esther F. Garrison School of Performing and Visual Arts in Savannah, and the Galloway School in Atlanta to host Art Smarts, a summer camp where children get creative. They can choose classes in drawing and painting, computer graphics, fashion design, dance or performance.
I had the pleasure of attending this year’s final Savannah showcase where time warp was the overarching theme. Campers time-traveled through the 20th century, creating hundreds of works that ranged from psychedelic posters to cardboard boom boxes (remember those?) to papier-mâché-and-paint Rubix cubes. In the auditorium, young fashion enthusiasts strutted their designs down the runway, dancers in poodle skirts rocked around the clock, and aspiring actors sang and danced in the rain. It was so energizing to see how Art Smarts 2011 connected the campers of today with inspirations from the past, carrying a creative legacy forward.
Seeing stars
Later that evening, the joy at SCAD’s River Club was palpable as parents and their students, from whom they had been separated for five weeks, roamed the gallery of student art created as part of SCAD’s Rising Star program. Intricate still lifes in pastels explored space and form. Architectural drawings showed futuristic flair. Mannequins displayed fashionable threads. Widescreen monitors showcased engaging short films and dynamic video games.
Rising Star is SCAD’s residential summer art and design program that attracts talented rising high school seniors from as far as Tanzania, India, China and Alaska. In the process of drawing, painting, designing, sewing, filming and writing under the tutelage of SCAD professors, Rising Star students earn college credit, gain confidence in their artistic capabilities and form long-lasting friendships. More than 80 percent of Rising Star students return to SCAD for their university education.
The artwork at the River Club represented the culmination of intensive immersion in a college-level arts experience – an experience unrivaled for aspiring artists and designers. The pieces displayed the students’ capacity to engage, charm and challenge the viewers – a result of being called upon themselves by SCAD professors to reach deeper for inspiration.
As I walked around, I overheard one of our SCAD professors encourage a Rising Star to submit his production to student film competitions and festivals. I also witnessed a father, stunned in front of his daughter’s inspired suit, expressing genuine pride in her obvious talent. His comment brought to mind Whoopi Goldberg’s expressive appreciation of parents for supporting their student’s artistic talents during her 2011 SCAD commencement address.
Just before I headed out into the steamy Savannah night with my family, I watched three young women pose for a photo before our Class of 2016 blackboard wall – a backdrop near the entrance for these potential SCAD students to leave a message or to have their moment in the spotlight captured by a photographer. Their effervescent smiles said it all: they had come to SCAD to pursue a singular passion for art, and they were leaving with a lifeline to perpetual creative inspiration. As they signed their names in bright swirls of chalk, I wondered which one would lead fashion in a new direction like Marc Jacobs, or shake up the art world like Warhol, or invent something as wholly revolutionary as Steve Jobs’ iPad? Although I don’t know what their futures hold, I’m certain their experience at SCAD was transformational, and that I’ll see the names of these shooting stars again.
