Students from across the Palm Beach County School District in college-level art classes attended photographer and 3-D assemblage artist Sara VanDerBeek’s exhibition, titled “Veiled Presence: The Hidden Mothers and Sara VanDerBeek,” along with an artist talk, at the Norton Museum of Art on Oct. 15.
The Norton houses works from a multitude of styles and art forms, including creations from impressionist painter Claude Monet, postmodern sculptor Auguste Rodin, and cubist painter Pablo Picasso. Students had the opportunity to tour the museum’s collections, ask questions, learn about the history of the artworks, and take a moment to sit down and sketch the pieces they were inspired by.
Visual students made their way around the museum, taking in the various art styles, forms, and materials, before going to the auditorium for VanDerBeek’s presentation. There, she explained her artistic processes and her thoughts behind the pieces she curated. Lastly, she expanded on the overall concept of the exhibit, which includes themes such as “motherhood, labor, and grief.” In VanDerBeek’s pieces, she regularly uses monochrome tones and synthesis, an artistic technique where tangible materials, such as lace, are incorporated into a piece to help amplify the overall meaning of the work.
“I wanted to have this personal connection to my piece,” VanDerBeek said during the artist talk.
Along with daguerreotypes, which is a method of photography where photos are printed onto silver or copper plates, the exhibition consists of ultraviolet reliefs and prints on plexiglass, Dibond (aluminum composite), and gelatin prints (printmaking with a gelatin plate).
(Sabiha Prova)
“It was interesting to see different mediums that I’m not used to working with,” visual junior Samantha Morris said. “It gave me a helpful insight into new materials.”
