chance to exhibit
work in duCret event
FBHS students enjoy
chance to exhibit
work in duCret event
By jeanette m. eng
Staff Writer
JEFF GRANIT Freehold Borough High School art students whose work has been exhibited in a number of shows this year include Allison Schoolcraft (standing), with her painting “Room with Monet,” which received an award at the New Jersey High School Student Art Show. Gabriel Persons (back, l-r), Liz Cassano, Joe Pepe, Ashley Forsyth, Caitlin Berg and Liz Brown have also shown their work in public venues.
Freehold Borough High School fine arts teacher Dan Finaldi wants his students to connect their art to the world beyond the classroom.
"It [art] is not just for personal growth, it’s for people to see it and appreciate it," he explained. "High school kids need to understand that part of art is creating it and the other part is exhibiting it."
Not only do Finaldi’s students understand his message, but they have breathed life into it with this year’s statistics: 14 students exhibiting work among two different venues, one student winning third place among 408 pieces and two students being chosen to display their work in the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton.
This year Finaldi encouraged his students to enter the New Jersey High School Student Art Show hosted by the duCret School of Art. In its 24th year, this show is a major exhibition held at the duCret School of Art in Plainfield, Union County.
According to Finaldi, it is a highly competitive juried show. This year 408 pieces were accepted, representing juniors and seniors from 22 high schools in New Jersey.
Finaldi was proud to see work produced by six of his students accepted into the competition. The selected students were junior Allison Schoolcraft, junior Caitlin Berg, junior Elizabeth Brown, senior Joseph Pepe, junior Marcos Pelaez and senior Emily Pluta.
Schoolcraft was awarded third prize in the acrylic category for her Monet-inspired oil painting. According to Finaldi, she copied a painting by Monet and then incorporated it into an environment of her own.
"She copied Monet’s painting very well, in his brush strokes and colors. Then, even in the rest of the environment, she continued to use his style," Finaldi explained, noting that the imitation of a master’s work is a common undertaking of many art students.
Although many of the students expressed surprise and honor at being chosen to submit in the duCret show, they credited Finaldi’s drive as the force behind the class.
"He really pushes us to get out there and wants us to get publicity and recognition just like sports or anything else," Schoolcraft said.
Finaldi also introduced his students to Youth Art Month, hosted by the Art Educators of New Jersey (AENJ). Held in March at Monmouth Museum on the campus of Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, this exhibition opportunity is open to freshmen through seniors throughout the state. The artwork is chosen by a member of AENJ.
This year, a number of Finaldi’s students were selected to display their work. They were freshman Chris Favale, freshman Rebecca Johnson, sophomore Andria Caldrise, sophomore Anne Sobrin, sophomore Katlyn Janwich, sophomore Gabe Persons, senior Emily Pluta and junior Caitlin Berg. Freshman Ashley Forsyth and senior Elizabeth Cassano, who also participated, were chosen to display their work at the state museum in Trenton.
For many of the young artists, the opportunity to exhibit their work was a first-time experience for which they were grateful to Finaldi.
"I’ve never submitted anything before and I don’t think that I would have had the chance without Mr. Finaldi," said Berg, who submitted to the duCret art show.
"Mr. Finaldi pushes us and believes in us," said Cassano, who regularly submits her work and expects to see art in her future.
Forsyth, whose sketch of a tiger in snow was chosen for display in Trenton, added that although Finaldi pushes them, he also allows his students the freedom to "do what we want."
For Brown, who submitted to the duCret art show, the exposure was a welcome refreshment.
"I got to see how others interpret my work and I also went to see other people’s work," she said.
Finaldi, an art teacher of four years, said he believes it is "absolutely fundamental to have kids display their work."
"If I just graded their work and returned it to them it wouldn’t have the same effect," he said.
Teaching five classes of about 17 students every day, the art teacher, a traditional artist himself, said he appreciates all of the serious students that come through his classroom.
"They come in every day and they work their hearts out and have a strong desire to grow," he said.
In this modern age of art, however, Finaldi said he tries to maintain high standards for his students’ work.
In this time of abstract and conceptual art, the art teacher said he is challenged with teaching in the absence of the traditions and standards that he is used to.
That is why Finaldi’s message to his students and all artists is that, "No matter what your art is and what your message is, it must be well-done and well-executed and your technique is the best that it can be. Otherwise, your message is lost. If good technique is accomplished, then whatever you’re trying to communicate, whether it be of personal or political meaning, will be carried by the technical beauty of the piece."
Favale, who submitted in the AENJ art show, has witnessed dramatic developments in his own art since entering Finaldi’s class.
"I can see my evolvement and improvement from my first project to my mid-term project," he said. "Mr. Finaldi pushes me, but not past what I’m comfortable with. He pushes to get stuff out of me."
The teacher himself has been practicing for 15 years, exhibiting in galleries from San Francisco to New York. Thus, his real-world experience in a field where "many are called, but few are chosen" is naturally relayed to his students, he said.
"Art is not easy and it’s not meant to be," Finaldi explained. "You don’t just scribble something slapshot. It takes a lot of study and hard work and it’s not easy to achieve."
The teacher reiterates this by dedicating class time to critical thinking and analysis so that his students "have to be honest" with their work. In addition, the teacher also believes in a little bit of "tough love."
"Sometimes they need a kick," he said. "I am honest with them; otherwise, there’s no point. And I want my students to learn, not to take it personally."
Finaldi works with each student on an individual level and regularly tells them that every artist has to learn and struggle.
"That’s been the case with every great artist that has lived," he said.
The art teacher couldn’t be happier with his students’ achievements and loves teaching them, dubbing his relationship with them a "win-win-situation."
The students attended a reception and award ceremony at the duCret School of Art on Feb. 28, where they were honored with certificates and a cash prize for the third-place winner.