Karl Schmidt-Rottluff’s Portrait of Emy inspired three different submissions to our 2013 Teens, Inspired competition. What about this piece was so inspiring? Let’s hear from the artists!

Emma Dedmond from the N.C. School of Science and Math, wrote in her artist statement: “I tried to encompass the contrast between the orange and the darker, cooler colors of the painting, as well as the almost abstract nature of the subject itself.”

Jin Sen Huang, also from the N.C. School of Science and Math, was also inspired by Schmidt-Rotluff’s use of color, “The colors on Portrait of Emy are color that usually does not go together, so I like the way Rottluff does not go with the typical style of color and form. My painting uses the contrast of warm and cool color to reflect on that style.”

Jack Harris, from Gaston Day School, was not only inspired by color, but also experimented with a palette knife “to create a relaxing and cozy feel to the piece.” At the end of his artist statement, Harris reflected, “I think the most unbelievable part of this experience is how seeing one piece can change my perspective on art.”

How are you inspired by Portrait of Emy?

While we’re busy selecting our favorites for the Teens, Inspired art and video exhibition, you can vote for your favorites for ‘People’s Choice’ award. You must be a member of tumblr to like and reblog entries. Each note counts as a vote. All notes will be counted at 2pm at our April 13 Teen Art Scene at NC Museum of Art. For more info about the event, visit http://bit.ly/ZBnszx. We look forward to seeing your favorites!

Deia Green

MF

Orange County High School

Orange County

Inspired by the African collection at the NCMA

Artist Statement:  Instead of selecting just one piece of work from the North Carolina Museum of Art to credit my inspiration, I decided to dedicate my inspiration to the whole of the African collection that can be found in the museum. One particular section of the African Collection that interested me the most was the different types and styles of masks that expressed the different cultures that are displayed in the collection. I based my inspiration off of these mask because the woman depicted in my drawing seems to be using her face as sort of a mask to hide herself; her eyes are closed but her mouth is open. It is almost like she is trying to speak but she cant get herself to express herself through words, so she cries. And I think its a beautiful interpretation of how one can hinder oneself from opening up and revealing their true selves. One mask, a 20^th Century Mbuya Face mask in the museum has the same closed eyes and solemn face as the woman in my drawing, but its mouth is closed, which might mean that it does not want to reveal itself at all. While the Lukungu Bwami Society Mask has open eyes and an open mouth, opening itself to the world. But I think the woman in my drawing is like the Bwami mask in that they both share the elongated stature and open mouth, while she and the Mbuya mask share the solemn expression and hidden eyes.

Deia Green

Blush

Orange County High School

Orange County

Inspired by Bob Trotman’s Girl

Arist Statement: For my photograph “Blush”, I think the Contemporary collection in the museum really inspired it the most. It has a fresh and unique perspective on a group of flowers that caught my eye near the side walk of my schools zen garden. Instead of taking a regular photograph of the flowers I wanted to photograph them as if they were meant to be in each position. One photograph from the Contemporary collection of the museum that most comes to mind when I see my photograph is Bob Trotman’s sculpture, “Girl”. The connection might be a stretch to some people, but both the sculpture and my photograph depict the beauty of an accident, or an unintentional moment. Trotman’s sculpture shows a girl bent and hanging like a rag doll as if she were in mid motion of falling; falling being the unintentional moment considering that her facial expression is one of horror. While my photograph isn’t as predominantly unintentional like “Girl”, but unintentional non the less since it was very windy that day, and I had to take five to ten different photos of these flowers to get the right composition.

Gabrielle Guenther

The Dirty South Dentist

Wake county

Apex High School

Inspired by: Jan Miense Molenaer, The Dentist

Artist Statement: The Dentist by Jan Miense Molenaer, a Dutch work painted in 1629, motivated my own piece of artwork. My inspiration from this piece came as a surprise to me, because I usually take more interest in the modern pieces the museum has to offer. The humorous quality the artwork encased caught my eye though, and I decided to modernize the scene. I wanted to renovate the painting to incorporate the current hip-hop culture. In the original painting you see a nervous patient clutching a rosary for relief from the excruciating pain. During Molenaer’s time, dentists were known for taking both money and teeth from ignorant patients. The hip-hop trend of inserting a grill, a type of jewelry worn over the teeth, is a painful procedure used for vanity purposes. I wanted to replace the rosary with a chain holding an iconic dollar sign. Instead of the patient looking towards religion for relief, he is looking toward society for acceptance. I began with a black and white photo transfer of the original painting onto a blank canvas. I then painted over the general shapes and bodies of the characters with a simple color palette of red, yellow, cyan, and an original skin tone I mixed myself. I wanted the colors to be basic so they would contrast, almost in a pop art style. I then made copies of my painting so that I could experiment with different inking styles. I decided that the dramatic straight lines and simple outlining gave my work the type of urban bang I was looking for.

Ayesha Faisal

Raqqa in Bloom

Green Hope High School

Wake County

Inspired by Frank Stella’s Raqqa II

Artist Statement: My inspiration for my work is by Frank Stella and is entitled Raqqa II. My work converged Stella’s concept with my individual style. I am an artist who focuses mainly on geometric shapes and nature. I thought combining Stella’s geometric pattern with my love of nature would be a perfect match. I utilized acrylic paint on canvas in order to create my interpretation of Raqqa II. My work is entitled Raqqa in Bloom because it pieces together the various parts of Raqqa II into a flower-like image. Many of my peers did scenery and abstract figures and I attempted to do something a bit differently. I wanted to keep the theme of my piece simple. I usually sway towards making intricate detailed art; however, I maintained a simple esthetic in order to emphasize the bright colors. The bright colors against the black background allowed for the main image to pop out and highlight the various shapes and pieces that can make the flower. I wanted to make the piece open to interpretation so anyone looking at it can see it in a different perspective. That is the beauty of simple work, it allowed the mind to run free with possibilities.

Emerald Feng

Regal

Green Hope High School

Wake County

Inspired by Beaded Crown (Adé)

Artist Statement: I was inspired by the piece Beaded Crown (Adé) from the African collection at the North Carolina Museum of Art. In this piece, there were many geometric designs that flowed really nicely, and the color scheme was also amazing. My take on this piece was to create similar designs but also include smoother lines as well. This way, I would be able to integrate the sharper techniques of this piece with my own twists on it. The maker of this piece also included a blue face on the front of the piece. For my piece, I wanted to create something that was similar to that, but instead make it more inorganic and non-humanlike. In contrast, I incorporated a half-flower design on the front of my piece. This let me follow my pattern of a more flowing and smooth piece.