Spring MoMA Brings Light and Color with Abstractions, Digital Art, and More

Crowds gather to view student work on the annex bridge. *Photo: Ning Zheng*

By HUI SHAN ZHANG and NING ZHENG

Students gathered on the second floor annex bridge for this year’s Spring Museum of Midwood Art (MoMA) on May 13, where they showcased a wide range of works to celebrate creativity and give artists an opportunity to share their talents with the school community.

Most of the pieces on display were created by freshmen in Ms. Lauren Rocco's and Ms. Dawn Daoundakis's art classes and Mr. Henry Mei’s graphic design classes.

This spring’s MoMA, an ongoing tradition since 2022, highlighted both technical skill and personal expression. Among the projects was Light from Darkness, a charcoal exercise in which students used erasers to “carve” light into a composition, abstract value portraits, silhouettes with personal writing, Refractions, where students explored visual distortions by capturing the world through a fractured lens, complementary color portraits, pop art portraits, and green screen digital projects using Adobe Photoshop.

Among those showcased was junior Mayvellin Yong, who received first place in the Congressional Art Competition at the Brooklyn Museum, had her artwork displayed in Washington D.C.’s Capitol Building, and was a recipient of scholarships to Pratt and the School of Visual Arts.

Yong painted a portrait using acrylic paint, a canvas, and a selfie she took in the botanical garden with a koi fish. The piece shows her positioning her hands in a camera-like way near her eye. “It's like a camera into my world,” said Yong. “It's supposed to represent my lens. I wanted people to feel inspired for their own creative work after seeing mine and to explore their own lenses as well.”

Work was also on display from senior Kimarlly Jude Jean Baptiste, who was a School Art League “St. Gaudens” Medal Recipient. Though he’s no longer taking an art class, he consistently visits the classroom to show drawings he's working on, Ms. Rocco said. Both Yong and Jean Baptiste earned awards at the Midwood event for their pieces.

Jinglin Li ‘27, who was honored at the Brooklyn Borough Arts Festival Exhibition and at the NYCATA Exhibition Young Artists Dare to Dream II, displayed five pieces at the MoMA, many inspired by characters from the game Hello Charlotte. “Horror is one of my favorite genres,” Li said. “I like to incorporate a lot of it into my artwork.”

“I also project my struggles onto my art,” Li added. “I find it to be meaningful and a healthy way to cope.”

Devin Wang ‘29 drew several Smiskis [simple green blind box figures] around a “wonderland area” still life inspired by nature. He experimented with different materials. “I tried watercolors, but it looked a bit weird,” Wang said. “So I just ended up using really hard crayons.”

Freshman Shibire Jackson-Meyer showcased a Light from Darkness piece inspired by a photo she took from an airplane overlooking New York City. She used bronze tones to highlight the water and darker shading to define the land.

“I was impressed by the idea that light is created by subtracting darkness,” said Jackson-Meyer’s mother. “You can still tell that there’s a real world behind those shapes and colors.”

Inspiration could come from anywhere. Amongst the distortions were freshmen Amina Egamova’s take on flowers and Giambalyo Addison’s vision of Caesar salad.

The students from Mr. Mei’s class often come in with little to no graphic design or Photoshop experience but are able to take an exam at the end of the year to become certified in Photoshop. In each project, they learn a set of new skills that builds upon the last.

In the green screen and pop art portrait projects on display, Mr. Mei’s students used pictures of themselves or someone they know, “so they can have a personal connection to the artwork they create,” he said.

In Ms. Rocco’s class, students begin by drawing a variety of subjects using charcoal, learning how to create light, shadow, and three-dimensional effects. After building those foundational skills, students transition into abstract art, where they work with color.

“Last year was heavily realistic,” she said. “This year was heavily abstract.”

Students researched abstract artists and experimented with photography and applications to distort their original images into expressive works. Some students even created handmade filters to place on camera lenses to add an extra effect.

Ms. Rocco said students connected strongly with the abstract projects because they encouraged individuality and interpretation. “It’s your own vision, not someone else’s style,” she said.

Each project takes around a month to complete, making the exhibition “a continuous process” from the fall to the winter show to the spring show. Students complete three portraits per semester, including silhouettes that focus on animals and themes of hope, often connected to personal writing.

Ms. Claire Gohorel, a student from Brooklyn College who is observing Ms. Rocco while studying to be an art teacher, said, “I really love seeing these distortion paintings. I was just admiring the way that Wolfgang [Medler ‘29] was using glitter to convey movement and excitement.”

“I love seeing what our students do as artists; it's cool to see their work outside of what we do in class,” said earth science teacher Ms. Rae-Ellen Donofrio.

“A big credit for this goes to Ms. Rocco, because she does a lot of awesome work for her students, and it really shows in what she does spearheading this event twice a year,” said Mr. Mei. “It’s stressful and hectic, and she always does a great job with it.”

Ms. Rocco hopes to expand the show in the future. “I would like to have it be open to anybody who really wants to study art and get involved, who maybe didn't take the class but is excited about showcasing something,” she said.

By the end of the event, the MoMA not only showcased student talent but also brought the Midwood community together through a shared appreciation for art.