The task would be daunting to even the most experienced art professional. View 100 works of art from the acclaimed Eileen Harris-Norton and Peter Norton collection’recognized as one of the top contemporary art collections in the world’and select just over a dozen to exhibit. But four Crossroads students’three seniors and one junior’did just that when they were tapped to curate their own art show, called ‘Deep Focus,’ an exhibition recently on view at the school’s Sam Francis Gallery. Among the four students was Palisadian Anna Ayeroff, a senior who has been at Crossroads since kindergarten. An avid painter and printmaker, Ayeroff is passionate about making art. ‘That and studying art history,’ says Ayeroff, who hopes to attend either Columbia or Brown next fall. ‘Becoming curators teaches students how to look critically and thematically at the work of other artists,’ says Pam Posey, an AP studio art teacher and director of the Sam Francis Gallery. This is the second year Posey has enlisted art students to don curatorial caps, challenging them to step outside their roles as art makers to lend a discerning eye to the works of others. ‘It encourages them to have a different relationship with art.’ Among those they evaluated in the Norton collection were both emerging artists and some of the biggest names in contemporary art. Making the final selections prompted healthy debates among the four students, with Ayeroff confessing she was drawn to installation and sculpture pieces, while another of her colleagues clearly favored photography. Ultimately, choices came about on the basis of how well pieces worked together, keeping in mind the challenges to come when installing the show. In the end, all media made the cut, with works ranging from large-scale color photography’Rosemary Laing’s rich painterly take on a forest she literally laid with carpet before photographing’to sculpture with direct political and social overtones: Kim Dingle’s gum ball machine filled with bullets and titled ‘Gunball machine.’ The students worked intuitively, choosing not to impose any strict thematic thread. ‘Quite a few pieces deal with identity,’ Ayeroff says. ‘We were looking both for interesting pieces and for works that were aesthetically pleasing. Beauty mattered.’ Two minimal works, dazzling in their simplicity, were probably chosen with beauty in mind. Tony Feher’s striking piece, 25 clear glass bottles arranged on a shelf, anchors one wall of the show while a Catherine Opie photograph’icehouses occupying one narrow horizontal strip against a vast white background of overcast sky and frozen water’is a kindred spirit hanging nearby. When Peter Norton attended the opening, he praised the fluidity and elegance of the show. ‘We’ve also been told by teachers and students that it’s the best show in a long time,’ Ayeroff says. Satire made its way into the show with framed pieces by the Guerrilla Girls, a group of anonymous female artists whose work illuminates gender and racial equality issues. Noted under the heading of ‘The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist’ are caustic witticisms such as ‘Working without the pressure of success’ and ‘Not having to be in shows with men.’ ‘I find them hilarious,’ Ayeroff says. ‘The idea of what they’re doing is so fabulous.’ She points out she is in the minority among her peers in thinking feminism is fascinating. ‘Kids should realize feminism isn’t about hating men. It applies to all of us, and especially to me since I plan to pursue art as a career and lifestyle.’ Surprising was the absence of pieces of a more combative, agitating nature. ‘We’re waiting until the senior class show to really push buttons,’ says Ayeroff with a laugh. ‘I’m working on a series of prints, etchings and linoleum prints revolving around issues of pornography.’ Ayeroff, whose younger sister is a 10th grader at Crossroads, speaks of her parents as ‘big art enthusiasts’ who made gallery and museum visits a regular part of growing up. Her mother is a non-practicing architect and her father, a collector of photography, is a former art director. The senior class show opened on April 14 and will continue through April 28 in the Sam Francis Gallery at Crossroads School, 1714 21st Street, Santa Monica. Contact: 829-7391, ext. 425.
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