The Six Girls to Know in the Louis Vuitton Young Arts Program
At a time when humanities are disappearing from high school curriculums (sad!), cool organizations that encourage creativity among teens are more valuable than ever. Enter Los Angeles's Museum of Contemporary Art, which has teamed up with rad luxury label Louis Vuitton to kick off the Young Arts Program, which grants year-long internships to high school students with a passion for art.
After the museum's annual Teen Night, where the artists have a chance to exhibit their original work, we caught up with six super cool girls from this year's program to chat about what inspires them and how they hope to turn their art into a career. Click through for more!
Want to get involved? They're currently accepting applications for the 2013-2014 program—apply on MOCA's website!
1/7Meet the rising teen art stars you'll want to keep an eye on.
2/7Hannah Tishkoff
**11th Grade
Cleveland High School**
It all started with one fateful afternoon with her grandmother at MOCA's Murakami exhibit in 2008. "Seeing all those simple shapes and bright colors as a nine-year-old was incredibly inspiring," Hannah recalls. "I realized there was an art world that appreciated whimsical and childlike things. That understanding has motivated me since." In a world that still seems to favor serious and esoteric artists, we're looking forward to watching Hannah shake things up and have some fun.
How did you first get interested in art?
I really can't identify any particular defining moment, because I think life and art can become sort of synonymous sometimes, especially with contemporary art, where there are things that some people think are completely genius and others think just look like household items. That gray area has always interested me, because with it comes the freedom to find art in pretty much anything—and therefore beauty and value in pretty much anything.
Who are your favorite artists?
Most of my favorite artists are installation artists, like Urs Fischer, because they really embody being able to find art and uniqueness in everyday things. After seeing an exhibit like his, I always start looking at stuff in my house and wondering how I could just turn my living room into an art exhibit.
What's your favorite art form?
I usually work with watercolor, because I love not having to paint inside the lines, or just not even having to make lines in the first place. I also like working with clay because you can create pretty much anything out of pretty much nothing.
3/7Megan Lee
**11th Grade
Los Angeles County High School for the Art**
It's safe to say Megan was destined for a future in the art industry. "When I was younger," she explains, "my parents would read me art history books at bedtime rather than the standard picture books! They have a video of me strolling through the Louvre when I was four, pointing out works by Degas or Monet."
Who are your favorite artists?
John Baldessari has been my favorite artist for a couple of years. His diverse body of work and attention to the viewer's experience is incredibly interesting. I also look up to Kehinde Wiley and Maja Ruznic for incorporating figures into their paintings for the purpose of concept over purely aesthetic value.
Are you planning to go to art school?
I'm applying to art schools with strong art history programs. I feel that in order to pursue a career in fine art, one must understand the context of the industry by examining who worked before them and how they affected the world in making their art. I'll most likely apply to Cooper Union, the Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
What's your favorite art form?
Installation is my favorite, as it allows the artist to create an experience that envelops the viewer rather than capture them on only a two-dimensional level.
4/7Crystal Guzman
**12th Grade
Culver City High School**
Inspired by greats like Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, Crystal's appreciation for the medium goes more than paint deep—she plans to study art history in college, which opens doors to all kinds of careers in the industry. An artist with smarts? We like.
How did you first get interested in art?
Art was always in my life as a form of entertainment. I didn't take serious interest until middle school when I started taking art classes.
Who are your favorite artists?
I don't have a favorite, but I tend to like surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí and Rene Magritte.
What inspired your project for this art show?
The art was collaborative, so we as a group wanted to capture certain periods of life—early, middle, and late stages.
Are you planning to go to art school?
I don't have plans to go to art school, but I will be studying art history at Humboldt State University!
What's your favorite art form?
My favorite would have to be installation art.
5/7Michal "Micky" Greenfield
**12th Grade
Venice High School**
Like any true artist, Micky draws on her personal life when she's in need of inspiration. For her most recent MOCA piece, she looked to "the teenage roller coaster my peers and I have experienced." We couldn't resist art based on teen drama—can you blame us?!
How did you first get interested in art?
My dad is an artist, so I've grown up with it.
Who are your favorite artists?
Georgia O'Keeffe, Annie Leibovitz, and Henri Matisse.
Are you planning to go to art school?
I have mid feels about going to art school. While it's something I feel passionate about, I don't want to be put in a situation where I need to compromise what I want to do in order to pay the bills—I don't want to become the "starving artist" and I definitely don't want to become a sell out. For that reason I want to keep art as a soothing hobby that I am confident I will have throughout my life.
What's your favorite art form?
My favorite art form is mid media, specifically the combination of paint and photographs—with mid media everything can become art and the possibilities are endless!
6/7Ellie O'Neill
**11th Grade
Malibu High School**
Ellie embodies two of our favorite successful-person characteristics: Persistence and a great attitude. Want proof? Even though she plans to spend the summer whipping up lattes to fund her artistic endeavors, she views it as just another chance to express herself through a new medium. With a perspective like that, there’s no way Ellie’s not bound for greatness.
How did you first get interested in art?
I spent a month in France when I was eight. I had this weird obsession with Van Gogh—I framed a poster of Starry Night I’d bought from the Louvre, hung it on my wall, and pretended I lived in a museum.
Who are your favorite artists?
I’m really into this French contemporary artist Theo Mercier. He makes these incredible sculptures out of objects whose original purposes add other (and often subtly humorous) meanings to the pieces. I also really love the L.A. based artist Megan May Daalder. She created this thing called the Mirrorbox that truly blows my mind. I’m really inspired by her experimentation with the individual’s perception of reality. I’m primarily a filmmaker, and my favorite director is François Truffaut.
Are you planning to go to art school?
I’m taking gap year before going to Oberlin College. I’m going to spend three months in Tokyo while learning Japanese, and then I am interning at a contemporary art gallery in Paris for a few months while taking a French course. I’m working as a barista at Cafecito Organico (getting trained to make latte art is kind of like art school?) to save up for everything!
What’s your favorite art form?
I’m biased because film is mostly what I work with, but I really love its significant past and future potential. I’ve hand-developed Super 8 footage that I shot, I’ve made short films with scratched found 16 mm film, and I’m also just beginning to discover the potential of digital. I’m really into a technique called datamoshing, where I remove keyframes from videos so that they kind of bleed into each other. Filmmaking is really such a diverse art form that can incorporate so many other types of art—that’s why I love it so much.
7/7Noël Baird
**11th Grade
Culver City High School**
Counting post-Impressionist painters and old-school horror movies among her many inspirations, this budding artist's medium of choice is charmingly retro. "I like to paint with watercolors," Noël says. "It can be challenging—but it's really fun and rewarding."
How did you first get interested in art?
I've been interested in art for as long as I can remember. I'm fortunate enough to have very encouraging friends and family who really inspired me to be creative in every way.
Who are your favorite artists?
I very much enjoy the works of Chuck Close. He is a fantastic painter I find very inspiring. I also like Alphonse Mucha and Vincent Van Gogh.
Are you planning to go to art school?
I do plan on going to art school! I'm not exactly sure where yet, but maybe somewhere on the East Coast like RISD or SVA.
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