South’s art program offers a wide range of mediums for students to explore. An old tradition was for AP art students to leave their mark by painting a mural in the hallway of the (old) IA building as their legacy project, which housed all art-related classes. However, after the building was renovated, the incredible IA building murals shortly became a memory.
Students developed portfolios exhibiting their work and offered ideas without a particular topic. These initiatives were time-consuming, with some students working throughout the summer. The murals aimed to foster a creative environment in the school, notably in the visual arts and industrial technology departments.
Thomas Szmrecsanyi, an art teacher in the Department Chair of Art at South, Student selection for the large-scale murals entailed a screening process as well as official permission from the principal.
“Students would propose their designs without specifying themes or messages explicitly because they already had their own style and ideas,” Szmrecsanyi said.
Following the AP test, high-achieving AP art students volunteered, the design process was established, and the students’ design concepts were known according to their prior works.
“We understood where the design concepts for these murals came from because the students had established a well-developed portfolio with a defined structure for how they executed their work,” Szmrecsanyi said.
Szmrecsanyi recalls the extensive techniques used by one student to finish a graffiti-based mural over the summer, which included setting up a plastic tent for spray painting.
“Many hours of labor were put into these paintings,” Szmrecsanyi said. “They had spent time outside of the school day working on this stuff.”
The murals had a significant impact on the school culture, because of the recounts of Szmrecsanyi of the creative environment they generated. The murals helped to distinguish the visual arts and industrial technology divisions in the building. The Art Department and Industrial Tech were the only departments remaining in the building, underscoring the murals’ prominence.
“The murals contributed to a positive and creative atmosphere in the school,” Szmrecsanyi said. “When you cross the bridge, it felt like you were walking into different sort of portion of the school where all this creative activity was taking place.”
The environment felt more art-focused with the murals, the current walls’ specific palette is due to the building’s historic nature, Szmrecsanyi suggests finding ways to bring more creative spirit to the walls but acknowledges the financial constraints and structural challenges.
“To restore the artistic roots of the South halls and memorialize the existing murals,we can incorporate high-quality television images and conventional framed displays,”Szmrecsanyi said.
Szmrecsanyi doesn’t have a favorite mural because he is so proud of all of them. His favorite aspect is that when students were given the opportunity to do something large-scale, the artist made a permanent decision to carry on their legacy.
“I am so impressed with what each one of the students did, how nice their design work was, how well they handled every aspect of the project,” Szmrecsanyi said. ”As a teacher walking by it, I remember that student.”
Sarah VanDagens, another art and design teacher at South, saidthat the creativity and important messages are why she thought the hallway was so sacred to art students.
“Students loved walking through the hallway because it was so inspiring,” VanDagens said. “I miss the overall atmosphere of that hallway.”
Ryleigh O’Donoghue ‘23 saidthe feeling of walking through the IA hallway expressedher gratitude that she got to experience it during her years at South.
“The work was unbelievable,” O’Donoghue said. “It’s unfortunate that the work is now gone but those murals are unforgettable for those who got to see them everyday.”
