Listen to Your Art

Claudia Poenicke models as a woman in a painting from the series The Color of Life: Painting People by Mandi Larkins. Mandi Larkins decided to paint people because she claims, “People are God’s most precious creation.” She loves painting the different expressions and how their eyes are all different. I chose this specific painting because of the way the woman looked at the “camera.” Claudia did a great job of portraying the woman. The woman’s eyes in the painting were also very interesting to look at. I loved the different colors that were presented and I knew it would be a challenge to create since it’s something I’ve never done before. I loved the challenge and I think the photo came out great. Photo by Rocco Muich

The piece of art I chose, named “Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette” is a painting created by the artist Vincent Van Gogh in January-February 1886 while studying at the art academy in Antwerp. The painting shows he had a good command of anatomy. The academy had consistent intent on its students drawing skeletons, but painting them was never part of their curriculum. My approach to this recreation was very simple by borrowing a prop skeleton from Mr. Reed’s classroom (anatomy teacher). The most challenging issue I faced was keeping him sitting upright without falling over, luckily afterwhile he got comfortable in the chair, I got the cigarette situated relaxed like in his bony teeth and took the picture at a slight angle.

Leon-Francios Comerre was a French painter from the 1800’s. He wasn’t very famous or popular but he was known for painting beautiful women from his time period. There was no caption for the painting, making the woman the showcase and leaving things up to our imagination. The only thing we know is that she was in fact, classically beautiful. Grace Wakelam takes the role of the unknown beautiful woman, imitating things like her pink dress, gold olive wreath headpiece, and garnish. Photo by Raina

Graduate Raine Nelson embodies the age-old question of whether art imitates life, or vice versa in this Renaissance recreation piece. This photo was heavily inspired by the painting “The Approaching Storm” by Guiseppe Mazzolini in 1854. I chose this painting because the colors and composition of this painting grasped my attention and sparked curiosity in the story behind the woman I would later come to discover would appear in almost all of Mazzolini’s works. Though I found no clear answers to who this woman was, my fascination never wavered, and instead sparked inspiration. In a casual conversation, Raine mentioned that due to the unique structure of her curves and clothing style, she’s been compared to Renaissance art all her life. Photo by Andy Waliszewski

This painting was made by Vincent Van Gogh in 1889 while he was visiting Paris for vacation. He painted “Self-Portrait of a Painter” because he wanted to practice painting people. According to some art historians, he stood in front of a mirror in order to paint himself. Photo by Gavin Bearup

Left: by man in

This painting holds so much meaning to me because of the comment on humanity it makes. All humans have secrets, we are all hiding behind something whether it’s an apple or another obscure action, idea, or thing.

Right:Chase Williams becomes the question of “Salvador Mundi” painted by Leonardo Da Vinci or Leonardeschi. This painting is notably famous for being the most expensive painting ever. Being sold for $450 million many people wondered, why? Many historians believe Leonardo Da Vinci did not paint this. They also question the motive behind the person who bought it, Mohammed bin Salman. During the bidding, he outbid everyone by millions. He then tried to open an art museum called the ‘Louver,’ but it got shut down due to copyright. To this day no one is aware of the painting’s location. Due to the controversy around this painting, I knew I had to do it because I love a little drama. Photo by Makenzie

An oil painting done by AnneMarie Zilberman is based on the Norse goddess Freya; a depiction of her emotion after the loss of her husband, the God Od. As Freya’s tears fell, they hit a tree and turned to gold; Zilberman paints the golden tears as a representation of the pure love and grief she feels for the loss of her husband. Chloe Anderson beautifully portrays Freya, with golden teardrops drawn on her face with eyeliner and glittery eye shadow. Photo by Caroline Tarleton

Reagan Troha becomes the subject of Pablo Picasso’s “The Dream.” Picasso was a co-founder of the cubism movement and one of the most influential 20th-century artists.

“The Dream” was painted in 1932 and attempted to capture the beauty of his then-lover Marie-Therese Walter. I was drawn to the bright colors and sharp lines of the painting as well as the peaceful, loving atmosphere so I wanted to try to represent that on camera and through my editing. Photo by Magi

Madison Arle poses as “Madame X” in a portrait painted by John Singer Sargent, of a woman named Virginie Gautreau who was a well-known beauty in Paris when the painting debuted in 1884 but faced serious criticism because many thought the painting was too scandalous. I chose this painting because I loved how elegant and poised the woman is, I also love how it almost looks candid because of how she is looking away. Photo by Samantha

Cassidy Lowe poses in a creek as John Everett Millais’ “Ophelia.” The painting was inspired by a scene from William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” which detailed Ophelia’s death as a tragedy where the young girl fell into a stream while collecting wildflowers. Young and innocent, Ophelia was blissfully unaware that she was being drowned by her dress, lungs filling with water as she sang. Photo by Kyly Jacobs