Teen Visions ’07 at Palmer

Rachel Pittenger Staff Writer

A different side of the local community comes to light in Teen Visions, the new exhibit in the James W. Palmer Gallery that features works by Poughkeepsie-area high school students.

The multimedia display includes paintings, photographs, drawings, and sculptures, selected from works completed by students at Poughkeepsie’s Art Institute of Mill Street Loft in 2006. The Institute operates year-round for teenagers interested in pursuing visual arts.

Teen Visions showcases their myriad talents and captures a wide spectrum of emotions and experiences typically associated with adolescence.

Although they all speak to the quintessential “teen experience” in some way, each piece takes a noticeably unique and diverse approach. Some paintings depict challenging scenarios, such as a girl looking alarmed while reading a pregnancy test, or a homeless boy attempting to stay warm while living on the street.

Conversely, other pieces portray more typical scenarios, such as a countertop covered with kitchen appliances, a messy bedroom, and a girl talking on her cell phone while eating cereal. Each piece reveals an original perspective on how teenagers relate to their world.

Students from the program have become very successful in recent years, acquiring scholarships to prestigious schools including Cornell University and Pratt Institute to hone their crafts.

According to Institute director and instructor Todd Poteet, the goal of the Institute “has always been to prepare students to obtain scholarships to the top schools, to excel in the program of study they choose, and to become working professional artists in their prospective fields.”

Poteet said that he is constantly amazed with the students’ works, and that he is “proud to not only call [himself] one of their teachers, but one of their peers.”
Teen Visions will remain on display until Feb. 25.