• Student’s Documentary Film Wins Award at New England Film Festival

    Student’s Documentary Film Wins Award at New England Film Festival

    Senior Miguel Rincon has been playing soccer since he can remember: his father is a coach, and the sport is big in Colombia, where his family is originally from. Miguel lives in East Boston, home of LoPresti Park—the focus of a short documentary film Miguel produced that won a People’s Choice Award this year at the New England Film Festival. LoPresti Park is the locus for a rich tradition of pick-up soccer competition that spans ages and backgrounds, and which, according to Miguel, has “created a very close sense of togetherness within that community.”

    Miguel has been playing soccer at LoPresti in the summers for the last four years or so. (The youngest players are about 15 or 16 years old; most of the players are in their 20s, and a few players are even in their 40s, according to Miguel.) In terms of soccer, Miguel’s favorite part of playing at LoPresti are the smaller-sided games (versus the 11 v. 11 played in the ISL). “I enjoy the small games because you get to touch the ball a lot more,” he says. “You get the ball at your feet quicker. But really, my favorite thing about playing at LoPresti is the passion that everyone there feels. Everyone knows it’s friendly and pick-up, and we’re all doing it for fun, but sometimes it feels like we’re playing in a World Cup final—it gets so intense!”

    “I love that so many people just know to come at a certain time, know there are going to be teams already, know the rules. People come from very far away to play there—it feels liberating, being with so many people with the same passion as you. When I step on the field there is no pressure, my problems seem to fade away.”

    Miguel’s idea to create a short documentary film about this place and experience that he loves was prompted by his involvement in SuccessLink—a program sponsored by the City of Boston that helps employ Boston’s young people. This summer was Miguel’s second year taking part in the program. Through SuccessLink he landed a videography job with All Aces, Inc., which in partnership with BridgeBuilders Cinematic Arts, paired students with instructors—high profile and accomplished professional directors, actors, producers—who taught these young people how to create their own stories through the medium of videography.                   

    “I’ve been interested in photography, which I worked on in Studio with Mr. Buckley, and he was encouraging us to try new media,” says Miguel. “This project was the perfect opportunity to try videography, which I’d never done before, and I’ve fallen in love with both photography and videography.”

    Miguel says it felt important for him to capture the diversity of individuals who play at LoPresti—across ages, home countries, ethnicities, languages—a collection of people, perspectives and stories that he showcases well in the film. “The hardest part of my project was probably translating Arabic,” laughs Miguel. “That was REALLY hard. I also wanted to make sure I interviewed the right people. Having to conduct all of my interviews in basically two days was really stressful.”

    Through his mentors at BridgeBuilders, Miguel was encouraged to submit his documentary to the New England Film Festival, where it was selected for screening and is a contender for a People’s Choice Award. His work garnered attention from WBUR’s The ARTery, where Miguel and several of his fellow amateur filmmakers were featured.

    “Overall, my goal was to share one aspect of my life that’s really important to me,” he says. “And I think it reflected my community well. I think it reflected who I am as a person. Because not only did it reflect my community and where I grew up, but it also reflected one of my passions, which is soccer. The opportunity to share with the world one of the places that makes me most happy felt unique.”

    View Miguel’s short documentary film “LoPresti Soccer” in its entirety.

    Erin Berg

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  • Digital Artist Neil Horsky on the Possibilities in Art

    Digital Artist Neil Horsky on the Possibilities in Art

    On December 5, students in Sonja Holmberg’s Grade 7 Digital Design course were treated to a visit by professional artist Neil Horsky, who spoke with the boys about his work and about his new book, The Rules of the Game. Mr. Horsky is a community artist, based in Roxbury, whose work is done in Photoshop and other digital media. His book features twelve digital design collages that re-interpret vintage instructional illustrations and diagrams, all demonstrating how to play various sports. Mr. Horsky explained how he recontextualizes these sports, using them as metaphors for “the game of life,” the social contracts that we all sign, and the rules by which we abide, whether implicitly or explicitly. Mr. Horsky’s digital collages merge the mundane with the fantastical, becoming increasingly surreal throughout the course of the book. During his lecture, Mr. Horsky discussed various compositional elements, Photoshop techniques, strategies for conceptual development, and the incorporation of text into imagery, among other things. Through Mr. Horsky’s visit, Digital Design students gained insight into the artistic process, as well as an understanding of the range of possibilities available through art.

    Mr. Horsky’s work includes studio art, public art, music, video, tours, courses, workshops, and writings. His art has been part of dozens of exhibitions in and around Boston. He has led workshops and delivered presentations in various parts of the country; has collaborated with numerous artists and institutions on community art and performing arts projects; and has taught arts-integrated humanities courses at several educational institutions throughout Boston. Mr. Horsky employs the arts to encourage self expression in others, connect people to one another, and build solidarity. He aims to help individuals and communities thrive by cultivating creativity, imagination, and critical thinking, and by inspiring the personal and collective will to enact change.

    Erin Berg

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  • New Art in The Bernstein Tea Room, Care of Erik Zou ‘19

    New Art in The Bernstein Tea Room, Care of Erik Zou ‘19

    On June 8, 2019, Erik Zou walked across the stage of Rousmaniere Hall to receive his diploma, and we bid him farewell as he looked ahead to a year at Eton College followed by four at Harvard. But he had barely made it home to Lexington for the summer when Headmaster Brennan beckoned him back to campus for a special project.  

    Mr. Brennan wanted to commission Erik—a talented visual artist already creating watercolors for celebration of the school’s 375th year—for twelve painted murals, one on each newly-exposed panel on the wall of the Bernstein Tea Room. Each panel, Mr. Brennan thought, could represent a month of the year, ultimately depicting the Roxbury Latin campus over all four seasons. The idea of providing a sense of place and time during this important year in the school’s history, while also adding some vibrancy to the newly painted Tea Room, appealed to Mr. Brennan. 

    Erik agreed, and he made quick work of the project at hand. “I thought this would take Erik several months,” said Mr. Brennan. “I thought maybe he would get a few done this summer and come back on vacation and get another couple done, and it would go on all year.” But when Erik got to work, he flew through the murals, completing all 12 works in 70 hours. “He was amazingly productive, sometimes completing one in a day,” said Mr. Brennan. By the time school began, all twelve were done and ready to be admired by new and returning boys, faculty, and staff.

    These murals depict many corners of campus—from the Perry building, to the arts wing, to the athletic fields. Memorable moments from distinct, annual occasions appear—most notably fall’s Opening Day, all-school handshake and spring’s Closing Exercises. Viewers will even recognize some specific RL people: Mr. Brennan conducting the Messiah Sing in front of Rousmaniere’s organ, and Jack Hennessy ‘54—the generous donor behind Erik’s own Eton College scholarship—appearing in the hockey rink named in his honor. Ultimately, the countless students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents who move through the Tea Room this year will find reason to pause and admire Erik’s work. “He created beautiful paintings,” said Mr. Brennan. “I think it’s just the right touch in that room, and in this year.”

    Because Erik’s work was quick, it couldn’t have happened without the help of many. RL’s Buildings and Grounds team erected the scaffolding on which Erik painted, and the Technology team projected photos onto the wall for the artist to get a sense of size and scope before tackling each one. RL’s Communication team provided Erik with countless galleries of images from which he could choose, and Erik’s art teacher, Mr. Buckley, offered instrumental advice along the way. And none of this would have happened if Erik’s mother, Jenny Yao, hadn’t driven him to and from campus each day—well after she thought her RL commuting days were behind her.

    View all twelve of Erik’s Tea Room murals here, in photos taken by Dongxu Shan.

    Many who joined us on campus in October for the 375th Homecoming Celebration had the chance to take in some of Erik’s newest work, and we hope that many more will have the opportunity to view these additions to the Bernstein Tea Room, as we host a number of events on campus in celebration of Roxbury Latin’s 375th year.

    Erin Berg

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  • Erik Zou ‘19, Award-Winning Artist, Exhibits Work in the Great Hall

    Erik Zou ‘19, Award-Winning Artist, Exhibits Work in the Great Hall

    When Erik Zou ‘19 was young, he had a fish tank. Fascinated by the beauty of the fish it contained, but not yet possessing the fine motor skills to capture it, he asked his dad to draw the fish as he watched, completely rapt. When he was still too young to hold a paint brush, he would tag along to his older brother’s art classes. Not long after, when he was gifted a book full of images of fish and some tracing paper, he went from appreciating to creating. Today, Erik has won many national art awards and scholarships, including National Gold and Silver Medals in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. This month, he will present a show of selected works in Roxbury Latin’s Great Hall, the first current student to receive such an honor in recent history. More than 60 of Erik’s pieces will be on display from January 8 through February 12.

    The collection actually contains some fish—a nod to his childhood subject of choice and a fun scavenger hunt if you’re game for it—but what immediately greets you upon entering the Hall is a collection of watercolor portraits. Erik has gravitated toward watercolor in recent years. He calls the medium “exciting” and “relaxed”; he loves how it allows him to blend colors in interesting ways and create large, sweeping brush strokes. It doesn’t hurt that watercolor is fast, he says; it provides instant gratification that is a refreshing change from the slow pace of oil painting. By nature a fastidious worker, Erik initially struggled to adapt to the unpredictability of watercolor. But adapt he has; the renditions of his grandparents on display are ethereal and authentic. He chooses to paint people he knows well, he says, because he believes a portrait reveals more than just what a person looks like; knowing someone deeply adds an important element to each piece. He also often chooses to paint himself, though his reason for this is mostly humility: “I feel OK if I mess myself up!” he says.

    Erik is a versatile artist: his watercolor portraits hang opposite large oil landscapes and smaller ink cityscapes. An entire wall is even dedicated to Roxbury Latin itself. Visitors will recognize the organ and the podium from Rousmaniere Hall and the Headmaster’s residence among these pieces. Of particular note, though, is the watercolor depicting the façade of the Perry and Ernst buildings. Erik painted this piece in an hour; it may seem fast, but keep in mind it was snowing at the time, and Erik was wearing one glove on his non-dominant hand. His watercolors kept freezing as he worked, and much of the paint was in fact slush as it met the canvas.

    Erik says seeing the show come together makes him feel proud. “It looks so official to see your work hanging in the Great Hall like that,” he says. The show represents years of work, and putting it together was no small undertaking. Erik is grateful for his parents, who spent hours helping him hang each piece—his dad even matted and framed most of it!—and to the many friends he enlisted to help. We look forward to celebrating Erik’s art this month; we hope you can join us! There will be an opening reception on January 15 at 5:30 p.m. as well as a closing reception on February 12 at 6 p.m. Guests can enjoy the work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays in the time between these receptions.

    Benchmark Web Agency