During March 14th to March 18th, Cheongna Dalton School opened a Silent Art Auction in the first floor lobby outside of the Small Theater. I interviewed Ms. Pantano who is our school’s art teacher, and Jun Kim, a participant of the Silent Art Auction in 9th grade.
Q: Can you explain the purpose of the Silent Art Auction?
Ms. Pantano: Well first, this is the third year that CDS has done it and basically this is a charitable opportunity as we raise money for a charity. We raise it by students in art class and outside of art class donating their artworks so the teachers, parents, administrators, and community members can purchase their works.
Q: What kind of community are you talking about?
Ms. Pantano: We try to communicate the events that happen in school, like the Silent Art Auction, with our school newsletters which goes to other schools, but most often, though, is the parents and teachers buying the artworks.
Q: Are the majority who participated in this auction your students in art class?
Ms. Pantano: Yeah, but since this is totally voluntary, there are also some students participating from middle school as well. This year, for the first time, we had three students who were not in my art class.
Q: How do you feel about the result?
Ms. Pantano: I think the result was really good. We ended up raising over 1 million Korean Won for charity this year, which was higher than last year. So, I think a lot of students participated and I feel good about it. It requires some effort since usually students have to get their own work framed, which is what we ask them to do since when people buy their artwork they would want it to be ready to be displayed.
Q: Were there specific genres that the students had to draw?
Ms. Pantano: It was free choice. It could be works that they did during class, at home, or any other times. No particular subject really mattered, just something that they felt was worth donating and anything they wanted. We had some drawings, paintings, and photography as well.
Q: Did you also participate in this auction?
Ms. Pantano: I did not. Usually, it’s just for students. Some people asked about this question but we wanted to leave this as a student thing. I participated in buying some artworks myself (laughs).
Q: Hi Jun! Can you briefly explain about your artwork?
Jun: When I was eight, I visited Jeju Island and saw a small hut that came into my eyes. I couldn’t forget that small hut until now so I decided to draw that for the art auction. Also, next to the hut, you can see this big, orange-ish tree. I drew this tree remembering the maple tree that used to be in front my house when I was in Germany. Mixing the two memories of the small hut in Jeju and the maple tree in Germany, I drew my painting.
Q: Are there any particular reasons you participated in this Auction?
Jun: There’s actually one reason I participated (chuckles). I wanted to show everyone my art skills.
Q: How do you think about your artwork compared to others?
Jun: Well first, although it took me almost ten hours to finish it, I felt proud of myself looking at the complete artwork of mine. After looking at others’ work, I noticed that my drawing lacked imagination. I should improve on that next year.
Grace Shin (10)
Q: Can you explain the purpose of the Silent Art Auction?
Ms. Pantano: Well first, this is the third year that CDS has done it and basically this is a charitable opportunity as we raise money for a charity. We raise it by students in art class and outside of art class donating their artworks so the teachers, parents, administrators, and community members can purchase their works.
Q: What kind of community are you talking about?
Ms. Pantano: We try to communicate the events that happen in school, like the Silent Art Auction, with our school newsletters which goes to other schools, but most often, though, is the parents and teachers buying the artworks.
Q: Are the majority who participated in this auction your students in art class?
Ms. Pantano: Yeah, but since this is totally voluntary, there are also some students participating from middle school as well. This year, for the first time, we had three students who were not in my art class.
Q: How do you feel about the result?
Ms. Pantano: I think the result was really good. We ended up raising over 1 million Korean Won for charity this year, which was higher than last year. So, I think a lot of students participated and I feel good about it. It requires some effort since usually students have to get their own work framed, which is what we ask them to do since when people buy their artwork they would want it to be ready to be displayed.
Q: Were there specific genres that the students had to draw?
Ms. Pantano: It was free choice. It could be works that they did during class, at home, or any other times. No particular subject really mattered, just something that they felt was worth donating and anything they wanted. We had some drawings, paintings, and photography as well.
Q: Did you also participate in this auction?
Ms. Pantano: I did not. Usually, it’s just for students. Some people asked about this question but we wanted to leave this as a student thing. I participated in buying some artworks myself (laughs).
Q: Hi Jun! Can you briefly explain about your artwork?
Jun: When I was eight, I visited Jeju Island and saw a small hut that came into my eyes. I couldn’t forget that small hut until now so I decided to draw that for the art auction. Also, next to the hut, you can see this big, orange-ish tree. I drew this tree remembering the maple tree that used to be in front my house when I was in Germany. Mixing the two memories of the small hut in Jeju and the maple tree in Germany, I drew my painting.
Q: Are there any particular reasons you participated in this Auction?
Jun: There’s actually one reason I participated (chuckles). I wanted to show everyone my art skills.
Q: How do you think about your artwork compared to others?
Jun: Well first, although it took me almost ten hours to finish it, I felt proud of myself looking at the complete artwork of mine. After looking at others’ work, I noticed that my drawing lacked imagination. I should improve on that next year.
Grace Shin (10)