OXNARD : Professional Artists Judge Student Works

For the first time this year, the Oxnard Union High School District used professional artists instead of district art teachers to judge its student art contest.

The idea came from contest organizer and Hueneme High School art teacher David Smith, who said he thought that professional artists would be qualified to evaluate not only the technical expertise of student artists, but also their creativity.

“I wanted to get beyond who could draw the best and get to ideas and concepts,” Smith said.

Ironically, however, the judges gave first place to a drawing that demonstrated little originality but exceptional technical skills, Smith said.

Copied from a National Geographic Magazine cover photo, the winning artwork by Rio Mesa High School senior Molly Naumann is a detailed pencil drawing of a small, smiling child whose forehead is nearly covered by the large hand of an adult.

“It shows great technical ability,” Smith said.

“It was one of the best I’ve ever seen. It looked like a photo.”

Molly, who plans to major in studio art at UC Davis next fall, said she drew the picture without any thought of entering it in the contest.

“I drew it just because I thought it was an interesting picture and my teacher asked me to put it in the contest,” the 18-year-old said.

“I just wanted to capture that child’s expression.”

Although she said she was pleased by the award--which is her first--Molly said she doesn’t see how the judges were able to decide the winners from among the top three.

Jocelyn Trinidad of Camarillo High School placed second and Tola Keo of Channel Islands High School won third. In addition, five students won honorable mention: Susie Terada and Jocelyn Trinidad of Camarillo High; Miguel Avila and Nathan Cabrera of Hueneme High; and Jose Rangel of Channel Islands High.

“Art is really based on interpretation,” Molly said. “It depends on how your interpretation meets with that judge’s rating.”

Whether or not judges’ decisions are subjective, the choice has consequences for the district’s schools.

Every spring, Oxnard school officials add up the points that schools have won in various district contests held during the year in art, music, writing, typing and speech. First place awards garner more points than second place, and so on.

The school with the most points gets a trophy from the district.

This year-end trophy added impetus to use professional artists instead of district art teachers to judge the art contest, Smith said.

In the past, teachers’ bias toward students from their own schools sometimes won out over who had the best work, he said.

“It was just too political,” he said.