Student Works Re-Create Art Masterpieces

Andy Warhol would be proud: Marilyn Monroe, his pop-art icon, is being re-created.

Sprawled on the pavement in front of Ventura High School’s auditorium Tuesday, Katie Begg, Tisa Hall and Elizabeth Gutierrez were working meticulously on three portraits of the movie star in bright purple, pink, orange, green and blue, mimicking Warhol’s “Marilyn Monroe 1967.”

And the renditions were pretty credible.

The three sophomores were among nearly 200 Ventura High students re-creating more than 45 artworks ranging from masterpieces of the Renaissance to children’s books illustrations.

The students were emulating i madonnari, traditional Italian sidewalk painters who would ask for donations in exchange for their works, said art teacher Patricia Post.

The Ventura High students’ works, however, are pastels on paper. Each one was commissioned and paid for by a student, parent, teacher, community member or local business.

The money raised will help students register for the advanced-placement art exam and pay for supplies for the art department, Post said.

Some worked on Michelangelos, Boticellis, Van Goghs, Turners and Hoppers; others on Maurice Sendak’s “wild things.” Others still worked on illustrations from the popular board game Dungeons and Dragons, or Earth Day posters.

“It’s kind of neat to feel I can re-create this,” said junior Monika Navarro, who was working on Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel masterpiece, “The Creation of Man.” Her version will hang at the student government office. “Working on it makes you appreciate the work more.”

“This has been the hardest project,” said sophomore Amanda Tarpening. Amanda and classmate Kristy Lundgren are working on another classic, Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus.” Amanda purchased her own painting for $15. “It will be nice in my room,” she said. “This is my favorite painting. I was really scared when I started, but I am pretty happy with it.”

Accompanied by a student string ensemble and later by the sounds from portable stereos, students from all classes mingled in the sun and drew inspiration from each other.

“It really brings the school together,” said senior Vanessa Anderson. “I’m so happy looking at everybody.”