Collage Try

Sometimes Josh Puckett punches through a canvas or throws it across the room in frustration. But most of the time, he keeps painting.

The shapes he creates depict his uncontrollable ticks, his obsessive compulsive disorder and his feelings of rage and depression--symptoms caused by Tourette syndrome.

“I can’t really explain to people how hard it is, but I can show it,” said Puckett, 17, a senior at Taft High School in Woodland Hills.

Puckett is among 244 Valley high school students whose work was put on display recently at the Cal State Northridge Art Dome. Thirty-four Valley public and private high schools sent their best works--paintings, photographs, ceramics and videos--to CSUN for the monthlong high school art invitational.

Encouraging talented students to exhibit their art in a professional setting is a sign of the times in an era of increased recognition and funding for arts programs in public schools, arts advocates said.

“It’s an extraordinary opportunity for them to grow as future leaders,” said Beth Fox, executive director of the nonprofit group Arts Inc. “Some of the solutions [to social ills] lie in providing opportunities for teenagers to grow and to believe in themselves.”

For many of the students, this is the first time their work has been on exhibition, and it has been an eye-opening experience for them, said Kathi Flood, an art teacher at Taft.

“I’m always shocked these students live in Los Angeles but never get to see we’re one of the most important places in the planet for conceptual art,” Flood said. “[The opening] gives them the recognition to pursue what they want to.”

Puckett said he enjoyed seeing his work on display.

“It was an inspiration to keep going,” he said.

Puckett was diagnosed in May with Tourette syndrome, a neurological disorder. He started painting two months later. He had drawn for a long time, but one day he told his mother, who is an artist, that he was ready to paint.

“My mom threw a canvas and paints at me and said, ‘Do it.’ I haven’t been able to stop painting since,” Puckett said. “Now it’s my passion. I know what I want to do with my life.”

Puckett submitted a collage about teen violence, including clippings of newspaper headlines on a school shooting, to the CSUN invitational. Skinny white letters across the canvas read: “They are mad at the pain I caused them. Do they care [about] the pain they caused me?”

Monroe High School in North Hills submitted a ceramic tile mural in memory of Giovanni Avelar, a Monroe student who was shot to death in July by gang members.

Michelle Obregon, a Monroe High art teacher, encouraged 30 students to create the Persian-style abstract mural.

“The shooting of this boy really affected me. I was so sad. It depressed everyone on campus,” Obregon said.

The 4-by-4-foot mural was designed as a symbol of peace and will be displayed permanently at Monroe after the CSUN exhibition, Obregon said.

“The piece is not perfect--it’s made by students. It’s meant to be a piece you can meditate on,” she said. “This is one way to celebrate for us, to have a chance to display the talent at our school.”

The exhibition comes at a time when the Los Angeles Unified School District board is spending more money on arts programs. In July, the school district increased its $8-million-a-year budget for art by $4.7 million and established a 10-year master plan for arts education.

“Research is showing that a strong arts education supports literacy and other life skills,” said Lynn Hickey, an LAUSD visual arts specialist.

The range of styles and high quality of students’ submissions impressed Louise Lewis, an art history professor and director of the Art Galleries at CSUN, which sponsors the high school invitational.

“People are saying, ‘This is just high school?’ It’s a very well-kept secret,” she said.

Gabriel Galindo, a senior at Cleveland High School in Reseda, visited the CSUN Art Dome recently to see his airbrush painting of a spaceship. He also checked out the other works.

“I still need a lot of practice,” said Galindo, 18, of Northridge. “It’s amazing what people my age can do.”

The High School Invitational at CSUN’s Art Dome continues through Jan. 15 at the CSUN Art Galleries, 18111 Nordhoff St. For information, call (818) 677-2156.