Spotlight on Artist Autumn English

Welcome to The Elective’s digital art museum, dedicated to the incredible work of AP Arts students. Each week we highlight a work or series created in one of the AP Arts concentrations—AP 2-D Art and Design, 3-D Art and Design, and AP Drawing (the AP Program also offers Art History and Music Theory)—as well as a statement from the artist (and, occasionally, their teacher).

From the first cave paintings to contemporary breakthroughs in virtually reality, art, in all its forms, has been a crucial way for people to process, make sense of, comment on, and grapple with the world around them. In 2020, there is a lot to process and grapple with—and AP Art students have risen to the challenge. The work many of them submitted in their final portfolios is explicitly of the moment, from commentary on the covid-19 pandemic to the celebration of people of color to the nature of heroism in perilous times.

The work is often challenging and provocative but always insightful, inspiring, and expansive.

This week we feature mixed-media work made by Autumn English from York Community High School in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Here’s Autumn’s statement on the work:

“Emotions can be hard to explain in words. My sustained investigation explained these feelings through personification and visual symbolism instead. I may describe the guilt of overeating as a man with a large pile of food weighing him down. Or I might explore how it feels to be the "the black sheep" in your family. Common emotions such as love and fatigue were explored, but I also analyzed more complex emotions such as shame, dehumanization, or even the repetitive thoughts and feelings associated with OCD. I experimented with various materials, techniques, and art styles according to what I wanted my audience to feel.”

And here are a few more works from Autumn’s portfolio:

Student statements are lightly edited for length and clarity.