“ I
It’s like someone just came in with a sledgehammer and
BY LEELA GOSHORN
leelagoshorn@csdecatur.net
n freshman Noah Grigni’s artwork, people can live beneath the ocean, feel with explosive watercolors and think
in music. “I’ve always liked art because you can ex-
press yourself however you want to,” Grigni said. “Tere are no rules. I’ve seen visual artists paint on living cows instead of paper, and I’ve seen three-dimensional artists make sculptures out of oyster forks. All it does is add to the art. I’ve [used] coffee instead of paint, and I don’t think I would be able to get away with stuff like that in many other professions.” Grigni’s artwork ranges from ten-foot-tall
mixed media pieces to paintings on t-shirts to visual poetry. One of his favorite pieces, titled Te Iron Ocean (pictured on page 41), combines a poem with imagery. “I like mak- ing things connect in weird, surreal ways,” he said. “I think [that and one other piece] are the only pieces I’ve made that really success- fully tell a story. Tey’re made of a lot of small pictures that fit together, kind of like pieces in a puzzle or voices in a harmony, instead of just being one single piece.” Te layers of paint and materials in Gri-
gni’s art mirror the complicated concepts that he expresses. Tese concepts also reflect what he is facing in his own life. Grigni, who identifies as transgender,
harnesses his feelings about gender in his artwork.“I made Te Iron Ocean during the last week of summer,” he said, “so it was a high note to end on before I went back to school. At that time I was still mostly in the closet, so I thought I was going to go through four more years of pretending to be someone I’m not.” “I think that society has a very inaccurate
view of gender,” Grigni said. “We live in a binary world where you can either be male or female, but then people don’t realize that we’re all humans – we don’t have to be one thing or the other.” Besides using his artwork to express
himself, Grigni also incorporates imagery of things that are most beautiful to him – like the ocean and stars.“Tey’re so separated from the rest of the world that they can be peaceful or terrifying, depending on how you
42 CARPE DIEM • DECEMBER 2011
look at it,” he said. “When you’re underwater, everything around you changes. Te sounds are warped, the light bends, and it’s like someone just came in with a sledgehammer and broke gravity in half. It’s an entirely different world.” Grigni feels a connection between the
ocean, the stars, his identity and the human condition. Te way he sees it, they are all connected in the contradictions they bear. “We [as people] think we’re equal, but we’re really not,” he said. “We’re killing all the animals and plants and each other … but I don’t think the human race is bad. We take things for ourselves which helps us grow, and sometimes we can make things that are really beautiful. I like [the ocean and the stars because they] can’t be touched by humanity.” He finds inspiration for his own creations
in street artist Banksy’s work. “I think [Banksy is] amazing because he does art where everyone can see it,” Grigni said. “I would want to do something that influences a lot of people. I think the best art has a message behind it, and sending a message is pointless if it’s only seen by a few people.” Grigni is already on his way to fame. His
work is currently for sale in Homegrown, a local art store, and posted on Deviantart. com, an online art website. He has an im- pressive viewership from this exposure. With 54 pieces of artwork on Deviantart he has gained 58,936 views. Grigni’s most viewed piece, titled “Vertigo,” has received 2,787 “favorites” since he posted it in May. Decatur art teacher Wendy Keith-Ott
often finds herself blown away by Grigni’s work. “It’s off-the-charts good,” she said. “I think you can tell, without understanding it in your head or with words, what aspect of a person’s personality comes out in their art,” she said. “When you look at [Grigni’s] work you kind of feel like you might know this person.” Besides the conceptual beauty in Grigni’s
work, his paintings are also strong in their technique. According to Keith-Ott, his strength lies in the repeating patterns and color schemes throughout his pieces. “Te main thing I see with Noah’s work is
how incredibly unified it is,” Keith-Ott said. “Everything that is there belongs there. Even if I don’t know what the reason is, I still get
broke gravity in half. – Noah Grigni, freshman
the feeling that it has a reason to be there. Nothing looks random or left over. Noah has truly spent his life practicing – that’s why he’s so good.” Considering how popular Grigni artwork
is, one would think he uses high-end materi- als – but he buys most of his paints at Office Depot – and they’re Crayola brand. “I think people have this idea that you need to have really fancy art supplies to be a good artist,” Grigni said. “I think it helps, but I don’t think [you need expensive supplies] at all, so I guess I’m disproving something. Also, they’re a lot cheaper.” Grigni does not start a piece by drawing objects he sees or simply sitting down and sketching – he becomes completely inspired by something in his life and works to rep- resent the idea visually. Once the image is strong in his mind, he’ll sketch it. After he sketches, layering is key. His
average materials for his pieces include watercolor and acrylic paint, india ink, sheet music, and burned Italian romance novels. Everything that isn’t ruined in water comes first – the linework, music, and acrylics. Ten come the watercolors. “I like doing collage things,” Grigni said. “I think it makes the picture more interesting. It gives it more depth.” Grigni has never taken an art class. Be-
cause he is in band, he doesn’t have room in his schedule. “I can do art in my free time,” he said, “but I can’t be in a band in my free time because that takes a lot of people.” Though Grigni is not in Keith-Ott’s
class, she still wants to include him in outside events. “In a selfish way, [I’m] sad [he won’t be taking art],” Keith-Ott said. “I told [Grigni] that I would love for him to take his stuff to National Portfolio Day or when colleges come in – I’d love to see the face of people when [he] shows them his art. I would find that entertaining because I know they don’t see it on that level in high school very much.” Grigni may still be in high school, but in Keith-Ott’s opinion, “Te world is Noah’s oyster as far as it is with art. [He] has amaz- ing talent and will be successful at whatever he does.” n
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