Boyd began drawing posters and flyers advertising shows for the band, copying pictures from a rather risque publication, given to him by Mike’s mother. At first, potential fans came to the band with a degree of concern asking questions like, “What kind of show is this?” Soon after hearing these concerns, Boyd stopped using these posters and began to pursue his budding musical career, as the lead singer of Incubus.

Throughout his life, Boyd has been interested in art. On the bands way to stardom, Boyd experimented with mediums and subjects to better develop his style as a visual artist. While, he is best known for singing lead vocals for Incubus, he has created quite a body of work in the process. Boyd designed the album cover for Incubus’s most recent album, Monuments and Melodies. The sweeping lines and flowing form of the cover are very representative of the band’s music, which is, while technical, very lyrical and loose.

Boyd’s work follows this same pattern, with technical detail and overall flow. He uses a high emphasis on line and form, and creates a strong sense of movement and rhythm within his work. There is also a certain focus on spiritualism throughout Boyd’s images.

The subjects depicted within Boyd’s work all look very content, or pensive, suggesting an overall feeling of peace. The image pictured above is an example of this spiritual fucus. The Mandala-esque designs are a common motif throughout his work, as well as the sanskrit colligraphy (featured in the above design).

Boyd’s use of color is equally important as his use of line and texture. While not overly colorful, he uses eye-catching colors such as orange and tourquoise, with other accents of color to emphasize his intricate designs. Boyd has a tendency to focus around one central color, or even use a specifically monochromatic color scheme, or work within the specific color family (such as the cover of Monuments and Melodies, pictured right).

Boyd’s work is expressive and personal, and truly shows his inner beliefs, emotions and opinions. His work is powerful, inventive and different, and is a contemporary example of culture and expression.

Album art has always been a clever way to get potential fans to pick up a CD. Often, the cover of a CD advertises music with imagery reflective of the sound and style of the album to appeal to the right crowd.

“It is definitely important to have a cool cover design because it gives insight into the message of the album. Still, retro covers are so much cooler than the modern covers,” junior Paige Clark said.

Albums such as Graduation (6), by Kanye West, are colorful and eye catching with colors like purple, yellow, orange and pink, and a design that moves your eye around the cover.

The bear in the upper left corner of the cover is, in a sense, doing all the advertising. The bear wears the same clothes and style of Kanye West. Despite having his name on the cover, the clothing that the bear is wearing shows the West’s style, making it appealing to his fan base.

The cover and interior art was directed and design by Japan’s Takashi Murakami.

Other albums like Shwayze’s Let It Beat (7) use this same tactic, using bright colors and imagery reflective of the album’s content. Most, if not all of Shwayze’s music is related to beautiful women, taking it easy and having fun which his art director tried to capture in the album cover and subsequent album art.

The green mannequin and the pink underwear catches the eye and sparks some interest as soon as the viewer sees the image. Upon further study, the viewer realizes that the woman pictured on the cover is actually a stereo system. This alone makes the viewer think and wonder about the content of the album. The sandy beach reflects the feel and mood of the music.

The covers pictured to the right and above all follow this same idea of advertising the music with imagery appealing to a specific audience.

Music artists have been collaborating with visual artists since the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s, when vinyl and recording music became more mainstream.

The production of albums and the package that they are sold in is a way of tying together the visual art world and the world of performing arts through graphic design and visual creativity.

However, as the music world slowly adjusts to the computer age, this element has started to become scarce.

The catalyst behind recognizing this controversy was a painting done by junior IB Art student Kevin Muller, which depicts a nude woman lying across a table. The piece was on display on the back wall of the copy room. A few teachers, who have chosen to remain anonymous, walked into the room without expecting to see such an image. They were “astounded and flabbergasted” at the sight of the painting.

Each sent an e-mail to Assistant Principal Vincent Randazzo contending that they were caught off guard and “offended” by this piece, which they had to see every time they entered the room to make photocopies.

In an effort to quell the situation, Randazzo kindly asked Ann Harper, Head of the Art Department, to remove the painting from its display.

Harper responded to Randazzo’s e-mail saying she would be glad to remove the painting the following day, Wednesday, May 5.  She left school at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, having, so she thought, resolved the situation.

Randazzo replied later, asking if it was possible to remove the painting that same day. Seeing that Harper was not at the school to take down the painting, it was removed by another individual: turned around, facing the wall, to be found by Muller the next morning during W2.

When asked for a statement about his art, Muller said, “In art, nudity is not just a way to show a naked person. It is a way to study the human body and for some artists, it is a way to reflect emotion.”

“The way this situation was handled is disappointing,” said junior IB Art student Jessica Camilli. “It doesn’t seem fair to me that people who put time, materials and their thoughts and emotions into their work aren’t able to display and convey their message. The artists in our school aren’t trying to show off sex, they’re trying to convey emotion and feeling.”

Senior IB Photography student Isabel Silvestre agreed with Camilli, “It’s all a matter of the artist’s intent.”

It took Muller four days to create the painting, which he made for a friend. The painting is now located in his friend’s house.

Muller recieved an A for the painting and was quite satisfied with his work.

“I love it. I think it’s technically sophisticated and appropriate for display in Annandale,” Harper said.

“Art displayed in AHS is subject to an additional layer of consideration for the ‘appropriateness factor’. Our school is open to the public, young and old. We have a huge diversity at this school and this issue has caused wonderful discussions. Representatives from France and Colombia have weighed in and think that the United States, on the whole, is far too conservative with its art. The question is how to respect all factions including the artists making these images,” Harper said.

The judgment of such material is ultimately left up to school administration.

As defined by the Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R) handbook, students are allowed any form of expression under the first amendment, so long as it does not break any of the four guidelines listed under Chapter 1, Section E of the SR&R handbook. The code clearly states that students do not have the right to display material that is “Obscene as defined in Section 18.2-372 of the Codes of Virginia.” The definition, as provided online by the Virginia Legislative Information System, states that “obscene” material is that which depicts “a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, excretory functions or products thereof or sadomasochistic abuse, and which goes substantially beyond customary limits of candor in description or representation of such matters and which, taken as a whole, does not have serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”

However, before passing judgment on nude artwork, it is important to understand the difference between the terms “naked” and “nude.”

In artwork, “nude” is the preferred term. A painting or photograph of a “naked” man or woman is perceived as having no artistic value and is considered to be created simply to be sexual and borderlines on pornography. “Nudes,” on the other hand, are depicted to capture the beauty, lines and texture of the human form. Nudes capture the wonderful natural aspect of the human body in both good taste and with artistic drive.

“To me, nudity is something beautiful, and something meant to be pleasing to the eye, whereas graphic display, in my opinion, is sexuality for sexuality’s sake,” Photography teacher Meredith Stephens said.

“Art is in the eye of the beholder. Artists have been drawing the human body for years and years. The human body is a beautiful thing and artists have worked, even since the Stone Age, to capture the beauty of the human race,” Randazzo said.

“It is important to draw or paint nudes, because you have to draw them in college and the human body is just such an interesting subject. It’s very natural,” junior IB Art student Allison Warth said.

However, the topic of nude art is very controversial, especially in AHS, due to the great diversity of the student population.

Students in the school, as well as members of the surrounding community and staff, come from all different backgrounds, cultures and upbringings.

As a result, while an artistic nude may be acceptable to one student, the same nude could be taken as a derogatory or obscene display by another. In addition to the great diversity at AHS, there is also a great range of ages of people who are in and around the school.

“Kids from 13 to 21 to adults in their 80s have all come through the halls of AHS at some point, and they will each have their own opinion concerning the artwork. However, one must consider each person’s exposure level to such material,” said Randazzo. “Some people grew up going to art museums and studying classical art, while others grew up with the notion that such work is too graphic to be put on display. Everyone has their opinion, and each opinion must be taken into consideration.”

Librarian Paule Woolsey gave her opinion on the matter, having grown up in France, saying, “The human form is the ultimate piece of art.The problem I see with U.S. culture is that when people look at a nude, the first thing they see is the sexual content in nude form, and unfortunately, that mindset is just rooted in the culture. There is lots of taboo in regards to nudity. In general, Europeans are a bit more liberal in regards to art, but this school, and for that matter, this country, is so diverse, that we have to consider other cultures.”

Finding the happy medium will be the task of the rising senior IB art students when the IB Art show is put on display in April. The show will consist of each artist’s entire portfolio over the previous two years in the class. A handful of students, including Warth and Muller, have focused on the subject of nudes to make up their body of work. When asked how the show will be handled next year, Randazzo replied saying that “The artists must prepare administration for the show. Talk to administration, let them know what you all are doing, and talk to everyone with a concern. So long as there is a complete understanding between the teachers, artists and administration, there should not be any trouble with the show next year.”

The population of AHS is a diverse grouping of rich cultures and backgrounds, all of which have to be taken into consideration when dealing with the age-old matter of censorship and nudity.

Once all possible considerations and consequences have been weighed, it is all a matter of opinion. Regarding art and nudity, the debate will continue.



Wiley has created a style unlike any seen before, with his intricate baroque patterns and eye catching use of color and imagery. He has reinvented the classics with works like “Three Graces” which is based off Raphael’s “Three Graces,” done in 1502. Other works include icons the likes of LL Cool J and Ice T. Wiley has made these paintings current, bringing emphasis on the masterworks of the High Renaissance and the European Renaissance. The earth tones and religious emphasis of traditional sixteenth-century paintings have been replaced by shades of neon and pop-culture icons.

Wiley attended Yale University, receiving a masters in fine art in 2001. He has since exhibited his work internationally and holds place in permanent collections of sixteen museums including the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas. There is no doubt Wiley is writing himself into art history with every piece he exhibits.

Graffitti, dating back ancient Egypt, has historically been a manner of degradation and defamation. In more modern times, graffiti has also been associated with gangs, as certain artists would spray paint their “tags” in order to mark gang territory.

Graffiti has struggled to establish itself throughout the years as authority figures have condemned it as the work of delinquents or the lower rung of society. However, though this may be true for some, there are many graffiti artists who are talented that are simply waiting to be recognized.

Graffiti can be a beautiful thing. Modern graffiti was a fixture in the National Portrait Gallery’s 2008 exhibit named “Recognize.”

The exhibit featured two graffiti artists, Tim Conlon and Dave Hupp, who strive to show that when graffiti is used properly, it is truly an art form.

“Anything can be an art. It is a form of expression,” junior Jessie Diroll said. When used improperly, graffiti can also be considered vandalism. Unauthorized spray painting of state, federal and private buildings is illegal, along with the painting of inappropriate language, gang signs, etc.

Graffiti comes in many forms, from murals to simple “tags.” Tags are what artists use to make their marks.

For example, one of the pieces of graffiti shown below displays the tag “ace.” This is most likely the tag that the artist frequently uses.

There are also many styles of graffiti. The bubble lettering that is most commonly seen on the streets appeared around the mid-1970’s and is shown right.

There are also many different reasons that graffiti artists choose to express themselves in this way. In the 1960’s, a predominant reason that people chose to do graffiti had to do with politics and protest.

Students and people of the younger generation used graffiti, just as they did signs and flyers, to expand the support for their cause. This was largely prompted by the Vietnam War at the end of the 1960’s.

Today, however, there are also several, less favorable connotations with reasons for graffiti. Many times, graffiti is associated with gangs. This association came with gangs’ use of graffiti to mark territory in inner cities.

It is also associated with today’s hip-hop culture. Graffiti-type lettering can be found on clothing, signs, albums, etc. that generally represent the hip-hop scene.

Graffiti, in essence, has been misunderstood since its modern conception. Though it has been around for thousands of years, none could ever predict the art that it has become today.

The coffeehouse, a student-run showcase of literary and musical talent, is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the publication.

The event was put together as a medium for performing students and at $4 a ticket, it was a lucrative funding idea.

“This show is our budget. The proceeds we make from this show go on to directly fund the production of this magazine,” junior Louise Manahl said.

Manahl also said that they “hoped to raise upwards of $350,” from this single event.

“Realistically speaking, we will probably only raise around $300, because there is not a huge turnout,” Manahl said.

The coffeehouse had around a 60 person turn out, not including the 22 performers. The show lasted for around two hours, including 18 acts and a short intermission.

“I was a little disappointed that we didn’t have the turn out we had last time,” senior Brandon Mitchner said.

Throughout the show, there were multiple musical performances from piano to bass guitar to full ensembles, including a rendition of the Eagle’s “Hotel California” by the band Light Request, which is comprised of senior Sammy Qabazard, junior Jeff Bynum, senior Will Allison and senior Miguel Sitoe.

Poetry and short stories were read by other students, throughout the performance. Senior Abby Cummins shared her own short story, earning herself a nice round of snaps from the audience.

There was a short intermission after about seven acts and then a short “open mic,” in which a monologue from the Broadway musical, RENT, given by sophomore Paulina Stehr, got the crowd laughing with her perfect interpretation of Over the Moon.

Other performers, like Will Allison, set the mood with his jazz slap bass.

“The Coffeehouse provides a great venue for artistic students to showcase their amazing skills,” said English teacher and advisor Kathleen Dion. “It is never solely about the money and it’s a lot of fun,” Dion said.

The Filament staff members were scattered about the lecture hall, watching the performances and selling baked goods at the concessions table.

The performances went quickly and the light atmosphere helped to keep the audience in a snapping mood.

There was a plentiful amount of homemade goods, like brownies and even an army cake from junior Anna Smith.

Beanetics, an independently owned coffee shop located on Columbia Pike in Annandale, sponsored the event with their generous donation of unlimited coffee.

Overall, though it was not as successful as previous coffeehouses, the show ran smooothly and audience members were left eager for the next coffeehouse.

Through her highly technical work, Ji creates an emotion in the faces of her subjects that makes the viewer wonder.

On the outside, Ji’s work portrays beauty and sexuality, but upon further inspection, the viewer finds that there appears to be a dark secret in the eyes of the subject.

Ji has a fascination with the facial paintings of El Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, and uses such designs in numerous paintings, such as Catrina (shown bottom right), to create an effect that is both haunting and beautiful.

Her inspiration comes from both symbolic representations of herself as well as “a landscape of decaying beauty,” says Ji on her website.

Ji’s use of color is as important to her paintings as the subject. she typically uses a fairly high contrast color and lighting scheme.

Her use of deep reds and bright yellows not only create a passionate feel, but also set the mood for such paintings as Red Crow, where the woman pictured adopts a look both mischievous and secretive.

The dramatic mood is set by the use of these intense colors, so as to better portray her intention and concept within the piece.

Another theme within Ji’s work is her use of victorian hairstyles and flowers shown to not only make for an interesting piece, but to comment on beauty in the current life and times.

The old fashioned hairstyles and beautiful headdresses are an homage to beauty in the victorian era. This is a big difference from the common fashion trends of today.

As a young artist, just out of art school, Ji has become incredibly successful, and has really made a name for herself in the art world.

She has already had multiple solo exhibitions and numerous shows across the nation.

Much of Leventhal’s work is created using old cardboard boxes and cartons. She has constructed a set of living room furniture, complete with a table, table cloth and chairs completely out of cardboard which will be set up for the IB senior art show. A common theme throughout Leventhal’s work is her use of intricate designs to embellish her furniture.

When Leventhal is not focusing on recycling boxes and constructing side tables, she loves to paint and draw portraits of her friends and family. “I draw inspiration from everything around me,” said Leventhal. Her work is inspired by her life, including her culture, personal likes and dislikes.

Leventhal also has a fascination with clothing design. She paints on shirts and shoes with a very interesting style. Her t-shirt designs are reflective of multi-colored bouquets of flowers, which flow all over the shirts.

Despite the beauty of her t-shirt designs, Leventhal’s shoe designs simply do not compare. With a unique, detailed painting on each side of every individual shoe, these shoes are true works of art.

Her sandal designs are, when paired, a cohesive painting, usually of a beach or ocean scene. Other pairs of sneakers are decorated with city skylines, mermaids, abstract designs and bright colors.

Leventhal created the idea of a “living room in a box.” This product would feature her cardboard furniture designs and would feature Leventhal’s images and designs. She hopes to eventually submit this idea and design to a furniture company with the hopes that it will be manufactured.

She will be continuing her career in art at the Savannah College of Art and Design, a prestigious art school in Savannah, Georgia. There, Leventhal plans to pursue studies in painting and accessory design.

After college, Leventhal hopes to produce and sell her furniture designs as well as her paintings and handpainted apparel.

Levey is somewhat of a self-taught musician. “When I was five years old, I taught myself how to play the piano, and I started teaching myself guitar in late August last year,” she said.

But one of the unique things about Levey’s music is that most of it is original. Her passion for songwriting arose from an early age. “My first song was “Hush Now,” that I wrote when I was six,” she said. “I have written about 40 songs now, and I recently produced my first demo. My uncle, who has a recording studio in New York, helped me record it.”

Levey draws on her everyday experiences to write her songs. “I understand that everyone, including me, is still trying to understanding their world,” she said. “Artists speak to people. They talk to them, convey the deepest of their emotions, and put into song what they’re feeling. My songs mostly revolve around love, understanding and a variety of other emotions that anyone can connect to,” she said. Her musical idols include Norah Jones, Alicia Keys and Taylor Swift, to name a few.

The songwriting process has its own appeal for Levey. “Sometimes I write my songs in a day. It’s almost impulsive—I can sit there and the words just flow,” she said. “Once I write something down, it’s done. I can’t change it. So the writing process for me is very slow and very thoughtful. Even if it is one word, a phrase or an emotion, I am emotionally attached to it,” she said.

Friends and family have been more than supportive of Levey’s musical pursuits. “My parents are the most supportive people ever, and they’ve been there for me through everything—all my musicals, plays, chorus concerts.. just everything,” she said. “My friends are all really helpful. Within two days of posting my first song on Youtube, I earned 300 video views, which was very satisfying. Many of them also came out to attend the STAND benefit concert and my Flex presentations, which was great!” she added.

With such talent, Levey hopes to make a career out of her passion for music. “I aspire to get to a point in my career where I feel like anyone can connect with me through a word, a song, or a phrase,” she said. “I’m always trying to improve my sound and my songs, and I hope that one day my dream will come true. Hopefully I can make it!” she said.

For more information about Gwen Levey and to listen to her songs “Picking Up the Pieces” and “Crazy for You,” become her fan on Facebook!