As AP season at South comes to a close, countless students are living in academic fatigue. Many wonder if their efforts exist in vain after they stumble through these lofty exams, but in the case of AP Art students, this is far from the truth. This previous school week, ending on May 9, students in Cynthia Berger’s AP Art class finished submitting their portfolios, consisting of 15 works (can include completed works, progress photos, and more), meant to explore an inquiry-based sustained investigation. Since the beginning of the school year, they’ve created a body of work that will live far beyond their deadlines. The final brush strokes and kiln firings solidify their artistic efforts, an eternal snapshot of the teenage artistry of these students. This shines through deeply in the portfolio of South Junior and ceramicist, Tobi Grumdahl Moskowitz.
This year, after creative deliberation, Grumdahl Moskowitz decided that her sustained investigation in AP Art would revolve around touch. Explaining this, Grumdahl Moskowitz stated that, “My investigation seeks a way to express the role of touch and hands in the creation of all art.” She added, “I’m fascinated by the way artists’ hands in finished work are typically invisible. Can touch be rendered visible?” Grumdahl Moskowitz first explored this query through ancient forms, specifically amphorae, the classic Greek and Roman jars with narrow necks and handles. Added to this first piece—a large blue amphora—were hand-built ceramic hands with different gestures. Throughout the year, Grumdahl Moskowitz tested her limits through these ceramic hands in different vessels. When reflecting on this, she claimed that she “experimentally increased the number of hands, the complexity of position in relation to the vessel, and the intricacy of gesture to show how my hands are intertwined with those of all artists.” The intricacy of Grumdahl Moskowitz’s work cannot be understated; to create is to touch the canvas, no matter what medium. When adding ceramic hands, made by her hands, to a vessel completely formed by her own hands, Grumdahl Moskowitz is demonstrating a profound example of self-referentialism in art.
Since her birth, Grumdahl Moskowitz has lived with a creative spirit. Her parents, both artists in different mediums, taught Grumdahl Moskowitz the importance of art, while also admitting the sacrifices that artists sometimes have to make. When she was seven, Grumdahl Moskowitz took ceramics classes with her mother. She remembers this experience fondly and stated that, “I took my class and I was like, ceramics is gonna be the thing for me!” But as most passions in a young child’s life come about, Grumdahl Moskowitz didn’t return to ceramics until seeing it in the course guide at South. Now, up to today, Grumdahl Moskowitz has taken a ceramics class every semester since Freshman year. Finding ceramics again was an amazing experience for Grumdahl Moskowitz, providing her with the passion and drive to create. Since this reunion, she hasn’t looked back.
In AP Art, Grumdahl Moskowitz has tried to answer a question through her art. In her ceramics lies the answer. Reflecting on AP Art, Grumdahl Moskowitz said, “This year really forced me to take on a specific vision and figure out what I wanna do.” In her future, she hopes to have a career where she can support her artistic vision, whatever that may evolve into. Despite her artistic career being certainly incomplete, a truth lies within what she has made already. This truth? That Tobi Grumdahl Moskowitz is an artist, through and through.
