Art of the Week: "Society's Masks"

North Shore students only continue to wow everyone with works of art that are both beautiful and meaningful. This issue’s “Art of the Week” describes a piece done by 11th grader Shani Ort titled, “Society’s Masks”. It is not only incredible to look at but also conveys an important message about our identity and individuality.

In her art class, Shani was assigned to create a piece of art inspired by a fairy tale. She chose “Little Red Riding Hood,” and focused on how the Big Bad Wolf deceived Little Red Riding Hood by concealing his true identity and pretending to be someone else. He put on a mask in order to fool her, and Shani related this idea to the masks people tend to wear in today’s world. Her painting includes one person with multiple masks surrounding him. The person is wearing a red hood, and this is meant to symbolize someone who is being deceived by others, just like Little Red Riding Hood was. He is also wearing a blindfold, signifying how the masks people put on blind us from their true identities.

Shani’s painting incorporates the idea of how important it is to embrace one’s real self. People are often tempted to put on “masks” because they are so concerned about the way they are perceived by others. With society’s standards about how we should look or act, people are afraid of being judged for who they really are. However, Shani’s outstanding painting emphasizes how people should live to their full potential and let others meet their authentic selves instead of pretending to be someone else.