Last Friday, visiting award-winning artist Maya Erdelyi hosted the opening reception for her new exhibition, “Spontaneity, Sound, and Cinema.” The exhibition showcased a variety of works, including collages, animation frames, and a collaborative mural painted by over 30 Andover students, capturing Erdelyi’s message of community building.
While students were painting the collaborative mural on the walls of Samuel Philips Hall (SamPhil), Erdelyi shared how she was inspired by the Sumi Ink Club for this creation, where the members often draw together.
“Well, I thought I would show some animated films I’ve made, and I wanted to do something with the community somehow… It’s a way to work with a lot of people to make a big artwork together. And so I thought it would be interesting, and maybe something a little bit rebellious or Phillips Andover students, who probably don’t normally draw on the walls or paint on walls or even maybe are not necessarily working together so much.”
Erdelyi also created a film surrounding the importance of family. Erdelyi hopes this film will resonate with the audience, providing them a space to reflect on their own histories and narratives. While focusing on the past, she also prompts her audiences to focus on their futures.
“There’s two films that are in the show. One was made when I was on my honeymoon in Japan with a digital microscope camera… and the other one is a much more serious film. It has to do with my family history and my grandmother’s life story… I hope that people are inspired to remember their own family history and their family stories and do something with that story. Even if it’s just writing it down or making a scrapbook, as making a film can take a really long time,” said Erdelyi
One of the students who took part in the group mural, Elliot Chai ’28, reflected on his approach and takeaways from the collaboration. According to Chai, the blend of distinct styles resulted in success, demonstrating creative and cohesive community bonding.
“I drew some faces and the collaborative process was basically, we just started off drawing whatever we wanted, kind of trying to make it a little bit abstract, and then we would swap sections and then add on to each other’s art. I learned that people can kind of make very interesting art when they collaborate, because each person started off with their unique style and was able to add on and then make it a more cohesive piece of art. I definitely saw the value of community and collaboration,” said Chai.
Another contributor, Daniel Zhang ’28, expressed an interest in new mediums after working on the mural. Branching out from his usual canvas, Zhang enjoyed experimenting with the varied textures of the materials and appreciated the creative space that encouraged the growth of his artistic interests.
“We only had black Sumi Ink, so that was a really interesting experience, because the different colors had different artistic properties… It was the first time I painted on a 90° surface, a.k.a. a wall, other than when I was a young child, so I was really interesting to see how the paint would tract on the wall and how it dripped and how different images could be created when it is on the wall because it’s presented in a different format than on the canvas,” said Zhang.
Reflecting on the challenges that came with that Friday, Erdelyi described how the atmosphere encouraged meaningful expression. United by shared loss and resilience, students created an inclusive space that allowed them to express and process their emotions.
“Well, I have to say, it wasn’t the easiest day. It was Friday of last week. But I think it was like, if you want to be involved, you can… People were very quiet, but they really painted, and they were very contemplative. So, I think there was something kind of beautiful that happened. We changed the music to kind of bring it into more of a meditative space, where people could just kind of think and feel. There was a way to process their feelings visually. It was definitely unlike any other drawing workshop that I facilitated,” said Erdelyi.
