art1
noun
1. the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
As my senior year comes to an end, I find that the hardest thing to say goodbye to is this little section of The Tattler, which has been my home (and pride and joy) for the last year. When I first started writing for this newspaper, I mostly wrote for News. That was just what I saw myself doing. In May of my sophomore year, I signed up on a whim to write an article about Lil Nas X’s music video, “Montero: (Call Me By Your Name).” I wasn’t particularly interested in this style of music and knew practically nothing about the artist. I don’t even remember why I decided to write this article, but it inevitably changed the trajectory of my Tattler career. To this day, I still think that was one of the best articles I’ve ever written. What’s more important, however, was that writing an analysis of a music video sparked my broader interest in this genre of writing. I probably re-watched the music video 20 times, taking notes on everything I noticed. I watched analysis videos on Youtube and read tweets on Twitter, until I felt like I understood what Lil Nas X was trying to communicate—about sexuality, gender identity, and religion—with this intricately made music video.
Writing reviews, whether it be about books, movies, music, etc, is a very different process and style of writing than reporting the news. However, I soon realized that it was a style that I much preferred. After my “debut” in the Arts Section, I continued on to
write about Taylor Swift, tattoos, poorly executed horror movies, and favorite books. I’m aware how horribly cliché this is, but writing about art is a way to explore so many different complex societal aspects. Nothing exists in isolation: It’s not just a fun book or music video, but rather, when taken in a social and historical context, practically all works of art are forms of commentary. As Pablo Picasso said, “Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” Exploring that is what I loved so much about writing for the Arts section.
Being the Arts Editor was such a special experience as not only did I get to continue writing these articles that I love writing, but I also got to read the work of other students and see movies, books, and music from their perspectives. Being a section editor also means having some room to influence the direction of the section. All of us, including myself, are often guilty of consuming and writing only about art made in the United States by Americans. This is often painfully evident in The Tattler, where the majority of articles are about white, Western artists like Taylor Swift. I enjoy Taylor Swift’s music just as much as the next person, but I wanted this section to be a space for more than just that specific type of music and audience. I wanted the Arts section to focus on art from all parts of the world, by voices which are so often overlooked that was the purpose of introducing the recurring Non-Western Artist Feature. This year, there was an article about a Non-Western artist in every single issue of The Tattler (besides the Literary Issue). By reading and editing all your articles, I discovered amazing, innovative, and talented artists from all corners of the world. I’m so immensely grateful to the writers who contributed to this, and I hope to see this continue far into the future of our newspaper. I have loved every moment of working for this section (and this publication as a whole) and I can’t wait to see where Natalie Patrone (Arts Editor, ’25) and all of you will take this.