Smithtown Students Show the Faces of Human Rights

Under the direction of art teacher Erica Lewis, fifth-grade students at Smithtown Elementary School created a school art exhibit titled “Leaders of Peace.”

Striving for detail and consistency, students honed their illustrative coloring skills in a collaborative graphic portrait of leaders for freedom and civil responsibility. According to Lewis, student-artists learned the reprographic technique of using dots to simulate tonal imagery.

Complementary color theory (colors that are opposites on the color wheel) was also utilized as a visual metaphor. Lewis said this was done to symbolize how opposing views and people from all backgrounds can come together to serve as a voice of collective strength for peace.

Four leaders were chosen: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Malala Yousafzai. All but Gandhi are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. Yousafzai, bestowed as a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, is the most contemporary and youngest-ever laureate.

Photo courtesy of the Smithtown Central School District: Ms. Walsh’s students at Smithtown ES alongside some of the faces of human rights created for the fifth-grade “Leaders of Peace” art exhibit.