Southamton - Twenty-one East End high school seniors have been selected for Awards of Distinction in connection with their participation in the Parrish Art Museum's 2012 High School Exhibition. Jurors Sara Nightingale, whose eponymous gallery is located in Water Mill, and Neill Slaughter, an artist and art professor who teaches at Long Island University, C.W. Post campus, made their selections from among more than 150 participating seniors. An awards presentation will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, February 26, at the Museum.

The award winners are Emily Adams, Ward Melville High School (painting); Kira Buckel, Mattituck High School (illustration/drawing); Maura Burke, Eastport-South Manor High School (photography); Bridgette Clifton, Bellport High School (drawing); Scott De Long, Eastern Suffolk BOCES Brookhaven Technical Center (computer photo collage); Ryan Dorfman, Ward Melville High School (Sculpture/3-D); Brianna Fullam, Southampton High School (drawing); Alexandra Giraldo, East Hampton High School (graphic design); Ned Haweeli, Bridgehampton High School (mixed media); Scott Hayes, Westhampton Beach High School (computer color theory and design); Ryan Kumicz, Southampton High School (drawing); Liam Mackey, Pierson High School (photography/printmaking); Fausto Mateo-Munoz, East Hampton High School (computer generated graphic design); Marissa Miller, Ward Melville High School (sculpture/3-D); Allison Milner, Eastern Suffolk BOCES Brookhaven Technical Center (photography); Kristina Moucha, East Hampton High School (video); Pauline Nelson, Mattituck High School (watercolor); Tanya Rast, Riverhead High School (drawing); Tyler Sizse, East Hampton High School (sculpture/3-D); Kassandra Welz, Riverhead High School (painting); and Christian Westergard, East Hampton High School (video).

Speaking of his criteria, Slaughter noted, "I try to be as objective as possible when judging an exhibition. While I certainly value skill and technique, ultimately I look for an honesty and conviction in the artwork. During a careful analysis, in the best art there is a transcendence, whereby the viewer is emotionally moved or taken to another place by the artist's interpretation."

Slaughter also recognized the extent of talent among all the entries: "Though I was limited to only awarding high school seniors, nevertheless I was aware that there are many talented young artists of varying ages participating in this exhibition. Some of those younger artists were every bit as talented as some of the seniors."

Nightingale offered her reflection on the judging process: "The High School art show is always one of my favorite exhibitions at the Parrish. Of course it is very difficult to select favorites from among the many excellent works, and each viewer brings something of his/her own experience, so there is an inherent subjectivity to this process. I know from many years of having a gallery that what one person doesn't appreciate or understand another will love. The key, as an artist, is to believe in yourself and focus on authenticity."

The Museum's programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the property taxpayers from the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.

About The Parrish Art Museum

The Parrish Art Museum is located in Southampton, New York. Founded in 1897, the Museum celebrates the artistic legacy of Long Island's East End, one of America's most vital creative centers. Since the mid-1950s the Museum has grown from a small village art gallery into an important art museum with a collection of more than 2,600 works of art from the nineteenth century to the present. It includes such contemporary painters and sculptors as John Chamberlain, Chuck Close, Eric Fischl, April Gornik, Elizabeth Peyton, as well as such masters as Dan Flavin, Roy Lichtenstein, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and Willem de Kooning. The Parrish houses important collections of works by the American Impressionist William Merritt Chase and the post-war American realist Fairfield Porter. A vital cultural resource serving a diverse audience, the Parrish organizes and presents changing exhibitions and offers a dynamic schedule of creative and engaging public programs including lectures, films, performances, concerts, and studio classes for all ages. On July 19, 2010, the Parrish broke ground on a new building designed by internationally acclaimed Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. The 34,500-square-foot facility will triple the Museum's current exhibition space and allow for the simultaneous presentation of loan exhibitions and installations drawn from the permanent collection. The new building is expected to open in fall 2012.