West Orange Student Satirizes 'Expectations For Women' With Art

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A West Orange High School student has captured a high-profile nod for her selfie-based artwork, which offers a satirical take on how society and social media expect women to portray themselves.

According to the West Orange Public School District, senior and AP art student Proggya Paromita was recently awarded a Silver Key in the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards competition, a national contest that spans grades 7 to 12.

Panelists look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. Last year, Scholastic received over 350,000 entries for review, West Orange school officials said.

Paromita's work, along with other top artists, will be on view at the Montclair Art Museum during the Scholastic Arts reception on Feb. 28 from 6 to 9 p.m.

West Orange High School art teacher Heather Young said that Paromita modeled her piece after a selfie of herself in an attempt “to show how society and social media expect women to portray themselves”… hence the words in the background.

“Of course, Proggya is quite the opposite as the picture,” Young said. “She would never truly show herself in this way because she is a very smart confident girl that has no need to fall into this stereotype.”

Paromita's work was done with charcoal and mixed media (newspaper-like words collaged) and was part of a class assignment in Young's class to "draw yourself in a foreshortened pose." Paromita chose to draw her piece from an extended-arm aerial view.

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Image courtesy of West Orange Schools