In Telecourse Center Sign — a photo that originally appeared in the October 1980 issue of The Spark to promote the Learning Resources Center — the text reads, "You teach best what you most need to learn." This line inspired Lena Shakhtour's The Depths of Learning.
"I chose this photo because the text from the original photo really resonated and stood out to me," she said. "I wanted to highlight the text and make that a key piece in the reimagined work, so that is why I chose to use color in my piece and the pen to highlight certain areas and the sign."
It took Shakhtour 2.5 hours to complete her artwork. During that time, she learned that when she sits and lets her creative mind go to work in one sitting, she gets it done with a lot more speed and without overthinking.
Gloria Kilgo
1980
Black-and-white photography
A sign welcoming students to the Telecourse Center, an area that was located on the second floor of the Hagemeyer Learning Resources Center to watch self-paced educational programs. This photo appeared in the October 15, 1980 (Volume 5, Number 1) issue of The Spark.
Lena Shakhtour
2023
Charcoal, white pen, paint markers on paper (12 x 16)
Several strategic choices went into creating and adding emphasis on the Telecourse Center sign — the key piece in Lena's reimagined work — such as using charcoal for a rich black, a bold red color for the main message, and a white pen for the remaining text.
Lena Shakhtour came to Central Piedmont Community College through the Middle College High Schools (MCHS) Program. She will graduate in Spring 2023 with an Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.) and hopes to transfer to UNC-Charlotte, where she plans to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Graphic Design. She is also the President of the Visual Arts Club.
Lena uses art as an outlet to communicate what she isn't able to express verbally, like when she's nervous or doesn't know how to articulate something that's on her my mind. Over the years, she's explored many different mediums, but found she gears more toward acrylic, graphite, and charcoal. Lastly, she describes her style as expressive and contradictory, her subjects and other elements in her work often contradicting yet working together.