Visual Arts

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for,” American painter Georgia O’Keeffe once said. Visual art opens up new possibilities for sharing ideas that extend beyond the page or the canvas; we’re excited to include a wide range of visual art, including photography, ceramics, sculpture, watercolor and oil paintings, pen-and-ink drawings, and more.

Pam Aloisa
Art Abides

Creative art at USAFA can involve far more cadets than the art courses offered here. The Icarus publication shares cadets’ creative work with a much broader audience. This is extremely important for the arts to grow and prosper in an institution that focuses primarily on STEM. Icarus adds “art” as a term and promotes STEAM!

A very common purpose of the visual arts today is just craft and techniques, many times pushing art projects as therapy sessions for individuals to solve personal depression, stress, and anxiety. But a more scholarly use of the arts is what universities and colleges have promoted over centuries; successful work in art requires critical thinking and narratives that push far beyond just a decorative piece of craft. Icarus is showing a variety of artworks fulfilling many purposes that art brings to our culture.

The cadets at USAFA, attempting to get finished art published, have access to Icarus to let viewers be inspired by their creativity. Sharing art and making it available to others takes their art forward, past the purpose of just pleasing individual artists. The art goes out into a wider public that actually gives more meaningful and critical responses to the art. Every artist who has experienced sharing their works publicly realizes right away that their art is not just decorative expression but includes deeper meanings, symbols, and stories; when viewers observe, they also add their own educational, cultural, and personal experiences to what they are seeing in the cadets’ images.

What we see in Icarus is a wide variety of subjects, styles, and narratives in the paintings, drawings, and photographs. The publication totally fulfills the purpose to promote creativity, push STEAM into the broader USAFA arena, and to appreciate true art! ART ABIDES! Share it!

Brendan (Neo) Anderson

If Makeup Were Enough

Seeing Blind

Words Fail

The Page of Time

Sketched

Throwing in the Suit

Mounting Concern
Chia-Hsiang (Jason) Shen

Out for the day

Canon 70D, 1/800s, f/6.3, Lightroom CC

A normal night in Crested Butte

Canon 7D MkII, 15s, f/3.5, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom CC

I am Gonna head out, peace

Canon 7D MkII, 1/400s, f/7.1, Lightroom CC

Time is relative

Canon 70D, 1/4s, f/14, Lightroom CC

Thunderbirds as usual

Canon 7D MkII, 1/8000s, f/7.1, Lightroom CC

No cellular service, no problem

Canon 7D MkII, 30s, f/3, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom CC

Marines in the Zoo

Canon 70D, 1/2000s, f/11, Lightroom CC

How many phones in this photo?

Canon 7D MkII, 1/800s, f/8, Lightroom CC
Eliana Catalano

My collection, entitled “Against All Odds”, aims to spread a message of invincibility and resilience. These photos try to encapsulate some of the struggle’s minorities in America face today as well as how we continue to overcome it. The first image is of my boyfriend who is a dual citizen of Korea and America. On his forehead you will see the word “Toxic” written in black marker with a mask covering his face. This is to symbolize the #StopAsianHate movement. The following image is my self-portrait with black tape on my mouth to symbolize the Black Lives Matter movement. The following image is of both of us and is meant to capture how society expects us to be silenced and alone, and “play the victim”, when in actuality they mock us for doing exactly that behind our backs. The last four images demonstrate that even though the world might be against us, together we find happiness and freedom in our differences and experiences. The first couple images have been purposefully under-exposed, and the color tone has been cooled to further add to the effect of sadness, coldness, stillness, and solidarity. As the images go on, they become slightly brighter and warmer in tone to signify light and joy in finding newfound confidence. There is so much more to us than what society portrays or expects from us. We are always under constant scrutiny and harsh examination by society that paints us as the villains to every story. However, against all odds we find happiness in our true selves, together.

Against All Odds I-VII

Photographs edited with Photoshop and Bridge
Haley Boron

Looking to the Horizon

Digital art

AFT

Digital art

The Old Zoo

Digital art
Joi Harvey

Untitled
Joe Wilson

Life in Monochrome I-V

Digital photographs
Kamryn Olkowski

Fly Girl

Digital art, Procreate
Lauren E. Asher

God is Love

(Art from Salvation Mountain in Palm Springs, California) Canon EOS Rebel T7, using a 50mm prime lens

Love is Universal

(Art from Salvation Mountain in Palm Springs, California) Canon EOS Rebel T7, using a 50mm prime lens

Mess Dressed

(Jared Wright’s mess dress uniform from Class of ’22 ring dance dinner) Canon EOS Rebel T7, using a 50mm prime lens

Milestone

(Christian LoBiondo’s Class of ’22 class ring)” Canon EOS Rebel T7, using a 50mm prime lens
Lindsay “Bones” Cordero

The Krewe of Barkus and Meoux

Liquitex Acrylic Gouache and Winsor & Newton Fineliners
Natalia Gutierrez

Arches National Park Moab, Utah I

digital photograph

Arches National Park Moab, Utah II

digital photograph

Arches National Park Moab, Utah III

digital photograph
Neleah Richardson

Betrayal

multimedia paper, water colors, color pencil, micron ink pens
Roman Ocampo

Isla Pelican

digital photograph

Embera

digital photograph
Samantha Thompson

Plaza de los Francos

digital photograph

La Isla Perra

digital photograph

La Isla en Bocas Del Torro

digital photograph

La Isla Con Bote

digital photograph

El Oceano

digital photograph
Simon Gott

Herds of Plenty – Rocky Mountain National Park

digital photograph

Wings of Heaven

digital photograph

Home of the Free

digital photograph

The Blue Mirror – Lake Tahoe, California

digital photograph

Gage of Time

digital photograph

Sea to Shining Sea – Boulder Colorado

Four Eyes

digital photograph

The Closer You Look

digital photograph
Taylor Metzger

The Road Less Travelled By

Nikon D3400, 70-300mm lens

The Unicorn

Nikon D3400, 18-55mm lens

Vigilance

Nikon D3400, 70-300mm lens

Portrait of a Predator

Nikon D3400, 70-300mm lens

Touch-and-Go

Nikon D3400, 70-300mm lens

Don’t Forget to Look Up

Nikon D3400, 70-300mm lens

Victory Lap

Nikon D3400, 70-300mm lens

Looking Through the Window

Nikon D3400, 70-300mm lens