Poly senior Ollie-Arteaga-Johnson, a multifaceted artist, can be found in Boswell writing scripts for his films, working on a visual art piece or in Garland practicing his violin.
When senior Jorge Martinez first met Arteaga-Johnson, he was intrigued by his artistic talent and unique personality. “I decided to stick around to see how the blue-haired kid with braces would turn out,” he said, “and I’m glad I did. He’s been one of my best friends to this day.”
Since the sixth grade, Arteaga-Johnson has explored film as a director, writer, and cameraman through summer camps. Inspired by his dad’s interest in films, he now writes and directs his own films.
He explained, “I can spend anywhere up to six months just planning a film…but then, funny enough, when I edit, the whole story changes again. I spend most of my time editing my films to the best of my ability. It often takes a couple years after I screen them for me to be proud of them.”
Arteaga-Johnson fell in love with the behind-the-scenes of films, including video editing and camera operating. “I liked being able to create and work on a story,” he shared. “I guess I just found all the moving parts of filmmaking more interesting to me because of how hard it all was.”
Even though Arteaga-Johnson’s artistic talents primarily shine on the screen, he has also been an important member of Poly’s jazz ensemble, pit orchestra and percussion ensemble as a violinist since seventh grade. He will also play for this year’s musical, “Mamma Mia!”
Martinez, who, as a sophomore, acted in a film by Arteaga-Johnson entitled “RETURN TO EARTH,” described it as his favorite work that Arteaga-Johnson has created.
“The film itself really reflects Ollie’s dedication to film and art shown through the visual effects, props, costumes and everything in between. But above all, it’s the memories tied to filming it that make this piece the most memorable for me,” Martinez said.
After primarily working in film and music throughout high school, Arteaga-Johnson decided to explore new art forms during his senior year, so he enrolled in AP Art and Design: 2-D Art and Design.
The AP Art program at Poly encourages artists to develop their artistic skills in different mediums through a “sustained investigation”— a common thread that unites his various works. Arteaga-Johnson’s sustained investigation was the idea of “hyperobjects,” a term that describes ideas that can’t be put into words.
Arteaga-Johnson added, “I decided to give myself a challenge to try as many mediums as I could in one year.”
He started by painting with acrylics, which are notoriously difficult, especially because he had never painted with them before this year. Next, he moved to drawing with ink, which quickly morphed into creating a comic book. As he continued experimenting with different media, his projects became more ambitious.
Arnor Bieltvedt, Visual Arts Department Chair and AP Art teacher, described Arteaga-Johnson as a mature and fearless artist. He has seen Arteaga-Johnson’s art skills develop through class and learned a lot from watching his progress.
“In art, there are no limitations—anything is possible,” Bieltvedt said. “That’s what Ollie has shown me, and coming to me and sharing the discoveries they are making, both inside and outside the classroom, and looking for connections, being excited by taking risks, and being unafraid of things not working out.”
Martinez also admires Arteaga-Johnson’s artistic development through the AP Art class. “I’ve seen his work evolve from short 3-minute abstract films to 10-minute long, fully fleshed out pieces with costumes and props to 10-foot-long tapestries to printmaking, painting, drawing and even sculpting a chair out of cardboard and growing grass on it,” Martinez said.
“What I admire most is Ollie’s inability to think small,” he added, “Most of his pieces are ginormous and absolutely ambitious. When it comes to art, Ollie doesn’t limit himself, no matter how abstract the idea or how complicated the medium.”
As the school year draws to a close, Arteaga-Johnson is excited to finish his AP Art portfolio. He recently built a loom from a recycled picture frame and is weaving a blanket from recycled yarn. We are excited to see what he’ll create next, whether on the big screen or in an art studio.
