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Three students from the Warsaw Community High School (WCHS) Visual Arts Department have earned national recognition through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, one of the nation’s programs for creative teens.
Junior Armando Arizmendi was awarded a Silver Key at the national level for his photograph titled “Hikikomori.” The award-winning piece was created in collaboration with junior Nolan Bleile and senior Max McGuire in Kelly Morrow’s Photography II class. While the competition recognizes one student per submission, the work reflects a shared creative effort among all three artists, according to a news release from Warsaw Community Schools.
The photograph was developed during a light painting unit, a technique that begins in complete darkness and uses controlled light sources to build an image layer by layer. Those layers are then combined using digital editing tools to create the final composition.
The title “Hikikomori” references a Japanese term describing extreme social isolation. The piece explores themes of withdrawal and disconnection, bringing attention to a complex and often overlooked social issue.
