Christian Brothers & The Crocker: A Show of Self

Find out about one of CB’s greatest traditions of student self-expression.

Each year Christian Brothers students with an artistic drive submit self portraits for a chance to be displayed in CB’s Self Portrait Art Show at the Crocker Art Museum.

The exhibition has been running since 2001 and over the years the show has grown from including four schools to housing art from a robust 15 schools in the Sacramento area. The show will be on display from May 23^rd to July 21^st this year at the Crocker Art museum at 216, O street in Downtown Sacramento.

The exhibit accepts the top five self portraits from each school, so before a student can be accepted to the show, they must be judged against their fellow students.

Art teacher Mr. Findlay McIntosh started the show himself twelve years ago when he was approached by Jim Ferry, the owner of the 20^th Street Art Gallery and asked to curate a high school show.  He was told that the show could have any theme.

“I thought of the theme of self portrait because so many people in high school are looking for their identity,” the art teacher said. “It just seemed to be a perfect fit.”

The pictures do not have to be a simple rendering of the artists face — the art can symbolically represent who the artist is and it can be a self portrait on an abstract level.

Mr. McIntosh remembers one girl who dripped wax and built up a relief sculpture of a face.  Other artists have gone for representations of emotions or struggles they have faced.

Mr. McIntosh believes in the importance of this art show and is proud of its legacy.

“Athletes have contests, drama students have plays, musicians have concerts, but visual arts do not have many opportunities to publicly display their talent,” he says. ” This show is a way to showcase their talent.”

“Every year it’s a bigger and bigger event and hopefully it’s a leave of mark here in Sacramento, that the high school self portrait show is a tradition long after I’m gone.”

For more information on the exhibition students can contact Mr. McIntosh in Room 305 or any of the other visual arts teachers at Christian Brothers.