As students poured into the first day of school, they were immediately met with two huge portraits of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Michelle Obama (made completely of Legos) and a new exhibit titled “Making Portraits.” This exhibit featured the work of Trudy Borenstein-Sugiura, Ray Brown, Mario Moore, James Thomas, Andre Veloux, and Shoshannah White.

The work of current PDS student Quentin Covington ‘21 and PDS alumna Anna Williams ‘15 were featured as well. The work in the gallery focused on the portrait but was conveyed in many different ways. Covington’s piece, “A Reverend’s Dream,” uses map pins on black styrofoam to put together a powerful image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Another piece uses colorful Legos to embody two of the most powerful feminist leaders of our time: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and First Lady Michelle Obama.

In contrast to these contemporary pieces at the front of the gallery, the pieces in the back reflected more of a traditional portrait, but of ordinary people. Ray Brown’s portraits are nearly photo-realistic, but their realism actually stems from the normality of the people within them. Rather than royalty or other important people, Brown painted ordinary people, surrounded by nothing but a color. The names of these paintings are simply the first names of their subjects.