When viewing Waterloo High School student artwork at Morrison-Talbott Library, viewers see one image when standing at the front of the hallway. As they move to the other end, the pieces completely change. 

This is because the pieces are agamographs, or lenticulars. 

As WHS art teacher Brad Keim explained, agamographs present different images when viewed from different angles. Keim instructed his students to take at least two original artworks, cut them into strips and place them on an accordion-folded surface in an order so that one image is seen when standing to its left, the other when standing to its right. 

“We were really trying to aim for contrasting or opposing elements to be able to have something displayed in conjunction or juxtaposed with another image that was kind of conflicting with it,” Keim explained. “We had some good versus evil concepts, night versus day, light versus dark, that kind of stuff.” 

This project can be daunting, Keim explained. 

“There is certainly some reluctance from students to work on two artworks that they have completed and then be like ‘OK we’re going to cut these into one-inch strips.’ There’s the factor of create, obliterate and reconstruct it back into one piece when it was two,” Keim said. 

There are about 15 pieces displayed in the basement of the library – one of which was made by WHS junior Sean Ridgeway. 

Ridgeway explained his piece features two prominent characters in the popular video game League of Legends. 

“They’re both brothers but they hate each other,” Ridgeway, an avid League player, said. “The piece just came to me because I enjoy the characters’ writing, how they look and how unique they are.” 

Keim said the pandemic limited young artists’ opportunities to display their work publicly. Therefore, when the library told him they had the equipment and space to showcase student art, he jumped at the chance – even displaying some pieces of students’ who did the project the previous year. 

“We talk a lot in class about how our work can be a personal expression of ideas and messaging, but a big component of it is sharing it with other people and letting a viewer besides the artist be able to see the work,” Keim said. 

In doing this, Ridgeway said he gained confidence. At the same time, he hopes the diversity of his classmates’ work inspires other budding creatives. 

“It does sort of give me a purpose with the art in being able to show what I can create,” Ridgeway said. “I think it shows that anyone can create art. In the class, there are many people that do many different styles – many you wouldn’t even think are creative – but it does display what people can do with what they are given.” 

The artwork can be viewed at Morrison-Talbott Library during normal hours of operation throughout the month.