As a Junior at Becker High School last year, Kanee Vue painted an incredible acrylic masterpiece titled, “Painted White.”  Art instructor Jo Eichler was so impressed with the creation that she encouraged Vue to enter the Missisippi 8 visual arts competition.

The M8 judges obviously agreed with Eichler’s critical eye, as Vue was named the 2021 Superior Spotlight Award / Judge’s Award winner in the annual art contest.

According to Eichler, it is the highest honor achieved by a Becker student in the visual arts competition.

For her class, Vue also wrote an essay explaining her project and the creative inspiration behind her incredible painting.

“In this project, the biggest thing that influenced me to keep carrying through with the illustration is purely due to my passion in finding the uniqueness in a person,” Vue wrote in her submission. 

“In my work, my intentions were to solely focus on the harmful effects of assimilation. Assimilation, although valuable when speaking in terms of globalization, which helps individuals of different backgrounds connect with each other, can be incredibly damaging to cultures on a grander scale.”

After graduation this year, Vue plans to attend a community college to focus on her generals, while eventually pursuing a degree in Psychology.

“I am happy with how my piece turned out,” Vue wrote. 

“I depicted everything that I had intended and having it all finally be on the canvas is a relief.”