At a school with such diverse interests, hobbies and disciplines as Loyola High School, the fine and performing arts are often forgotten or ignored in favor of more popular programs and extracurricular activities. To remedy this issue and draw more attention to Loyola’s incredibly skilled artistic community, this monthly series will spotlight a handful of the most talented and dedicated students involved in visual arts, music, theater and film, both at the school and beyond. This month’s featured artists are Loyola seniors Ian Hong and Eric Baham.
Ian Hong is a Cub who truly exemplifies technical versatility in the visual arts, describing his art as “a combination of installation art, sculpture, and traditional paintings and drawings, as well as mixed-media.” A common theme among many of Hong’s works is the interplay between culture and identity, with Hong’s Korean-American heritage central to his 2024 AP 2D Art portfolio. Hong credits his work in Drawing 2 and AP 2D as being his biggest artistic inspirations at Loyola High School, with the former helping him hone his techniques and the fundamentals of traditional art, and the latter providing him a space to create personal works.
Hong is currently assembling his AP 3D Art and Design portfolio under the instruction of Fine Arts Department Chair Christina Muraczewski. She stated, “He comes to the art room to practice drawing during breaks to work on college application portfolios, and all the students who see his work on an easel in the art room are in awe of his talent.”
Outside of Loyola, Hong uses his artistic talents for good through volunteer work.
“I volunteer to do murals in churches, hospital waiting rooms, things like that, since those places can be really depressing and can often benefit from some creativity,” he said.
He finds it rewarding to brighten a space for others doing something he enjoys, all while getting service hours. Beyond Loyola, Hong plans to combine his interests in business and the arts as a double major.
Like Hong, Eric Baham ’25 wears many different artistic hats as the producer, writer and director of his film studio, Baham Productions. Inspired by his own AP 2D portfolio’s theme, Baham incorporates the suspenseful and mind-bending into his film projects.
Baham credits this class with allowing him to display the range of his photography skills, and like Hong, he is also assembling an AP 3D Art and Design portfolio. His commitment to the arts extends beyond his film, photography and 3D work, and he also is the technician for Loyola’s Hannon Theatre Company, where he assembles audio systems and oversees the sound design of live theatre. After Loyola, he plans to continue to grow his business, Baham Corporation, an umbrella under which his various projects fall, most notably his independent film, Insomniac. Baham uses his business as an outgrowth of his artistic ambitions, as seen in the company’s mission statement: “Committed to transforming ideas into realities that captivate audiences and leave a lasting impact.”
