In the Middle: Art21 Educators
K-1st grade texture and color study submitted by June Edmonds
About six months ago, Art21 ventured into the land of summer teacher institutes. We invited 15 teachers from across the country to come to New York City and spend a week with us learning about ways to bring contemporary art and artists into the classroom using Art21 resources. It was a ton of work and an equal amount of fun. Since then, these teachers have had the opportunity to plan curriculum, try new teaching strategies, develop units and lessons that are driven by big ideas, and even work with some Art21 artists in the process.
We have now hit the mid-point of our first year working with these 15 teachers, and over the past few weeks I’ve had the chance to reach out to many of them and discuss their experiences so far- from the summer institute this past July to their current plans for this spring. It’s been extremely interesting to find out that many teachers now find themselves working with IDEAS as opposed to materials-based strategies or teaching particular styles. It’s has been tremendously gratifying to hear that experiences with artists and art works- firsthand- became a springboard for learning about other artists, art, and approaches to creating. The group has also shared hundreds of photos (literally) and dozens of classroom videos through our interactive Ning website devoted exclusively to this cohort of teachers.
As we move into the second half of our year together we look forward to visiting teachers in their classrooms, learning more about the successes and challenges they face, and even making time to talk with students about how learning with contemporary art has made a difference for them.
Year 2 of the Art21 Educators summer institute will run from July 7-14, 2010 and is now accepting applications from pairs of teachers. Click here for more information and to download an application!
Transcendent: Vija Celmins and Kimsooja
Vija Celmins, "Untitled (Big Sea #1)," 1969. Graphite on acrylic ground on paper, 34 1/8 x 45 1/4 inches. Private collection. Courtesy McKee Gallery, New York.
Recently I was engaged in a little debate about whether contemporary art can truly be transcendent — taking us beyond the range of normal perception to some place else, some place free from the constraints of the material world. While I immediately thought of Season 5 artist, Kimsooja, and her ability to highlight the artistic context in everyday activities (sewing, cleaning, decorating, etc.), I also thought about the repetitive nature of her work and how repetition is one path to transcendence that many other artists most certainly incorporate. One of these artists, Vija Celmins, is featured in Season 2 and utilizes repetition in her seascapes and night skies. They are meticulously drawn and painted to the point that the viewer isn’t looking at a picture as much as they are looking into one. And when you look close enough, similar to the experience thousands of students have when really seeing a painting by George Seurat or Chuck Close, you go someplace else; you see beyond what the picture is.
I try to make a piece that’s strong and thorough and doesn’t jump off the paper. It’s neither ocean nor a piece of paper. It becomes a third thing.
— Vija Celmins
Any teacher that has experienced the hum of fluorescent lights and a roomful of students engaged to the point that you can actually hear ideas being scratched into paper or canvas has experienced another kind of transcendent moment. These are the times we feel that “buzz” of work and the rhythm of not necessarily moving through the room, but of the room moving through us, through our own energy and the work we’re facilitating. It’s our job to create spaces for these kinds of moments where students become immersed in the ideas they are shaping and shaping them slowly, without rushing, but with a sense of urgency.
Wonder-Igniters: An Interview with Abbe Futterman
Student work, The Earth School
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting The Earth School in New York’s East Village and at one point noticed a science classroom through a small window that immediately struck me- there were plants, bones, drawing materials, cabinets, books, field guides, lots of sunlight and carefully arranged tables and workstations. The room itself was like a beautiful business card for the teacher, Abbe Futterman, whom I’d never met. Anyone could tell this place meant business. There wasn’t a child in the classroom but you could clearly see that the students and their teacher took pride in the work that was accomplished here. After asking a few questions I was quickly introduced to Abbe and pleasantly surprised to find out that she is a Pratt Institute graduate who often teaches science through the arts. Below is a conversation we had following that visit.
JF: You work as a science teacher that graduated Pratt Institute. That alone is interesting. Tell me about that transition.
AF: It was more of the shift from art to the art of teaching because I began as a 3rd and 4th grade teacher. Only later did I become a science teacher. When I discovered how much creativity there is in teaching, it became my first love. I especially enjoy teaching science because it captures the imagination and wonder of the students and myself. Description and documentation are also very important to me and, I believe, for learning science. The processes of Audubon, Darwin, and McClintock have influenced how I view science. Teaching young people life drawing techniques gets them to slow down, observe, and notice the structure of things. Equally important to me is that my students experience what Eleanor Duckworth calls “the having of wonderful ideas,” which I interpret as the imaginative act of discovery and synthesis and which is very akin to a powerful aesthetic experience. I think these acts of the imagination empower and enlighten children and adults similarly.
JF: Can you describe some of the situations or lessons where you use drawing in your classroom? Are there particular artists that have made their way into your curriculum?
AF: I use drawing or scientific illustration in various ways with my students. For example, if they are studying biology using snails, or mealworms, or plants, or pillbugs, I have them do large detailed studies. I teach this technique starting in Kindergarten right through fifth grade- explicit life drawing techniques that I call “Looking and Drawing.” I model first using pencil and an art eraser. I implore them to look a LOT and draw a LITTLE; look a LOT and draw a little more; to erase as needed; and redraw. I emphasize the looking: “Is this plant the exact green that’s in the paint set?” “Is the entire plant the same green?” Then I show them some basic mixing and blending techniques. Students often draw and then label the parts. They get to draw microscopes, flowers, fruit, etc.
Student work, The Earth School
JF: You mentioned enjoying teaching science because it captures the wonder and imagination of both the students and yourself. I teach visual art for the same reason. Do you feel that teachers need to have a sense of wonder in order to teach effectively? If so, how do you keep that sense, that spark, alive in your own work?
AF: Children are by nature “wonder-igniters” since they live in the world of imagination and discovery. The hard part is listening well and not getting carried off completely by the day-to-day logistics of classroom life. I think teachers need to stay open to their students and to know each one well enough to be awed by him/her and his/her work. The opposite of that– not seeing/knowing the person, the individual– is what drains our positive energy from teaching.
Anything Can Happen
Image courtesy gnurf.net
Outside of Tyler Green (Modern Art Notes), I am not sure how many contemporary art-lover hockey fans are out there. There may be more, but down deep I think we’re two of just a few.
As I was watching the Devils-Rangers game last night and lamenting over the fact that my interview with Abbe Futterman wasn’t ready to post yet (Abbe gave me so many great photos that I’m still choosing and editing them), it suddenly dawned on me: being a Ranger fan is a lot like teaching with contemporary art. For example….
- Anything can happen, and it will.
- Being prepared is half the battle.
- You’re often anxious.
- People make fun of you, but once in a while you get to laugh back.
- Practically every game (class) is exciting, no matter how much the last one sucked.
- You’re always looking to try something a little different, a little better.
- Carefully timed risks make all the difference.
Maybe being a Ranger fan is a lot like teaching in general?
Tune in next week for my interview with Abbe Futterman, an inspiring teacher at The Earth School in New York who creatively combines the teaching of science and art in her elementary classroom.
Have Kazoo Will Travel
Richard Tuttle, "20 Pearls (8)", 2003
To celebrate the New Year and what are now 90 posts for the Teaching with Contemporary Art column here on the Art21 blog, I popped a bottle of champagne, played a quick tune on my kazoo, and then began thinking about what’s next (I was never much for long celebrations, and hey, it was a reeeally quiet New Years Eve). Since this is the first Teaching with Contemporary Art post of the new year, I wanted to let everyone in on some plans for the near future, as well as solicit some ideas for future columns…
First off, I am happy to say that this month the column will feature an interview with Abbe Futterman, an extraordinary science teacher from The Earth School in New York City who not only graduated from Pratt Institute, but also finds innovative ways to incorporate learning science through art. This interview will be part of the current Flash Points theme: How does art respond to and redefine the natural world?
Secondly, I am excited to report that I will be interviewing Tod Lippy, editor of Esopus magazine (which is not really a magazine; it’s more of an artwork in the shape and schedule of a periodical) for a post exploring ways that teachers use art periodicals in their classrooms.
Third, Kidspace at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, will celebrate their 10th anniversary in March and I am pleased to be attending the festivities in order to report on the work Kidspace has done in the last decade, as well ask questions about the future of museums educating children about, and with, contemporary art.
While this is just a taste of some things in the works, I encourage you to comment on this post to suggest other ideas for the column, other people you’d love to see interviewed, and future events you’d love to see “covered,” as only Teaching with Contemporary Art can. I’ll even bring along the kazoo.
Cheers! Happy New Year! And thank you…
“….in the making and the critiquing there is all of life and there has to be all of life because if you don’t have all of life, then how can you make anything that really has importance?”
- Richard Tuttle
Bringing it Back Home
Illustration by Lauren Beltramo
December, January, May, June…. These are popular months for graduates to visit their former high schools because they are either between semesters at college or finished for the school year altogether. While it took me a while to go back to my old high school (to the tune of approximately a decade), I am fortunate to have a crew of truly interesting and dedicated students who regularly come back to visit our Art department.
Last week, right before we went on holiday break, Lauren Beltramo, one of our amazing and dedicated graduates, came by to visit with my AP Studio Art class to talk about life in her first semester at Drexel University. She shared some recent work and also gave everyone a peek at a few pieces she is exhibiting for a group show here in NY at the GAGA Arts Center next month. Students asked questions about the difference between high school art classes and college classes (length was a popular point in the discussion… you can get a lot more done in 3 hours than you can in 45 minutes, obviously), as well as the inspiration for a variety of her works.
Having students come back to team teach, share stories and successes, and continue to maintain important connections is vital to the life of all art programs- whether you teach middle school, high school or college. Having students come back to discuss the work they’re creating and the directions they’re heading not only keeps us in the loop, but also serves as an important model for current students. These students get to see and hear about what happens “after”. The months of December and January are particularly good times to tap into those graduates who are home and able to share their experiences since graduating, whether they are attending college, working at a particular job, or even “in-between” and making decisions about their own next steps in life.
Season’s Treatings
Still from Tim Burton spot for MoMA, 2009
Before the holidays hit us, I thought I might suggest a few destinations, dates, and stocking stuffers for those who are as late with the shopping as I am. Below are some beautiful shows and books that are sure to please, whether you’re looking for inspiration in the classroom, in your own practice, or just a memorable gift to give or share….
Kandinsky at the Guggenheim Museum
Goeorgia O’Keeffe : Abstraction at the Whitney Museum
Graffiti Kings: New York City Mass Transit Art of the 1970s
Looking In: Robert Frank’s “The Americans” Expanded Edition
Surface Tension: Contemporary Photographs from the Collection at the Metropolitan Museum
Happy Holidays to all! Enjoy!
Time to Talk
Illustration by Adam Towers, Nyack High School
Art classrooms are mired in production. Too often the drive to complete work speeds right past the formation of a high quality idea or composition. How often have we ourselves seen or experienced a potential work of art get dumped because of poor planning, hasty decisions, or a fixation on completing vs. creating a work of art?
More and more time in my own classroom, especially in the past few years, has been spent cultivating ideas with students. Discussions and brainstorming in different ways can sometimes take a few days, and while my kids might accuse me of brain brutality from time to time because they are “thinking too much” instead of “just doing it”, the quality of ideas and slower pace to the planning has led to better work. Instead of work that looks like a project, more often students are creating work that looks like, well, work.
The thinking that goes into planning, sketching, talking through and articulating ideas is time well spent, even if it’s a little painful for students. Things like partner discussions, in-progress critiques and brainstorming multiple solutions to a given problem can yield so much more than a rush to “get an idea” and “put it on the paper”. When students are asked to create five different sketches for an assignment, then discuss those sketches with classmates and make a decision about which one to pursue, it’s always especially satisfying to hear many students choose one of the last sketches they created, or one sketch that changed because of the discussion itself.
Contemporary artists can teach our students a lot about the power of conversation, multiple perspectives, and exploring different possibilities in order to create great works of art. One look at artists like Allora and Calzadilla, Ann Hamilton, Oliver Herring or Doris Salcedo, for starters, can illustrate this in full color.
Confronting History
Doris Salcedo, La Casa Viuda I (detail), 1992-94, Collection of Worchester Art Museum
Looking through the interviews and essays featured in Art:21- Art in the Twenty- First Century 5, the companion book to season 5, I keep discovering a ton of words to teach by. This past weekend, as I prepared to work with one of my classes, I began flipping through the section featuring Doris Salcedo and found two quotes that kicked off this week:
As an artist, I have a responsibility. I have to look at historical events and work with whatever material is given to me.
The memory of anonymous victims is always being obliterated; I’m trying to rescue it. That’s why my work does not represent something; it’s simply a hint of something- trying to bring into our presence something subtle that is no longer there.
What I enjoy about these two quotes really centers on how artists must confront history- questioning beyond facts and figures in order to get to the why. How do we question the framing of history as artists and art educators working with students? How do we create work that embraces, and even encourages, multiple perspectives? How can we rescue memory, even our own?
When students choose to make work that is about a time and a place, there can be a commitment to investigate that time and place in a way that starts with history and enters into a different kind of learning through interpretation and giving that perspective a specific form.
Help Wanted
Plaster sculpture by Matthew Labrake, Nyack High School
Once in a while teachers are so amazed and proud of the work their students accomplish that they just have to share it, and I’m all about flying in that time zone this week. Two weeks ago, I wrote a column called The Same, But Different, which discussed beginning a painting unit for the second year in a row that incorporates the theme of power with my Studio Art students. While we are well under way with forming some ideas for our paintings, I wanted to share a partial list of “powerful words”, “words we associate with power”, and “forms of power” that my Studio Art classes recently compiled. After a few partnered and small group conversations, here is a sample of what they discussed and came up with this past week:
Powerful Words: Outrageous, Wallin’, Loyalty, Perseverance, Death, Love, Hate, Faith, Pride, Terminal, Permanent, Never, Art, International, Soul, Law, Skyrocket, Boom!, Nuclear, Life, Morose, Wisdom, Cancer, Magic, Fight, Burn, Supernatural
(You can see why I’m smiling, right?)
Words We Associate with Power: Domination, Independence, Control, Strength, Bravery, Conquer, Mighty, Superiority, Confident, Intelligent, Love, Action, Wealth, Energy, Leadership, Stamina, Sexuality, Fear, Corruption, Time, Chaos
Forms of Power: One person over another; Family; Independence; Age; Manipulation; Karma; Terrorism; Co-dependence; Sexism, Rejection, Friendship, Love, Luck, Knowledge, Segregation, Censorship, Authority, Weapons, Sickness, Money, Addiction, Size
And these are just a few of the answers the students generated!
Now, here’s where the “help wanted” part comes in…..
While we discussed and viewed the work of Ida Applebroog, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Layla Ali last year, I’m looking for new artists to add to the mix. Inspired by a suggestion from my colleague Marc Mayer, I decided to share the brainstorming students have done and put the call out right here in the column: Looking at these lists so far, which artists would YOU suggest we incorporate in the new Painting About Power unit? Please share your ideas and comments!
