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!

What’s Cookin at the Art21 Blog: A Weekly Index

"Raoul and Spot", Source: www.johnsoncountyhumane.org

Brrrrrr… it’s cold over here in NYC.  I hope you all are staying warm wherever you are. Meanwhile, here’s What’s Cookin:

• Nicole Rounds Them Up! This week you’ll read about Tasmanian wolves, patented patterns, cartoon anthropomorphism, ancient mythology, portico projections, and a big gift…
• We’re back with Karthik Pandian on his voyage in the Wild West.  In his second installment of this Grand Canyon Journal: Let’s Get Medievalist on this Crevassse gallop through the Arthurian points in which many parts of the canyon are named. Does the tip of Excalibur Tower, which is said to look like King Arthur’s legendary sword, contain the moment when its namesake was thrust into a soon-to-be-slain dragon? Does Guinevere Castle house a temporal room in which the Queen scandalously gave herself to Lancelot?
• Transcendent: Vija Clemins and Kimsooja| Teaching With Contemporary Art Columnist, Joe Fusaro was “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…
• A poised student who introduced himself as  “born in 1990” commented that, while the photographs appealed to him because of their obvious skillfulness, he wanted to know what someone his age was supposed to take from work created years before his birth… Last November Catherine Wagley attended a panel discussion at LACMA on photographs of man-altered landscape. The images in question—coolly composed prints by Stephen Shore, Lewis Baltz, and Robert Adams, among others—all hailed from the 1970s. Read Catherine’s reflection on this panel discussion in her post Hollis Frampton Revival.
• Gastro Vision | Food in Contemporary Art and Visual Culture: The Fruit of Experience. Nicole gives us the scoop on the on  Fallen Fruit Collective formed six years ago through a project by artists David Burns, Matias Viegener, and Austin Young for the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest.
• Remembering artist and friend Flo McGarrell
• VIDEO EXCLUSIVE | William Kentridge, Breathe. Shot in his Johannesburg studio in South Africa, William Kentridge reveals the process behind the video work Breathe — a component of the larger project (REPEAT) from the beginning / Da Capo (2008) that debuted at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and at the nearby Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in San Barnaba, Italy.
• FLASHPOINTS: Art + the Environment Wrap Up. For the past few months, our blog discussion platform, Flash Points, has hosted a conversation on Art and the Environment. Together with our readers, we looked at how art reacts to the environment, and if it can be used as a way to contextualize and understand environmental concerns.

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 3^rd and 4^th 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.

Continue reading »

What’s Cookin at the Art21 Blog: A Weekly Index

"Maypole Dogs", Source: Everlasting Love (a blog), 2009

Ready… set …GO!!!

• Letter from London: Memento Mori:Ben Street writes to us about Emily Princes drawing installation project that counts the dead… or does it? This artist’s approach to statistics utilizes rembrance as a fight against abstraction…
• Nicole Rounds Them UP! This week Art21 artists depict nether regions, play with light and space, bundle and fuse old toys, mirror the dandy, reimagine rooftops, photograph electricity, and display cookie cutters by the thousands
• BLOG THIS! Blogging the Contemporary Arts, a panel discussion at X-Initiative. Blogs about contemporary arts and the art world play an increasingly important role by providing multiple viewpoints, information and commentaries about the art market, the gallery scene, artists and their work on a daily basis.
• Adolf Hitler  (character) IMDB Spreadsheet
• Teaching with Contemporary Art: Anything Can Happen. Being a Ranger Fan is a lot like Contemporary Art.
• Announcing Art Educators 2010-2011. The Education staff at Art21 is launching the second year of Art21 Educators and we are now accepting applications. For those of you just hearing about this program, Art21 Educators is an intensive, year-long professional development initiative designed to cultivate and support K-12 art educators interested in bringing contemporary art, artists, and themes into their classrooms.
• VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Allan McCollum Cookie Cutters

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.

What’s Cookin at the Art21 Blog: A Weekly Index

"Dandelion" photography by Irving Penn, c. 1973; Source: PaceMacGill.com

Dandelion leaves contain abundant amounts of vitamins and minerals, including Vitamins A, C and K. and are good sources of calcium in a dandelion sautee or wine…and as Irving Penn photographed this elegant parchute bulbed dandelion pictured above these flowers are quite beautiful …and even magical!

Here’s what else is cookin:

• Video Exclusive| Cao Fei Avatars
• Bibi Calderaro’s Gifts | Guest Blogger Nova Benway touches on  the relationship between the social process of giving and select performances by Caldero.
• Earnest-ness or Exuberant Seriousness? Nova writes about work of sculptor David Olsen and reflects on her past writings of the theme of sincerity.
• New Guest Blogger: Joel Holmberg. Check out his clever post, Understanding the Economy Photoshop Tutorial
• Nicole Rounds Them Up! This week Art21 artists illustrate NASA’s history, depict child’s play, map the Black Atlantic, render galaxies in glass, leave their mark on the last decade, and reflect on our future.
• Hair Nails, Talk & Touch, 4 Encounters with Women in Mumbai: Over the past few weeks, Jennifer Doyle has been reporting from her travels in India.
• Artist and teacher Joe Fusaro plays a tune of excitement for the many plans he has for the column Teaching with Contemporary Art in 2010.
• Inside the Artists Studio: Alexis Avlamis, current resident at the Vermont Studio Center
• New Column! Inside Art Documentary Production | Julie Mehretu and the Problem of Shooting Big. Nick Ravich, Art21’s Director of Production, breaks his bloggy silence and takes us on a trip into the  zone of documentary production. How may one approach documenting an arwork accuately when an artist has created something that defies the camera’s ability to record it?

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 10^th 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

What’s Cookin at the Art21 Blog: A Weekly Index

Photo: Jean Shrimpton, evening dress by Cardin, Paris studio, January 1970. © Richard Avedon, Source:GraeMitchell.com

As we jump into the early New Year 2010, here’s What’s Cookin… enjoy!

• FLASHPOINTS: How does art respond to and define the natural world? The University of New Mexico launched their Art and Ecology as an outgrowth of its ten-year old program, Land Arts of the American West. Read Mattias Merkel Hess’s interview with UNM Art and Ecology professor Catherine Page Harris about how the program started, its relationship with other programs at UNM, and the future of ecological art.
• Inhale. Exhale. Whew. What is the power of positive thinking in relationship to climate change? Nicole Caruth thinks about Marisa Olsen’s upcoming February exhibition, opening in February at NYC’s PS122 called Whew Age. Nicole also provides information about the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
• Nicole Rounds Them Up! To learn about some new and upcoming exhibitions featuring Art21 artists who envision utopia; manipulate patterns and dress; summon Baroque culture; and reflect on the intimate act of bathing click here.
• Art21 Guest Blog Year 2. Many thanks to all twenty-six of them for their informative and often entertaining insights! Here’s to the Art21 Guest Blog Class of 2009
• LOOKING AT LOS ANGELES: Against The Deluge. Calfornia resident Catherine Wagley looks back at 2009. “…The decade should belong to artists who saw the supposed deluge as a reason to stop trying to make history and start rephrasing, breaking apart, and rearranging their cultural heritage, freeing repressed fragments of meaning in hopes of informing an unknown future…”
• EDUCATION: Teaching with Contemporary Art — Bringing It Back Home. 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….
• GASTRO VISION: The Year in Meat. Here’s a look back at some meaty moments in 2009
• Entertainers Who Moonlight as Artists: The Top 10 of 2009
• Performative Interventions: The Progression of 4D Art in a Virtual 3D World. Second Life, performance artists see immersion as a means of taking their art directly to a global audience, thus completely eliminating the need for physical exhibition spaces, although augmented reality exhibitions are becoming the norm…” Artist, Franco Mattes says “In our synthetic performances the performers and the audience only interact thorough avatars, they never meet. Everything is mediated. But this doesn’t mean the relationship is not “real”, as much as, for example, a “phone conversation” is a “real conversation”…

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.