Last Sunday, I enjoyed a great exhibition titled, 30 Americans, at the Milwaukee Art Museum. I first learned of this exhibition years ago while preparing an art lesson for the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal. I selected Kehinde Wiley as the artist to focus on and to demonstrate how meaning may be communicated through facial expressions and body language. I began looking for resources to share with the participating children (ages 5-12), and came across an online video promoting 30 Americans. Fast forward to a couple of years later and the exhibition is only a short drive from my new home, teaching at Oregon Elementary School. I was thrilled to see so many artists' work I had studied and admired. Now I am able to share those works with my students. My colleagues and I have been reviewing the latest draft of Common Core Art Standards. One of the priority standards will be to teach students how art may be presented. I decided to take this opportunity to introduce the concept of curating an exhibition to each sixth grade art class. These students are already studying Kehinde Wiley for a photo alteration project. I first defined exhibition and curator for students to take notes in their sketchbooks. We then watched the following video to give us information about the 30 Americans exhibition. After the video, I instructed each group of students to look at twelve images from 30 Americans and arrange them on a gallery map. Each table included a map, exhibition guides and printed images from the exhibition. I encouraged students to think about the following questions:
Below are images of the classroom setup, student collaboration and response activity The student reflections poster was also inspired by the Milwaukee Art Museum. Pictured to the right is a wall within 30 Americans full of visitors' responses to the exhibition. I asked my students to write down what they thought, felt, liked or learned from this activity. The reflections are on display next to a student gallery example in the Oregon Elementary School art hallway and is pictured below:
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I recently spent a couple weeks in St. Louis, Missouri. I tried to take advantage of all that the city had to offer. I met genuinely nice people, tasted amazing food and enjoyed great live music. Most of my explorations focused on the city's many art museums. I was able to see works by some of my favorite artists that I had never seen before. Most importantly, I was able to consider how I will incorporate the artists and experiences into classroom projects and discussions. Public Art at the Citygarden The first stop I made in St. Louis was to the Citygarden. I was interested in seeing the public sculpture of one of my favorite artists, Keith Haring. I was pleasantly surprised to find several great sculptures by artists such as: Erwin Wurm, Mark Di Suvero, Mimmo Paladino, Jim Dine, Igor Mitoraj, Fernand Leger, Laura Ford, and more. As a teacher, I want to show my students how art exists beyond museums, galleries and textbooks, and can actually be found everywhere! A great variety of art can be found in communities big and small. By showing students these works of art, I hope to facilitate a discussion about art they see in their own communities. |
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