PhotoWalk #1 | Gathering a Creative Community in Reno/Tahoe

Today was our first photo walk as a creative community. My 10 year old daughter requested a photo walk to make photographs for an upcoming art show. So we thought, why not invite my students? Why not invite students from other schools? Mention it at Open House and maybe some parents would like to join us too. It's a casual affair. People with a love of photography gathering to walk and shoot and take in the sites from behind the viewfinder; an intimate and framed perspective.  There was 21 of us ranging from 10-40 something years old residing in Reno, Taiwan, and Iraq. All from or visiting two area high schools, McQueen and Wooster. Thank you all for coming together to create.

Art Student Will Kavner | Artist of the Month | KTHX Radio Station

Tonight I took the family to the  First Thursday event at the Nevada Museum of Art. The X or KTHX radio station sponsors this event and Will Kavner, one of my wonderfully talented and humble students, is the Artist of the Month. His work was on display for the evening's festivities and he will be announced on the radio station throughout the month of March. He's also an Honorable Mention recipient in the 2014 Scholastic Art Awards show opening this Friday at the Holland Project. Congratulations, Will. We're all so proud of you. I need the photo your Mom took so I can say "I knew him when…." 

alt-J - Tessellate | Music Videos in Art Classroom

Welcome to Part III Tessellations and Alt J | Using Music Videos in the Classroom

 If you haven't read parts I and II, I encourage you to do so before watching the video below. 

Without any backstory, the students watched (at the time, many had not heard of this band yet) and I opened up the floor with one question. A question that seemed necessary to ask considering the snickering and comments being whispered in class. 

"Would your parents have approved of this video being shown in class?"

Which led to, "Would they think it is educational? Why or Why not?"

They were in two clear camps. My parents wouldn't "care" (their chose of words not mine) camp and "Uhhhhh-NO! They wouldn't think it was classroom appropriate!"

Teacher:  Why not?

Students: I don't think they would like that kind of dancing and that you were showing it in class.

Teacher: Dancing or swaying? How many people were dancing?

Students: A lot. Most of them.

Teacher: I only saw a couple. Were they male of female?

Students: All of them were dancing.

Teacher: Perhaps it was the filming they would be opposed to not the actual movement? The close up shots, the pace to imply movement,  etc.?

Students: Exactly.

But that is not exactly what they said. I find their communication skills to be inferior to what they actually want to express (The students have a lot to offer. They think there is one "right" answer so they avoid giving possible suggestions) OR they haven't really LOOKED, therefore their opinions are vaguely informed.

Keen observation and critical thinking plays a major role in understanding the role of art; either as an artist or as a person appreciating art. Art cannot be observed quickly and reap its benefits. We are working on slowing down in the studio to improve our skills as well as our thinking. We need time to develop our thoughts. Here is link to the video I use for the opening lesson of the year that embraces the concept that "creativity takes time".

The simple dialogue above expresses quickly that I expect the students to really look and draw conclusions based on what they have observed--not judgements they have assumed to quickly.  Basically, we started with a Who, What, Where, When, Why approach to reveal the multiple layers happening in this video.

Let's start with the video's setting, Raphael's School of Athens, one of the most treasured frescoes in Italian art history.

A Brief Description of the Fresco

The fresco is the second of four representing the four branches of knowledge: poetry, philosophy, law, and theology.  The characters are the leading thinkers of the past and present time. The central figures are Plato (left) and Aristotle (blue), the fathers of Western philosophy. Both thinkers are referencing where knowledge is received. Plato points up referencing knowledge is received from an eternal, spiritual power. Aristotle gestures to the ground as his philosophy was based in earthly experiences of what we can see and touch.  Other notable figures are Ptolemy, Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Michelangelo, and Raphael himself. The figures on the left side of the composition are interested in mathematics, whereas the right side are scientists trying to explain reality. The sculptures of Apollo and Athena in the back upper niches parallel this duality or balance.

How It Went Down in the Studio Class

(The students have no prior knowledge about this fresco)

Teacher: Why does the video take place within this setting?

Student: I don't know. They are thugs. No one in this picture looks like a thug.

Student: They want to seem important.

Student: Yeah, you said these were the most brilliant minds of the time. They think they are or they want us to think they are. Thugs want to feel this important.

Student: Why does the one guy pour his liquor on  the ground? Is he saying he doesn't buy into this rich white guy story?

Student: No. Where I come from pouring liquor out, like that, or on a grave, is showing respect. This painting or place is like a grave. It has ancestors in it. I don't think they are thugs.

Teacher: You mentioned 'thug'. Why would the band choose that look or give that impression? (* the characters in the video are not the band members.)

Student: Because that's what a philosopher looks like today. Look at the rappers who have important stuff to stay about all kinds of things. It's just a look. It doesn't mean they are thugs.

Student: I think they are challenging our prejudice about that. By being in this place, we have to assume they are great thinkers. We shouldn't judge them by their appearance. But everyone does that today.

Student: I think putting them there elevates who they are. Just like the painter did. By putting them there, he elevates their role in society.

Teacher: What is philosophy? Who is Pythagoras, etc. Talk to those at your table and discuss.

Eventually each table peer taught one another about the characters with a little help from me regarding Ptolemy( mathematician and astronomer - his back is to us on the lower right side in a yellow robe) and Zoroaster (founder of the first world religion - holding a celestial sphere in front of Ptolemy). Raphael is standing amongst that group looking out at the viewer. In the video, a character gives a nod to the painter by wearing a Raphael t-shirt.

We held a discussion how once upon a time arts and science fed one another. Balanced one another by being equally important and relevant. Today our schools are focused on the analytical world of Aristotle and less on the ethereal world of Plato. School of Athens suggests both existed and created a balance.

At this point, I really don't need to be there. The students are conducting their own think tank and proposing new questions based upon their investigations.

Student: What role do the girls have? There are no girls in this painting?

Student: Exactly. Because women weren't important so they didn't make it into the painting. I mean, they were important but not considered to have anything important to say.

Student: That's why their mouths were blurred out when they were singing in the video. We still don't have a say.

Student: That one girl's mouth wasn't blurred out.

Student: Because only some girls have a say. It's better than when this painting was done but it's not equal. The girls look like they are just arm candy. They don't respect the women. They are there to get our attention and look sexy.

Teacher: Which worked since the first response was "This may be inappropriate". But they placed a woman in the position of Aristotle. Does that matter?

Students: Thinking...why do they keep making triangle signs?

Student: The Illuminati, dude.

Teacher: Branding? Self-promotion?

Teacher: Where are my IT kids? What happens when you click Alt + J on a Mac?

Students: ????

Teacher: This ∆. Delta, the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet and in mathematics the "change in" or difference of.  Visually, a triangle. Conceptually, leading us to love triangles, the Trinity, Egyptian concept of a universal nature (Isis, Osirus, Horus - Egyptians adopted from Pythagoras)

Students: Cool.

Teacher: Do you think we are right? It doesn't matter. It's our experience with it, so we are "right" to have it. We absorbed it and tried to have an experience with it and we didn't even touch on the lyrics. We did touch on assumptions, stereotypes, socioeconomics, feminism, equality, art history,

history, mathematics, philosophy, communication, etc. I believe we did something more valuable than filling in the blank of who painted The School of Athens. You engaged yourselves. You didn't accept your first observation. You contemplated. In my opinion, that's what going to School should be. You discover it. I don't do it for you.

If you enjoyed this post (or would like to add corrections, etc), please be sure to comment below. I'd love to hear from other educators using music, videos, pop culture in the classroom.

Skye

Stay tuned for more Film Friday features and be sure to follow the blog or like our FB page to get updates of new lessons.

And then several of us got to see the magic live on Dec 3rd at Grand Sierra in Reno, Nevada. Photo by Annalise Gardella (part of our concert tribe) on Instagram.

* There are several other elements: the lyrics, the shark, the filming style of speeding up the film and reversing it, that we could revisit.  What else?

And we're back...with a focus on the high school art room

Yes--that's the first mach-up for
the Transporter  in Star Trek. Beam me up,
Scotty!

The 2013-2014 school year is underway and the NVartworks blog is back but with a big kid bent. I switched over to high school this year. I am thoroughly enjoying the discourse and talents of the high schoolers. As a newcomer onto this scene, other art teachers have been invaluable to the settling-in process. I am so grateful for their generous giving of knowledge and advice, especially upon learning after a quick Google search, that a disproportionate number of online lesson plans are geared for elementary art students.  Time to trust my gut and continue to make NVartworks a place for art educators, art lovers, and art students to gain inspiration and to celebrate our successes.

What's been going on?
My studio classes are 2D art from beginners to honors plus a couple of classes focusing on wearable arts such as clothing and jewelry. 

Getting the room together in the summer

Art 1/2 & 3/4 - Tessellations- Focus on line, pattern, value, and landscapes. A look at M.C. Escher and how Art is Math.

Art 5/6 Advanced 2D Art - What is student voice in art? How to focus on a concentration to create a collection. Students independently create the first piece in a portfolio of eight pieces.

Wearable Art -  How to hand-stitch and craft a custom purse--focusing on basic stitches, hemming, beading, inserting a panel, pattern making, design sketching, button sewing, and craftsmanship. A look at Linda Przybyszewski, Notre Dame Associate Professor of History discussing "A Nation of Slobs". Art is Math---how many yards of x fabric do we need for 70 students to create a purse x big.



Upcoming Projects from Studio 508

Art 1/2 - One and Two-point perspective with a look at Perugino, Da Vinci, and Estes and how Art is Math. During the Renaissance,  the Artist and the Scientist were the same person. How did they become so separated in our modern culture?
Art 3/4 - Marc Chagall inspired profile pastel drawings. A look at Expressionism and the art of visual storytelling.  A look at Frida Kahlo and her personal journey in paintings.  240 of Kahlo's photographs will be on display at the Nevada Museum of Art during the month of September. A required visit for 3/4 and 5/6 students.
Art 5/6 - Ongoing analysis of art works and creating meaning in an art piece. Taking risks with new media and drafting artist statments and beginning piece #2/8 in their collections. A required visit to the NMA.