I really enjoyed visiting the galleries during our last class. The work ranged from photographs to films to paintings. It was great to see such diverse works all put together in one show. I think the work in the Thesis Exhibitions show how much art has grown in the technology world. There were a couple interactive pieces that involved technology and the input of the viewer.

One of my favorite pieces that many of us participated in, including myself, was this interactive wishing well. The idea behind the piece was to draw a wish which was then projected into this wishing well that the artist created. Paper with circles drawn on them to represent pennies, and sharpies were provided. Once you had your wish drawn, you placed it under this overhead projector, hit an “easy button” which took a picture of the circle and dropped it into the wishing well. The wishes or “pennies” were projected off of a mirror into this wishing well. There was a rectangle frame surrounded by stones on the floor to resemble a real wishing well. All of the circles were projected onto the ground and moved around inside the perimeters of the frame. There was also a clothes line on the wall were you could hang the piece of paper that you drew your wish on. I think this is a great use of modern technology to transform a simple idea that already exists. The projector and kind of virtual wishing well add a new twist on the idea of throwing a penny into a well and making a wish on it. This piece also makes you draw out your wish instead of just saying it in your head. I think this also connects to our Seminar 2 class because it is a more modern spin on art. Most of the work we have viewed in Seminar 2 has to do with technology in some form. This wishing well fits right in with Brian Knep’s work and also Linda Price’s work. Brian used video in an interactive way and Linda used video to try and fuse 2D work and video work. Overall, this was definitely one of my favorite pieces in the Thesis Exhibition.

Today was very busy and stressful for all of us, but overall a really great experience. The first group’s introduction went well and I think the kids were excited to see what we had in store for them. I was really glad to see the kids responding when Elaine, Natalia, and Delia asked them questions. That really could have been a hit or miss, but definitely got their minds going. The self portrait collage was the perfect activity. The kids loved it. Once they were told to start, everyone got to work sending materials around the room. The kids weren’t shy to ask for help or talk to you about what they were working on. The free wall was also a hit. A lot of the kids just doodled on the wall. The instructors did as well which was awesome to see them getting involved. The kids were able to come up with some pretty fantastic artwork, even the ones that had never done art before. I overheard one boy say “Art is awesome!”, which was great to hear. I wish the room had been a little less crowded though, but with the amount of students we had it was understandable! The activity group held everything down so that was good. They didn’t really need our help so we just tried to blend in and not get in the way. The kids didn’t need fifteen people asking them what they were working on. I think they really enjoyed this portion of their day though.

When it was finally our group’s turn, we took the TAG Boston group to the Godine Gallery to see the Collaborative Show. We had to tell them about gallery etiquette- to be respectful of the work, don’t touch, and to keep their voices down. We explained our activity and they started working on it right away. We had them look for something they liked in this first gallery. The work in this show was fantastic and even included something similar to the free wall, where they viewer was invited to draw/ write whatever they wanted with chalk pastel on black paper. The kids loved this and all of them drew something on it. The kids really enjoyed seeing actual artwork that was made by students at Mass Art. It was a little difficult communicating with the students because of the language barrier, but I think it worked out as best as it could!

Next we took them to the Student Life Gallery for a fibers show. On our walk there, I talked with some of the girls about their day. They said they really liked it here, loved the art and everything that we do. When the kids got to the gallery, they saw all of the knitted pieces and odd things done with fabric which made them super excited. It just so happened that Cady and Tori, two of the girls who had work in the show, were there. The kids had so many questions and enjoyed talking to them. One kid liked taking pictures of the work on his cell phone and inverting the images. He gained a whole different perspective and came up with his own meanings for the pieces. I was so glad that he shared his ideas with me. It was awesome that he had this response to the work that he came up with entirely on his own. I think the TAG kids really enjoyed our activity.

The second group- Urban Scholars, came back from their admissions tour extremely tired. They had a long day with a lot of walking, so we just took them to the Student Life Gallery to look around. Some kids did the activity and others didn’t and didn’t really care about it. You could tell that they were all exhausted so we didn’t want to make them stay for very long.

I was somewhat disappointed in my classmates though. Some people came in and distracted the students as we were trying to talk to them. They also stayed for maybe five minutes and then left. Elaine was the only one to stay and participate in our activity with the students. This upset me because we helped out with the first group’s activity and stayed the entire time. We did just as much work and planning as they did. It would have been nice to have our classmates there participating like we did earlier in the day with their activity. It also would have been nice to have Beth there to see how much our hard work had paid off and get some feedback.

Anyways, I really enjoyed working with these kids. They were so much fun and so thankful for everything we had planned for them. I enjoyed this much more than my fieldwork hours and Artward Bound. As far as college goes, a lot of the kids didn’t know what they wanted to go to school for or if they were even going to go to school. I knew that I wanted to focus in art and applied to both art schools and liberal art schools. I knew that art school was the right choice for me because of the huge art education that I would be getting. I think that it is important for these kids to go to college and focus in something that they love. I hope that our day gave them a small look at what art school has to offer. It would be awesome if some of them ended up going to school here. Overall, I think the day was a fantastic learning experience, but like Grace said in her blog, I wish it had ended differently.

Today in class, we visited the Boston Arts Center to see an exhibition by William Cordova. William Cordova was born in Lima, Peru, in 1971. He received his MFA from Yale University in 2004 and his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996. The exhibition that we visited was titled: This One’s 4U (Pa’ Nosotros). William Cordova works in several different media to build historic narratives and give them a twist, ultimately giving them new meaning. There was no writing with any of his work in the gallery which really made you think and question why he was doing these things. Although there was such a wide variety of media they all were connected by history and the historical narrative that he was trying to present. William used a lot of found objects such as discarded paper and reclaimed wood. He combines completely unrelated events that have happened and somehow relates the two so that they feel cohesive as a piece.

My favorite piece was Untilted (Look For Me In The Whirlwind) which consisted of 22 pieces of reclaimed paper that William altered. Each piece was framed on the wall. The papers had writing and drawings which William covered up or partially covered up. It made me want to see what was written underneath this tape that he had put over it. It really made me want to know more about the piece. I wish we could have taken pictures of the work so I could show you exactly what I’m talking about.

In the afternoon, we visited Linda Price Sneddon’s studio space. When we walked into her studio we were greeted by bright colors and large installation works. Linda tries to combine the elements of 2D work with video projections. Her work consists of installations on walls made of painted mylar, colored tape, construction paper, and pipe cleaners. She uses a lot of bright colors that allow the video projections to blend in with her 2D wall drawings. I enjoyed looking at this work a lot. Her craftsmanship is really outstanding the way she creates these 3D objects out of pipe cleaners. They have so much depth and I would never think of using pipe cleaners that way. She really takes the materials that she uses to the next level. When the video is projected onto her work, there is so much going on between the patterns and bright colors. There is so much to look at that you notice something new every time you look at it. It almost seems like the video is never ending and always changing although all of her videos are looped and repeat over and over again. She does a really great job talking about her work as well. She was really confident and open for questions which was really nice. It felt like we were really having a conversation with her, where as Brian Knep’s studio visit just felt like he was lecturing us on his work.

As my fieldwork hours came to a close, I felt like I almost wanted even more time at the Burke. It seemed as though Anna and I were just starting to build real relationships with the students. When we would walk into the classroom, students would come up to us to say hi and start conversation- a huge difference from when we started.

During one of my last times at the Burke, Anna tried to teach myself and another student names Ashley, how to knit.  This was such a great experience, even though I could not pick up how to knit after many many tries. I think it was great that Anna was trying to teach both of us because it gave Ashley a sense that she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t knit. She actually got the hang of it pretty quickly too! I was really impressed. It was great to have the students actually come to us saying that they wanted to learn how to knit because once they saw Ashley doing it, a bunch of the other girls wanted to join in as well. Although I wasn’t much help, it was great to watch all of the students get excited to try something new. They were all so motivated to make something and actually have the ability to knit something. This was definitely a highlight of my fieldwork hours.

Overall, I’m going to miss the students at the Burke. I think I learned a ton from Alisa and her students. I am definitely going to value this experience and use the lessons I have learned to help with my teaching in the future. I am glad that Alisa took the time to have us in her classroom and grateful for the knowledge that she was able to share with us.

The next few times that Anna and I went to the Burke, we got to interact with more and more students. At first, it was a little awkward because some students were completely comfortable with having strangers in the room and others were a little hesitant, but I don’t blame them. I think that’s the way most high school students are and the way I was in high school.  I think it is definitely important to develop trust, especially with students. They want to know that you are there to share your ideas and help them, but I think its important to keep in mind that you should only help if they want your help. This way you can gain their trust and build better relationships.  I learned a lot about that from going to the Burke.

Anna and I got to help out many students make linocut prints and build 3D characters out of cardboard. I helped one student named Kea, with a collage that she was working on. Both Anna and I also helped Alisa make various signs for the classroom, the different times that we went to visit. We also got to help them out with a mural that was being done outside of the classroom. Seeing the different stages of the mural from just getting started to being finished was great. It was awesome to work with the kids and see them excited to work all together to make this mural.

Most of the days that we went, the students were working on different projects at different times. It was rare to ever see more than two students working on the same project. While I like the sense of freedom Alisa gives her students, I think that I would like things a little more structured. It was hard to keep up with everyone and make sure everyone was actually working on something. Alisa has large classes and there is always artwork being produced. I think a little more structure would really keep the kids motivated and excited to work on more artwork.

I could tell that a lot of the students really like Alisa as a teacher. Students always seemed to filter in and out of the classroom during passing time whether they had class or not, they just wanted to say hi to Alisa. She was always in a good mood and loved to talk to her students, but was able to lay down the rules when needed. I think that is a super important part of teaching. It’s okay to be that teacher that everyone loves, but when it comes down to it, you have to be able to enforce the rules of your classroom as well.  It was awesome to see so many kids who loved their teacher and would rather be in the art room than any other class. I probably loved seeing this because I was one of those kids in high school and it is one reason why I really want to be a teacher.

I was not aware that we were supposed to blog after every time that we went to do our fieldwork hours, so I am going to try and catch up with a post for each time I went to do mine!

I completed my fieldwork hours at Jeremiah E. Burke High School. The first day, I went with Anna and met Alisa Rodny – the art teacher at the high school.  The classroom had such a friendly atmosphere when we walked in. Artwork filled the walls, along with posters of rules and guidelines. A supplies table was located right in the middle of the room so all the kids had access to certain materials.  Alisa didn’t hesitate to explain her classroom rules with us.  There were lists of possible projects that the kids could do on the wall that ranged from plaster faces to linocuts. She wanted them to be able to decide what they wanted to work on.

Anna and I were able to walk around and talk to some of the students. Some of the students were really happy to have us there. They were excited that we were from Mass Art and had lots of questions for us. Others just didn’t want to be bothered and kept to themselves.  We quickly learned that all of the students were at different levels as far as their artistic abilities. Talking to some of the students really gave us some inside information about the backgrounds of these kids and the school in general.

I specifically remember looking at a poster that Alisa had hung up on the wall that said- “ Identity: Who am I? Where am I going?  Community: Where do I belong? Where do I come from?”. That poster clearly stuck out to me that day and would be important as my fieldwork hours continued.

This week, Anna, Elaine and I had the chance to work with Shyimel again. Elaine was really eager to share her printmaking skills with some of the kids in Artward Bound, so we thought the “creative arts activity” was a great chance to do that. We thought that it would be a great idea for Shyimel to get his hands on some new materials and new methoids, so we decided to introduce linoleum block prints. To tie this new activity into Shyimel’s fieldwork guide, we thought that making a stamp of his signature would be a great thing to add to his page.

The second we brought up making a stamp of his graffiti signature, Shyimel was excited and interested for what we had planned. He quickly began to sketch out signatures, picking out ones that he liked and scribbling out others. Signatures are a big part of graffiti, so we thought this was very fitting for Shyimel. Anna was able to capture a great photo of some of his sketches–

We quickly learned that creating the stamp and carving it out in the time that we had to work with was going to be harder than we expected. Shyimel was frustrated with having to write the signature backwards, while we tried to do everything we could to transfer it, it just wasn’t working. Shyimel was definitely getting discouraged, as were all of us, because this was not going the way we wanted it to.

Trying to steer away from the frustration and discouraging first try, we let Shyimel carve whatever he wanted to out of the linoleum block. This way he had free range and was in complete control of what he was doing. He ended up carving out a stamp of Goofy. But after printing it, of course, he was not satisfied with it. I’ve noticed that Shyimel sets his standards high for himself and easily gets discouraged if something does not come out the way he intended it to. Most middle school age kids are like that though. I remember not liking my work if it did not come out the way I wanted it to, and that still happens to me today.

Although we ran into some trouble, I think Shyimel put in a good effort. I think if we had more time and he already had some ideas sketched out, we might have been able to achieve a print that he liked. I think he enjoyed trying out a new material and learning a new process that he might keep in mind for later on in his art making.

Today in class we visited a gallery showing “Forms in Flux” at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. This particular show is a collaboration between the SMFA and Aichi Univiversity, located in Nagoya, Japan. The whole idea behind the show is to provide a meeting place for something new to be created from two geographically very distant locations. Working on opposite sides of the world, in different media and in different cultural contexts, these artists address issues of transformation, change and fluidity of perception. The artwork was all very different, but somehow managed to flow all together. The pieces didn’t seem out of place or random even though they weren’t the same media.

When we first walked in the gallery, we were greeted by Nobuyuki Osaki’s  video installation piece titled “Portraits of Mirrors“. I found this piece so interesting because not only were they projected onto the wall, they were projected onto hand mirrors which then projected the image onto the wall. This idea completely serves the concept of transformation because the mirrors warped the images, and the images changed themselves over time.

Moving further into the gallery, there was an interactive piece by Michelle Samour called “Windows“. This piece consisted of a table with several clear tiles containing pigmented abaca designs on them. As long as we were wearing gloves, we were able to move them around, stack them, and ultimately transform this piece. It was interesting to layer multiple tiles together and to see what other people had done to the piece before hand. The fact that it was also an interactive piece really made it memorable. Its not too often that you come across art that is meant to be touched and/or moved around. There is something really intriguing about being able to transform a piece of art. Out of all the galleries that we’ve been to, I really enjoyed looking and interacting with these pieces.

Switching topics, we also discussed our final video presentations today. I am working with Elaine and Anna to combine elements of our gallery visits in Seminar 2 with Artward Bound and fieldwork hours from Seminar 1. All three of us traveled to Jeremiah E. Burke High School to complete most, if not all of our fieldwork hours together. We decided to have a series of themes for our final video. We are going to focus on Identity, Community and Neighborhood, New Media Integration, while combining footage from the Artward Bound program and J.E. Burke High School that relates.

Throughout our gallery experiences we have noticed that modern artists use identity and community as driving forces for their work. We are going to incorporate artists from the BU Exhibit, The Verdant Gallery Visit, and Nancy Holt from the Tufts Gallery Visit, along with many other artists. We are also going to have voiceovers of ourselves, Alisa Rondy from J.E. Burke, and various students that we interview from both the high school and the Artward Bound program.

In class we got off to a really great start and are continuing to pull together all of our clips. We have a really rough version started, and a ton of footage between the three of us. I think we’re off to a good start!

During today’s class, Anna and I continued to develop our relationship with Shyimel. We decided to spend our time outdoors in the warm weather while we helped Shyimel work on his 2D drawing. Shyimel decided to use the Andromeda bush as his specimen to work with for the field guide. The assignment that Shyimel had to complete today was a 2D drawing of the specimen. We were able to provide paper and drawing materials such as marker, colored pencils, and oil pastels. At first, Shyimel was not too thrilled to be drawing a plant. With most of his interest in graffiti, it was hard to transition to an observational drawing of something that he was only semi interested in.

After starting his drawing, Shyimel decided that he wasn’t happy with the way it was turning out. We gave him the idea to think about it like he would a piece of graffiti, adding his own personal style to it. After saying that, it was like a lightbulb went off in his head! He got excited about that thought. I was really happy that we could use our teaching skills to spark some sort of idea inside of him. He was able to turn his plant drawing into the word “Andromeda” in a graffiti style, to later on use as his title.

I think Anna and I have developed a great relationship with Shyimel. He is comfortable talking to us and loves to talk about his day at school as well as his family. He also likes hearing our stories and what we have to bring to the conversation. Our relationship with Shyimel is different from the relationships with the kids at Jeremiah E. Burke High School. Anna and I get to spend a couple hours one on one with Shyimel and I think that creates a good dynamic as far as teacher-student relationship building goes. It has allowed us to get to know him and gain his trust. At Jeremiah E. Burke, the classroom is very laid back with little structure that makes it harder to create such great relationships with the students. When Anna and I have gone to the school, we have found that a lot of the students don’t really want to create relationships with us. Only a handful of kids were excited to see us and talk to us by our last few visits.  It was also harder to create relationships with these kids because they weren’t in the classroom for a very long time. Most of the time the students spent talking amongst each other and their friends, though some students opened up to us about their family and their plans for school. Some students also filled us in on what happens around the high school and the way the schedule works. By the end of our fieldwork visits, I think the kids were just starting to warm up to us being there. It is kind of intimidating having strangers in the classroom. I wish we could have more longer periods of time with these kids, just like we did with Shyimel. Overall, I found it much harder to quickly build a relationship with the kids at the high school compared to the Artward Bound program.