By Heather Myrick, Events Manager
As we get ready for our LA Modernism Opening Night event on Thursday, April 25th, P.S. ARTS is excited to share examples of how art from all periods and cultures are studied and created in our classrooms.
Our P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists come from a broad and unique range of backgrounds, bringing with them varied perspectives on art and its function in today’s world. P.S. ARTS students explore a range of artists, including those who influenced or were influenced by the Modern Art movement. Below we have shared examples of our students’ experiences with Art Nouveau through Gustav Klimt’s “Tree of Life” (the artwork that inspired this year’s unifying programs’ theme, Roots and Branches) and Pop Art through Jim Dine’s “Four Hearts.”
Our students at Baldwin Hills Elementary School study a unit in their music class called, “The Bonsai Tree: Pentatonic—A Structure for Success.” Modern Art influenced this unit taught by Teaching Artist Marwan Mograbi, where students find and build on the musical ideas that already exist within themselves. With reference to the elements of music, students improvise, create, and perform using their voice, body percussion, and classroom instruments. Students learn the expressive qualities of art making and learn to communicate through the music they create. Mr. Marwan guides them through a variety of call and response exercises as well as an informal group performance so students can show each other how the music resonates with them.
Another example of the art practiced in our classrooms is the Pop Art unit taught by Teaching Artist Ann Barron at Coeur D’Alene Elementary School. To begin the lesson, students gather on the carpet as Ms. Ann reminds them that sometimes how we feel on the inside can be reflected on our paper and that our thoughts and feelings can be used as inspiration for our artwork. The students nod, demonstrating that they remember hearing this before, and as Ms. Ann continues on, students raise their hands to share their thoughts. The students note aloud that happy feelings are like pictures of smiley faces and that sad feelings are like pictures of rain. In true kindergarten fashion, the students have a grasp on how art can be portrayed in their everyday lives.
Ms. Ann continues to teach students about Pop Art by creating replicas of Jim Dine’s iconic heart series. She explains that Jim Dine is famous for “not coloring in the lines” and shows students how Jim Dine’s drawings have to be stared at for a moment in order for the shape, such as the heart, to be seen. She talks to students about how blending colors together will give their work the same qualities as Jim Dine’s. Ms. Ann is teaching her students to see beyond what can initially be seen and in the process, helping to nurture her students’ critical thinking, observation, and analysis skills.
As students use oil pastels on bright, white paper to create their Jim Dine-inspired drawings, there is a remarkable air of concentration that washes over the students. They begin to deliberate over color choices and ask each other questions… Blue or purple? Red or green? Every student has the opportunity to make choices about their art and create something all their own while taking part in collaboration with peers. It is units and art projects such as this where P.S. ARTS programs are helping foster skills and human connections that will prepare these children as they grow and learn in life.
We hope you are as inspired by our students’ artwork as we are. One day, the artwork you see in a gallery or a museum may in fact have been created by a former P.S. ARTS student! If you would like to join us for this year’s LA Modernism Opening Night, please do so by purchasing your tickets here. One never knows where today’s inspiration will lead tomorrow’s artist. Thank you supporting our arts education programs.
