School Programs: Spring 2015

K.I.D.S. Art Education programs are back in swing, and we have two beautiful new shows to work from: Chris Gonyea's From Ashes and Jaanika Peerna's Light Matter. Both are site-specific installations evoking responding to themes of nature and atmosphere using grayscale, vertical line and jarring perspective.

Teaching Artists Ruth Wetzel and Victoria Calabro have created an exciting lesson plan based on the materials used by each artist and their use of tone, gravity, distortion and contrast. Our first group this morning was Nneka Sutherland's 4th grade class from Brooklyn New School. In the front room, Victoria asked her group to describe the drawings of Chris Gonyea and to elaborate on the mood created by his looming, veiled landscapes. She invited students to create their own "stretched" tree drawings using long, thin sheets of black paper and white conte.

In the back room, Ruth focused on gravity-- a major force at play in Peerna's exhibition, which features draped, hanging sheets of densely drawn Mylar and reflective film. Students were first invited to observe the works, and were even allowed to explore the area behind her dominant piece "Brooklyn Falls." They then created their own drawings on Mylar by imagining subjects of their choice impacted by gravity. Many chose to depict nature and weather elements.

Thanks to Nneka and her fabulous 4th graders for getting us off to such a great start! We can't wait to see how students of all ages will respond to this imaginative and interactive work!