A majority of these lessons involve students searching for their own materials. This can be a tedious and time consuming portion of the assignments, but it forces them to slow down and think about how to use materials that are already at their disposal. It also focuses on art methods that require trial and error and experimentation, something that I believe is easily lost or not prioritized in common art lessons.

Lessons like these will also help prepare kids for life after high school/college by providing skills like self-expression of thoughts and ideas in visual ways, practicing their ability to focus, collaborating, and also just persuade kids to go outside. Being outdoors and making art outdoors is great for the mind, so utilizing nature and surrounding ourselves in it will hopefully get students to step back from technology and away from screens, alerts, and the overall fast pace of things, allowing them to disassociate with art for a little bit.

Mentor Artists 

Lesson 2: KwangHo Shin and Pablo I Prada

Lessons 5: Joan Jonas and Cindy Sherman

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vhDlUgkirZbdKFCznjTny2n6Jmh9VMD9/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101332205642813055359&rtpof=true&sd=true

 

For this lesson inspired by Joan Jonas’ work, I’m having students utilize choreography and/or costume materials to create a minute long video, or a series of 4-6 photographs, expressing a specific social issue while exploring the realm of performance art. The goal is to make sure students are thinking about things like juxtaposition, environment, color, facial expression, symbolism and how you want your audience to feel. 

My photoshoot here touches on the subject of the middle-class American 1950’s housewife ideal, a role shaped by magazines and other advertising that isolated women from society. I’ve seen the glorification of this decade for women based on aesthetics and the current popularity of retro fashion and interior design, but I find that the addiction to alcohol and medicine, isolation, and sole reliance on a partner are not often illustrated in the fascination of the 1950s American family. Especially during quarantine, women online began participating in something called “the 1950’s housewife challenge” where they would partake in the daily chores women had over the course of a day or a week. Most find it quite entertaining, and it truly is interesting to test your abilities based on how women in the past might have lived, but at the end of things we’re capable of making a choice and adjusting back to freedom.

 

 

Through these photos, I become the classic housewife, but not in the cheerful and idealized way that media portrayed women. I wanted to become the stereotype but pose in an eerie and threatening manner, communicating expressions of hatred and remoteness through stiff or menacing poses. Some techniques used to achieve this were the glaring over the shoulder or through mirrors, making heavy eye contact with the viewer and using the mirror as a barrier in some photos. For authenticity I also used a high ISO with the camera in order to achieve more noise/grain, and yellow color correction to resemble film/feelings of nostalgia. The warmth of the color also contradicts the concept, with yellow suggesting feelings of happiness, freshness, and optimism. Basically, the simple use of props, costume, facial expressions, and adjusting technology to your work’s advantage is something I would imagine students doing successfully for this lesson.

 

 

Is it important to have an audience as an artist? If so, how do they influence the art piece itself? 

• Yes, I think it is important to have an audience because without one the artists’ message is perceived by no one. This is how they might influence a piece, simply by perceiving it. 
• Yes, it is important for an artist to have an audience, but not necessary. An audience can influence artwork because that’s what can make an artist famous/provide them with more money and funding for their art. 
• No, an audience is not important because artists like Pablo Picasso did not have many viewers, and now he is considered one of the greatest artists of all time. 

Who do we make art for? Do you think it is more often in benefit of the Artist or audiences?

• I think we make art more for ourselves, and eventually people may see it and develop interest in it. So overall, art benefits the artist more.
• Art is a form of expression, so I think an artist makes it for themselves. I create art as a hobby and often don’t display it, so it’s for my own enjoyment.
• I think there’s no correct answer to this question. Everyone experiences art differently, so every artist can make art for different reasons. 

How does the documentation of performance art influence its impact? If we didn’t have video evidence of Joan’s work, how would she have influenced the art world?

• Without video evidence of Joan’s work, I think it would have been harder to reach audiences like our generation. The messages and meanings behind her older pieces would have been lost through the years. 
• While Joan has a lot of her performances on video, I think word of mouth would have been enough to keep her art alive. It might have made her even more sought after, making her performances mysterious and rare. 
• Joan’s performances would have still influenced the art world without video/photography because she could still perform in public places with large audiences. No one would be able to witness it without being there, but people would still talk about it. 

According to the artist, performance art peaked during the latter end of the 20th century, why do you think that is?

• Performance art was a movement largely used by feminist radicals, so I think the more equality generations got, the less women needed to perform controversial art pieces.
• Performance art was popular at the same time that peaceful protests were in the 60s/70s. I think it peaked at this time because performance art had a lot of meaning behind it, just like peacefully protesting things like war and the government. 
• I think the lack of performance art has to do with the legality of things. Since it was often done in public places and in unique spaces, anywhere you go these days might be considered trespassing and you would just get in trouble. 

As artists, is there anything from your childhood, or currently, that inspires you the way Joan Jonas was influenced by opera/ballet performances?

• I most enjoy drawing and painting things that have to do with nature, so I think I was influenced by spending a lot of time playing outside and working in the garden with my mom. 
• I’m most inspired when listening to music, so the musicians and music genres my older brother got me into when I was younger  is what influences my art.
• Watching someone like my dad do photography in his everyday life is what sparked my interest in it. It was something we were always able to do together and he could teach me different things. 

How to Wrap a Present

My partner, Rose, explained her skilled abilities at wrapping gifts. It was easy enough to break down into 5 steps, but I found it most challenging to sketch clear diagrams of the wrapping itself. I knew solid lines and arrows would be best for the directions to comes across clearly, but I also had to involve color and texture.

 

 

 

 

My rough draft excludes close ups and the better angles found on my final draft, but it helped me break down the progression of folding.

1. Joan Jonas
2. Mika Rottenberg
3. Barbara Kruger

My super hero alter ego holds the power and energy of the sun! I would use these powers to provide affordable and renewable energy to all! Some cons of these ways of energy sourcing, particularly solar panels, is the high initial costs and the overall need for large spots of cleared land. My powers would go towards providing homes, schools, businesses, and more with reliable, renewable energy.