One of my favorite studio classes in college was Conceptual Art; it was the first time I experimented with making artworks that weren't "traditional" drawings or paintings. Most of the art I produced that semester was not very good. I distinctly remember spending hours lining up hundreds of thumbtacks across the hallway to create some sort of barrier. I probably called it "Untitled (War)" or something equally edgy to a nineteen year-old art major. I loved it because it was about ideas; I wasn't restricted by technical ability or expensive supplies. It was about making, communicating and questioning. Those are the things that stuck with me. This class is the inspiration for my current (and favorite) unit with my Grade 7's. I remember my instructor starting class by showing us dozens of controversial images and asking, "Is this art?" Last year I followed a similar format but this year I've been able to dig a little deeper. I've been collaborating with Zander Lyvers, the Humanities teacher, and it's really broadened the scope and impact of this project for our students. We studied a variety of different art pieces and writings by famous artists and critics to determine a set of 'objective' criteria on which to judge art. The class favorite was naturally, Marcel Duchamp's Fountain (1917).
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Teaching the Renaissance period of art history can often be a snooze, for me and my students. The artists are old white men who my students can't relate to. The paintings are of rich people, landscapes, or decaying fruit. The names of people, places, and things are long and hard to remember.
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AboutMy name is Ms. Long and I teach Gr. 5-8 visual art at American International School, Hong Kong in Kowloon Tong. Archives
August 2018
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