This year’s theme in the Art Program is ‘Art in America’. This culturally rich theme gives students the opportunity to explore themes, traditions, practices, and the historical perspective that make the arts in America so exciting. The children are getting to know the works of well-known American artists, such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Alexander Calder, and Andy Warhol, as well as the creations of artists they may have not encountered before, such as Alma Woodsey Thomas, Dale Chihuly, and Wayne Theibald.
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Middle school students are working on constructing model “Soundsuits,” based on the work by contemporary African-American artist Nick Cave. As a part of their International Baccelaureate unit on African-American contemporary artists, the students recently viewed Cave’s work on their field trip to the Barnes Foundation, and learned how he developed his art as a response to racial profiling in the United States. For their own versions of Soundsuits, the students researched and learned about many issues faced by people of color today. They each chose an issue that particularly resonated with them, and began sketching out designs for their own Soundsuits that can communicate and educate about the issue of their choice. In these photos, the students are researching and creating armatures for their model Soundsuits.
Upper Elementary first level students looked at the artwork of paper sculptor Jen Stark for inspiration for these three-dimensional radial origami pieces. The students learned some basic origami folds, and then drew on the mathematical concepts of line, balance, repetition, and symmetry to create their own designs.
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