Blog Posts - DRHSART

The Gallery Visit

9/2/2017

Why Visit Galleries?
The purpose of this assignment is to get students out into the RVA gallery scene. Not only do I want you to experience the art scene of this great city, but I want you to do it with discerning eyes. Take this assignment seriously, and educate yourselves about the the type of work being displayed in our city’s most elite galleries and museums. If you pay close attention, you will be well prepared to present your work professionally in your own senior show.

Directions:
Once per quarter, you will be required to complete this Gallery Visit log by answering the two discussion questions below. In addition, you will be required to take a creative selfie at the gallery as proof that you were there. This assignment will be weighted the same as the Artist Study that is also due once per quarter. The most creative photos will be shared on the DRHSART Instagram.

Choose from the list of galleries from the Museums and Galleries page on the DRHSART site. Keep in mind that you may not visit the same location twice in the same school year.

Grading Criteria:

Creative Selfie: (50 points)

Describe atmosphere of the gallery. (25 points)
How is the work hung, labeled, lit? Where is the show information, and how does it play into the overall design of the exhibition atmosphere? If possible, find out what fonts are used for the signage and labeling.

Describe your favorite work of art in the gallery. (25 points)
Please identify the artist, title of the work, and the price if available, then discuss why you picked that particular piece. The more descriptive you are with this, the more you will learn.

The Art 45 Critique Log

8/9/2017

The Critique Log
This is the foundation of your reflection and feedback in this class. Throughout Art 45, you will be interact with and build an electronic document intended to help you discover artists, explore content, experiment with materials, and better consider the words used when describing your work. This critique log is completely individualized and will echo the effort given by the student. I believe it reciprocal education, so the more you put in to this, the more you'll get out of it.

Before each verbal or silent critique, students are required to complete the critique log questions. These questions will be specific to the particular critique period, and will challenge each of student to dig deep, finding the true meaning in the work created. Those who take this seriously, will retain a digital trail of artistic growth, and will have a strong understanding of the work created.

The questions you are required to answer will be linked on the calendar for your class on the day of critique. Each critique will begin with a quiet, focused reflection session before any verbal or silent group critique methods are used. The self reflection and instructor feedback are the most essential elements for your growth, and plenty of time will be invested in that practice.

2017 Art 45 Exam

5/15/2017

The Finishing Touches

The Final Exam for ALL ART 45 students
Now that this year has come to an end, it is time to wrap things up and finish on a very positive note. Many of you will attend art school, while others may have just finished the final art course of your lives. This year, the final exam for ART 45 consists of two distinct parts.

Part One:
Complete your online portfolio. This means ALL of your work is well documented and posted on your portfolio, and ALL of your artist studies are posted as well. CLICK HERE more information about how I will be evaluating the portfolios.

Part Two:
Please thoroughly answer the questions listed below, and include them in the critique log that we have been using for this class. The title of your critique log entry should be "My Final Thoughts". These questions should be answered in an informal blog-style, and should not read as a simple list of questions and answers. I ask that you take this assignment seriously as you reflect on all that you've accomplished and experienced during your time at DRHSART.

Over the course of Art 4 and Art 5 each of you has had the freedom to develop a personal visual voice. Please articulate the stylistic tendencies you’ve adopted, being sure to mention the process, materials, and subjects you have investigated.
Please discuss the investment you’ve made in becoming the best artist you can be, including specific examples of the sacrifices you have made for the betterment of your creative work.
If you could re-live this past year as an art student, what would you do differently?
Describe an artistic accomplishment from the last two years of which you are proud.
Describe your most memorable experience from your time at DRHSART?
Provide a little advice to the future students of this program to help them get the most from it.

Art Collector: Lessons in Art History and Personal Finance

1/25/2017

Willem DeKooning, "Interchange" 1955

Thomas Eakins, "The Gross Clinic" 1875

Paul Gauguin "When will you marry" 1892

Economics and Art History

The recent influx of Economics and Personal Finance in public education has inspired me to invent an on-going lesson that teaches both Art History and the important concepts of economics.

The big idea in this lesson is that students engage in live auctions to collect famous artwork, earn equity, and maintain a healthy bank account.

How It Works
Once a month throughout the school year, we will engage in a live fantasy art auction. All students begin the year with a budget of 100 million dollars. As images are projected on the board, I will act as the auctioneer, identifying the work and explaining its significance in the history of art. After the work is identified, I will set the beginning bid price that is relative to the work's actual value in real life. The students then have the opportunity to bid on the work, keeping their available funds in mind. At the end of each auction, I calculate how much they spent and how much equity they earned or lost based on the work's actual value.

Required Research
Once a student purchases a work of art, he or she is responsible for creating a Google presentation that details the collection. This presentation must include 3 slides per work of art owned. Below are the directions per slide that all art owners must complete in the time between auctions (about 1 month). This Google presentation is a growing document that will stay with the student throughout his or her time in the DRHSART program.

Slide One: This is the title slide that includes a high resolution image of the work, the artist's name, the title of the work, the date it was created, the art historical movement with which it is associated, and the nationality of the artist. Additionally, you must include the auction code in which it was bought. See the example below

example: 2017-2 This would be the code for a work of art purchased at the 2nd auction of 2017.

Slide Two: This is the research slide that includes a small image of the work, the identifying information from the first slide, as well as research information that is specific to the work of art. Provide the context of the work in art history and stories associated with its creation or sale. This research cannot be plagiarized, and should be written in the student's own words.

Slide Three: This is the personal response slide that includes a small image of the work, the identifying information from the first slide, as well as a personal perspective of the work. Discuss why you collected it, your opinion of the work, and any interpretations you have of it.

Template for Collection Presentation

How Do Collectors Make Money?
Collectors are not able to purchase a work of art and then immediately sell it at the next auction. A work of art must be kept for at least one auction beyond the one in which it was purchased. The collector can put the work back up for bidding once the work has been owned for at least one auction period. After the work is re-sold, the collector will lose the equity of the work, and the final sale price will be added to the collector's available funds.

Research Is Highly Encouraged
One week prior to each auction, the students are informed about the names of the artists whose works will appear in the next auction. Diligent students will do the research to find out the range of money spent on works by the artists in the list. Doing thorough research will better inform the students before making a purchase.

Fees and Financial Options
In addition to acting as the auctioneer, I will also act as both the auction house (Sotheby's) and the bank (Capital One).

Commission Fees and Interest Loans
Collectors who purchase work at auction are required to pay the Sotheby's 10% of the hammer price. Those students who have equity, but low available funds, may take out a loan with Capital One in order to continue purchasing at the next auction. The interest rate of the loan is based on the amount of equity the student has. Below is a chart that describes the loan rates.

Loan Interest Rates:
5% loan for those with 300+ Million in equity.
10% loan for those with 100-299 Million in equity.
20% loan for those with 0-99 Million in equity.
30% loan for those with negative equity or negative available funds.

Collectors with Debt
In addition to offering loans, the bank will also offer help to collectors who have made poor financial decisions. Students who are "upside down" in equity, or have spent more than their available funds may sell assets to the bank for half of the appraisal value. This option will give the bank the opportunity to re-auction the work for profit. This will also create another opportunity for the auction house to make additional commission fees on the work, and helps get the collector out of debt.

The Bankrupted Collector
If the collector is both "upside down" in equity, and is carrying debt that is greater than 1/2 of the appraisal value of all assets, the bank will deem that collector "Bankrupt" and will seize all assets. This option will reset the collector to zero, but he or she will not be allowed to participate in the next auction. In addition to sitting out one auction, the collector will only qualify for a 50 million dollar loan with a 30% interest rate.

Art and Fear

1/13/2017

A Book Every Artist Should Own

The Assignment
Take the time to read the following passages from the book Art and Fear. As you read make notes in your sketchbook about which of these short passages resonates with you the most. After having read all of these, please choose ten important passages that mean the most to you and your work. Write those ten passages in your visual journal and rank them in order of their importance.

Lastly, choose the most profound statement out of your list of ten, and write a paragraph about why it was so meaningful to you and be prepared to discuss your work with the class the next time we meet.

The Passages:
”The function of the overwhelming majority of your artwork is simply to teach you how to make the small fraction of your artwork that soars.” Art and Fear, page 5.

”To all viewers but yourself, what matters is the product: the finished artwork. To you, and you alone, what matters is the process.” Art and Fear, page 5.

”You learn how to make your work by making your work … art you care about -- and lots of it!” Art and Fear, page 6.

”What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears continue; those who don’t, quit.” Art and Fear, page 14.

”Most artists don’t daydream about making great art --- they daydream about having made great art.” Art and Fear, page 17.

”The artist’s life is frustrating not because the passage is slow, but because he imagines it to be fast.” Art and Fear, page 17.

“To require perfection is to invite paralysis. The pattern is predictable: as you see error in what you have done, you steer your work toward what you imagine you can do perfectly. You cling ever more tightly to what you already know you can do - away from risk and exploration, and possibly further from the work of your heart. You find reasons to procrastinate, since to not work is to not make mistakes.”

“What you need to know about the next piece is contained in the last piece. The place to learn about your materials is in the last use of your materials. The place to learn about your execution is in your last execution. Put simply, your work is your guide: a complete, comprehensive, limitless reference book on your work.”

“For most artists, making good art depends upon making lots of art and any device that carries the first brushstroke to the next blank canvas has tangible, practical value.”

“To the critic, art is a noun. To the artist, art is a verb.”

“The difference between art and craft lies not in the tools you hold in your hands, but in the mental set that guides them. For the artisan, craft is an end in itself. For you, the artist, craft is the vehicle for expressing your vision. Craft is the visible edge of art.”

“Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold back or when you embrace. When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you hold back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes.”

“All that you do will inevitably be flavored with uncertainty—uncertainty about what you have to say, about whether the materials are right, about whether the piece should be long or short, indeed about whether you’ll ever be satisfied with anything you make. Photographer Jerry Uelsmann once gave a slide lecture in which he showed every single image he had created in the span of one year, some hundred-odd pieces—all but about ten of which he judged insufficient and destroyed without ever exhibiting.” (page 19)

“If you think good work is somehow synonymous with perfect work, you are headed for big trouble.” (page 29)

“Nonetheless, the belief persists among some artists (and lots of ex-artists) that doing art means doing things flawlessly—ignoring the fact that this prerequisite would disqualify most existing works of art. Indeed, it seems vastly more plausible to advance the counter-principle, namely that imperfection is not only a common ingredient in art, but very likely an essential ingredient” (page 30).

“To demand perfection is to deny your ordinary (and universal) humanity, as though you would be better off without it. Yet this humanity is the ultimate source of your work; your perfectionism denies you the very thing you need to get your work done.” (page 30).

Laughter, Innovation, Critical Thinking, and Collaboration

2/5/2016

Get Out Of Your Cozy Corner!

We will begin this class period by getting into prescribed small groups that were carefully designed to promote a diverse balance of personality types. Each member of the group will be given a name tag to be worn throughout the class period. The name tag will eliminate any insecurities about not remembering names.

Laugh and Be Vulnerable.

Once we've settled into our small groups, you will be prompted with a series of ice-breaker questions that will open up avenues of discussion and provide the opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level. This activity requires silliness and laughter, but it also requires letting down your guard, trusting your group members, and being courageous enough to be vulnerable and share deeply. We will spend about 20 minutes on this activity before we draw numbers from a hat and move to the next randomized group.

Helpful Links

Guilford’s Alternative Uses Task (1967)
Portlandia "Art Project" episode
Shea Hembrey: How I became 100 Artists
Joe Gebbia: Executing Your Idea
Brene Brown: Why Your Critics Aren't The Ones Who Count

Alternative Uses Test

Once we've the ice-breaker portion of the class is complete, you will be required to collaborate on the Guilford Alternative Task Test that was designed in 1967. This is a divergent thinking test that will require you to conjure as many possible uses for an object in a certain time frame. We will be using a 10 minute time frame. After we have finished the test, we will score the tests together. This activity will be used as a building block for the next, more challenging task.

Group Innovative Thinking

Once more, you will be moved to another group within the room by drawing a number from a hat. After you are with your new group, you will be given 20 minutes to conjure a list of as many possible creative solutions to a specific topic that is assigned to your table. The goal of this activity is to build off of the thinking that was required in the alternative uses test, and work together as a team to conjure BIG ideas that adress contemporary themes in creative ways. As you think, as yourselves: "How could we address this theme as a work of ART?". Think in terms of galleries, museums, site specific locations, and beyond.

Group Homework

We will not have enough time in class to completely refine the BIG ideas with your group. In the final 5 minutes of the class, you'll be asked to figure out how you will communicate with your group before our next meeting to bring resolution to your idea. Next class, we will move to the gallery, where the groups will pitch the ideas in a way that helps us visualize the work you invented.

Closure

As I do with most projects, I want each of you to reflect and write about your experience today. This reflection will take place in the blog section of your website and will be used to enhance this experience for the future of this activity. Please address the following prompts in a well-written blog post.

1. What was the value of today's class?

2. Did today make you think differently about your body of work and your approach to art-making? Please elaborate if so.

3. What changes could be made to this activity that would benefit you?

4. What was your favorite part of this activity?

5. What other ways might we be able to become closer as a class, and drive innovative thinking even further?

Junk Mail Poster Design

12/2/2015

RECYCLED DESIGN

Paul Rand once said that “Design is the Foundation of all the Arts”. His words couldn’t be more true, and it’s about time we start looking at some of the great designers of history as inspiration for our own work. No differently than we’ve looked to painters of the past to inspire our work, we will again be standing on the shoulders of giants. Everything truly is a remix.

In this assignment, students will be required to spend a minimum of 45 minutes looking through the work of the featured artists on the site Thinking Form. This website is well designed and features some of the great designers of history. As the students look through the work of these artists, they are going to be asked to notice patterns, record artist’s names, save images in digital folders, and collect information about what good design looks like. After the 45 minute session of collecting information, the students will then choose a poster design by one of the featured artists, have it approved by the instructor, and will be required to create their own version of that poster using junk mail and other mixed media. As students re-create this poster, they are also required to change the context of the original poster to advertise something of personal interest. This project can be no smaller than 16” x 20”, and has a two-week deadline.

During critique, the students will be required to give an informal report on the artist whose work they studied. A projector will be used to project the original image next to the student work on the wall in the gallery. The critiqued student will need to explain the context of the original poster design, and discuss how he or she changed the context of the original in the new version. That student will also have to explain what was learned in the process as a whole. These works will be evaluated on overall craftsmanship and conceptual quality.

Project Closure

Once students have finished the assignment, they will be required to create a blog entry that summarizes the process. In this blog entry, the students must upload the original image that inspired his or her design, along with a high quality image of the finished project. In addition to these two images, the student must address the following prompts in a well-written paragraph.

1. What specifically have you learned from this project? Don't only think in terms of the work you made, but also through the discussions during critique of others in the class.

2. If this project is assigned in the future, how might it be tweaked to enhance the overall learning experience for all students?

3. How have your thoughts about design changed through because of this project.

4. What changes would you make if you had the opportunity to re-work the image you created?

Summer Work for Art 45

9/1/2015

This summer, you will be required to create a minimum of 3 works of art that are all somewhat connected by either the medium, theme, or style. You will also be required to write a cohesive artist’s statement about the work that you have created. That statement must be posted on your blog before the first day of school. As you begin to think about your work this summer, consider building off of what worked well for you in Art 3 or Art 4.

Please do not wait until the last two weeks of summer to get started. I’ve been teaching long enough to know that several of you will actually wait to the last minute and will turn in artwork that you aren’t proud of. Those of you who take this seriously, and work hard to create conceptually and aesthetically sound works, will be much better prepared when the Scholastics Competition comes around.

Please know that you are not required to make paintings or drawings. Art comes in many forms… sculpture, installation, video, etc. Take risks and don’t be afraid to try a non-traditional form of art. I’m more likely to celebrate risks taken than I am anything else.

When we return from the summer break, we will jump right into the critique of the work you created over the summer. Do not think of this summer work as something that is meant to keep you busy. Instead, think of this work as a competition for a juried exhibition that will take place upon your return to school. You and your peers will evaluate the merit of each student's “body of work” that was created this summer, and as a group you will decide which 5 students works are conceptual and technical enough to be showcased in our gallery for the first two months of school.

The 2014-2015 Senior Exhibition series will begin on the first Friday of November (unless there is a student prepared before that). There will be a new senior exhibition on the first Friday of each month thereafter.

Finally, as you prepare to get started on this summer work, consider the list of possible topics that I have pasted below. This list was generated by PBS and their ART 21 series of documentaries about contemporary artists.

What you choose, and how you choose to complete your work it is completely up to you. Read through each of these possible themes, and take the time to brainstorm what could be done. The more you think about your work, the more likely it is to be successful. Good luck with this project. I look forward to seeing what each of you will create.

POSSIBLE TOPICS TO EXPLORE

1: Place
In the Landscape
Landscape & Place
Ode to a View
Public Façades, Private Interiors
Understanding Home

2: Spirituality
Re-Making Myths
What is the meaning of Spirituality?
Spirituality through color and scale

3: Identity
Cartoon Commentary
Characters & Caricatures
Honoring Heroes & History
Migrating Viewpoints
New Rituals
The Alter-Ego Saves the Day
The Face of Fame
Wartime Voices
Looking at Likeness
Digital identity vs Reality

4: Consumption
Mediating Media
New Tools, New Materials
Consumption in America
The Habits of Consumption

5: Stories
Arbitrary, Made Meaningful
Untold Personal Accounts
Honoring Heroes & History
Migrating Viewpoints
Remaking Myths
Understanding Home
Wartime Voices
Describing the Real
Personal Stories in the Public
Systems & Styles

6: Loss & Desire
Systems & Styles
War on Film
Confronting Conflict

7: Time
Landscape & Place
Ode to a View
The Face of Fame
Impermanence and Fleeting

8: Humor
Cartoon Commentary
Converging Media
Visual Puns
Funny to some, offensive to others

9: Power
Cartoon Commentary
Personal Stories in the Public
The Face of Fame
Mediating Media
Confronting Conflict

10: Memory
Describing the Real
Looking at Likeness
Understanding Home
Traditional Crafts, Contemporary Ideas
Remaking Myths
Honoring Heroes & History
Wartime Voices

11: Structures
Converging Media
Systems and Styles
Mediating Media
New Tools, New Materials

12: Play
Cartoon Commentary
Characters & Caricatures
The Alter-Ego Saves the Day
New Rituals

13: Play
Protest
Romance
Paradox
Ecology

Ritual

4/12/2015

Madre – Silvia Ji – 2012 – Acrylic and Gold Leaf on Wood

The Obstruction of Action by the Existence of Form – Eric McMaster – Documentation of a Hockey Game Played in a Fabricated Rink Measuring 18' x 12' x 8

PowerPoint about ritual from class

ritual.pptx
File Size:	16781 kb
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PowerPoint about African and Oceanic art from class

african_&_oceanic_.pptx
File Size:	21846 kb
File Type:	pptx

Ritual is an idea that has been connected to art throughout history. It is an open-ended term that can mean different things to different cultures, generations, and people. This project will serve as a pause in your normal work pattern, however do not be afraid to utilize the skills you have. With this project you will be expected to explore your own art making and time management even further. Do not be afraid to set up your own deadlines.

For this assignment you will be asked to explore the term ritual. After discussing ritual as a point of inspiration for art makers through history, students will determine what the term means to them. Come up with your own definition and brainstorm ideas you want to explore. Art making is always better when you care about the subject. Decide if your purpose for this project is to bring to light a ritual that others need to know about, or if it is to relay a personal experience relating to ritual.

Semester Exam: Design Thinking

1/21/2015

Design Thinking: Ideas For Improving Something Good

Introduction
What we do at DRHSART works really well, and we've proven year after year that we know how to get results. But, that's not enough. This program is predicated on excellence, and in order to continue the tradition of excellence we've established, we must look at how we do things and spot opportunities for improvement. Let's put our brains together, and use the mandatory "Exam" as a way to improve this program as a whole.

Part One: Spaces
I want this classroom to be collaborative, organized, intuitive, and safe. I think it is most of those things, but how can we make it better? I want you to brainstorm and mind map solutions to the following questions, and then organize your thoughts into the exam assignment I've given you in Google Classroom.

1. How might we redesign the classroom so that all of its spaces are used effectively, while avoiding clutter, and increasing the user experience?

2. How might we better organize the room so that set up, clean up, and storage are more efficient for all classes?

3. Additionally, how might we keep better track of materials and help them last longer, without inventing more work for the teacher?

4. How might our artwork be better represented outside of the art hallway?

Part Two: Systems
I want our systems of communication and assessment to be fair, engaging, and efficient. I've worked hard to make these things be true, but how could we make our systems of communication and assessment even better? Follow the same steps as you did in Part One to brainstorm and organize your thoughts into the exam assignment in Google Classroom.

1. How might students learn more during the critique process?

2. How could we improve the overall communication between the instructor and the students?

3. Without inventing extra work for the teacher, what methods of assessment would be more successful than those currently in place.

Part Three: Curriculum
I want our curriculum to foster critical-thinking in an engaging and relevant manner. Staying relevant, and keeping students engaged is a big challenge in education, and who could be better to help develop that type curriculum than the students themselves? Follow the steps from the first two parts of this exam, and organize your thoughts into the exam assignment in Google Classroom.

1. How might the curriculum for Art 45 more intentionally connect our content to the interests and desires of our students?

2. How might we challenge students to think critically, collaborate with peers, and exercise their creativity to create original works of art that have value?

4. Most importantly, how might we invent assignments that keep students driven and motivated after spring break?

Part Four: Personal Reflection and Goals
Personal reflection is essential to the success of an individual. It is from our introspection that we can be honest about our work ethic, our accomplishments, our dreams, and our abilities. This portion of the exam is the most important, and I ask that you each look within yourselves and answer these questions thoroughly and honestly.

1. Describe your proudest moment from this year at DRHSART, and discuss why you feel that way. What, specifically, gave you more confidence about this work than the rest? Help me understand the process you used, and the ideas behind the work that made this your accomplishment of the year so far.

2. Describe your least successful work of the year at DRHSART, and discuss why you think it was not successful. It’s important to be able to reflect on both your success and your failure, as they are equally important in teaching you about your next great work. After discussing why you think this particular work was not your best, discuss how you would improve it if given the opportunity to do it again.

3. What do you see for yourself over the course of the final semester of this school year? What are your artistic goals, and how do you plan to execute them?