Pollock A Cross-curricular Collaboration Deep Run High SchoolFebruary 2022
Departments Involved: Fine Art, Social Studies, CTE
Teachers Involved / Roles Jessica Stockdreher Ms Stockdreher taught her 20th Century History students about the life and work of Jackson Pollock in relation to historic events of the 1940s and 1950s in America. After showing several videos that demonstrated the techniques Jackson Pollock used in his famous drip paintings, she had her students participate in a collaborative painting with Mr. Guyer’s Art 3 class. She selected students to be interviewed as part of the documentary about this collaboration.
Mike Guyer Mr. Guyer taught his Art 3 students about the historic events that led to the art movement known as Abstract Expressionism. Through a series of interactive lectures with selected video clips students gained an understanding of the aim of both the Action Painters and Color Field painters from the mid twentieth century. His students then collaborated with Ms Stockdreher’s 20th Century History students in creating a 3’ x 11’ painting using the same techniques and type of paint used by Jackson Pollock in his famous drip paintings of the early 1950’s. After the initial collaboration, his Art 3 students put the finishing touches on the overall design before they were taught the process of stretching the canvas onto its frame. Mr. Guyer also selected two students from his class to be interviewed by the film crew about the collaboration.
Ashley Dogoli Ms Dogoli, the Imaging Technology and Communications teacher, selected some of her passionate students to film a documentary about this collaboration. With her professional guidance, students were directed to capture dynamic perspectives of the painting in process and recorded interviews with some of the students involved in the collaboration. These selected students were able to work closely with Ms Dogoli whose knowledge of cinematography, video editing, still photography, and graphic design is instrumental in providing her students real world communication skills. She worked closely with the students by providing art direction and valuable feedback as they recorded and edited the video. The final polishing touches to the video were added by Ms Dogoli.
James Massey Mr. Massey, the Woods and Materials teacher, built the 3’ x 11’ structure over which our students stretched their painting.
Thomas “Tommy” Muller Mr Muller, a leader in our maintenance department, installed the work to professional standards.
