RAM Talks Art:  Artist of the Month program introduces students to art history

By Elizabeth Dailing, Education Director, Rockford Art Museum            

Getting middle and high school students to actively engage in art history and projects in after-school programs may be difficult, but can provide previously unseen benefits of positive expression and exposure to new ideas and applications.

With generous support from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, we were able to launch Rockford Art Museum's (RAM) Artist of the Month program this year. This program works with students in the YMCA's various after-school programs, and gives them a twice-a-month visit from RAM staff to learn about artists, their lives, their work, their worlds and their languages.

Each month, one well-known artist is featured, and students view prints of artwork, learn about the geography of that artist's origin, strengthen their language arts skills through explanation and critique of artwork, integrate social studies through learning about the era of each artist, introduce foreign language by learning vocabulary from that artist's place of origin, and create an art project integrating all of the above.

All program classes are held at YMCA sites to reach students at the same site they already attend after-school programming, to not increase transportation and financial barriers to participating in a program of this nature.

One of the critical needs of this program is to supplement at-risk students with the exposure to interdisciplinary learning through art, while giving them the vocabulary, confidence and history to talk about art.

This program also attempts to remove the socio-economic barriers commonly associated with fine arts. The accessibility need is fulfilled by holding this program on site, at the YMCA of Rock River Valley's sites, where children and parents are already comfortable and familiar with the location and not intimidated by a foreign environment.

The foreign language, geography and social studies components fill the needs of providing global exposure and background to art—teaching children that artists come from everywhere, and that no matter your language or background, art is universal.

The Artist of the Month program will run the duration of the nine-month academic year, providing children with a supplemental arts curriculum not available in the school day. The Illinois State Standards for the Visual Arts goals will be incorporated into the curriculum, thereby meeting goals that are required at the state level for after-school programming.

I have to say, from firsthand experience, this program is something amazing.

To hear students recall information learned in session one, like details of an artist's life and death and where each artist is from, was impressive. I was not sure how much of those details would be retained for the second session—when we actually create artwork inspired by the artists.

The students remembered the art vocabulary learned, including the 1930s', 1940s' and 1950s' slang terminology that helped them learn about Jackson Pollock.

And, from what I heard in class, you can all rest assured that these kids are not going to be bringing back terms like, “What's your story, morning glory?” anytime soon.

What was most amazing was the work they produced; the first action painting (inspired by Pollock's work) was just from the information they had learned, using any colors they liked and unusual objects like spoons and Popsicle sticks to apply paint.

Then, we stopped and looked at the historical events and topics that happened in the world during Pollock's lifetime—the Titanic sinking, the start of WWI, the civil rights movement and Elvis.

Each student was then set to task on a new action painting, using the events that had taken place in Pollock's lifetime as inspiration, using colors they felt represented these events.

The result was impressive.

Each student chose events they found relevant, and the color palates in their work changed dramatically. One student was so impressed with his own work, he thought it was ready to sell on eBay!

So, thanks to the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois and the YMCA of the Rock River Valley, we now have an Artist of the Month program, introducing students from all ends of Rockford to artists and histories they never may have known.

Next month, it's Picasso. So, students, get ready for some Spanish!

Contact Rockford Art Museum Education Director Elizabeth Dailing at edailing@rockfordartmuseum.org.

from the Dec. 17, 2008, issue

 

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