GOPA STEAM students go to WPU on an artistic adventure

On November 3^rd, STEAM students from GOPA/School of Government participated in a field trip to William Paterson University in which they learned about the work of Artist in Residence Maria Lux.  Award-winning visual artist Lux has created artwork spanning a wide range of media from traditional drawing and painting methods, watercolor illustration, and scientific diagrams, to photography, dioramas, wooden constructions, and large-scale sculpture. 

Lux provided a 45-minute lecture in the Cheng library auditorium, discussing her artistic practice and recent work. She explained her creative process: how her work begins with existing research and stories from other fields—such as evolutionary biology, medicine, agriculture, history, literature, film, and anthropology—and uses the tools of visual artistic practice to create cross-disciplinary, installation-based works.

Students then traveled to the Art Department’s Power Arts facility, where they visited the Center for New Art’s laboratories (which include a CNC mill, 3D printers, and 3D scanner). They also visited Lux’s studio, and viewed current exhibitions in the Power Arts Gallery (which include student artwork).

After lunch the students engaged in a walking tour of the WPU Outdoor Sculpture Program led by Kristen Evangelista, Director of the University Galleries.

Lux will be in residence at WPU from October 6 – November 14, 2014.  The residency will culminate in a solo exhibition on view from January 20 – March 27, 2015 at the University Galleries with an accompanying publication.  A follow-up field trip in February will take students to the University Galleries to see the outcome of her residency.

Back in the GOPA classroom in Paterson, NJ, Art Teacher Mr. Jones engaged the STEAM students in a thoughtful discussion about their field trip.  A meaningful learning moment took place when one STEAM student stated he was surprised that Mr. Jones had expressed his reservatioms about what he had seen on the artist's website to the artist while on the field trip.  Mr. Jones further encouraged the student to express his feelings, and the point was made that art discussions can provoke controversy.  Mr. Jones explained that the expression of the true feelings of each person in an art dialogue allow for the honest dialogue that is essential to the art process.