GOPA STEAM class revisits WPU Ben Shahn Galleries

On Thursday February 5, 2015 Mr Jones’ STEAM class visited the Ben Shan Galleries at WPU to follow up on a project they began their on November 3, 2014  (LINK)

Images Above:  STEAM students from Mr. Jones' GOPA art class visit the Ben Shahn Galleries at WPU to see "Float" a sculpture by visiting artist Maria Lux.

In November the students met with the WPU visiting artist Maria Lux  who discussed her creative process with them, explaining both the role of research in her art projects, and the diverse fields that inspire her art including, but not limited to:  evolutionary biology, medicine, agriculture, zoology, fiction, literature, technology, anthropology, American culture art via the Rose Bowl Parade, film, sculpture, and art history.   

                                         Above:Artist Maria Lux exhibited an eclectic selection of books with her "Float" sculpture   

These STEAM students were introduced to the fields of cross-disciplinary and installation art works as viable means of expression open to any contemporary artist.

On this follow-up visit Director of the WPU galleries, Kristen Evangelista, explained the importance of collaboration in creating the large scale sculpture the students saw.  They also heard about the role of technology and machines in the making of the sculpture especially the CNC mill, the 3D printers, and the 3D scanner.

 

Next Ms. Evangelista and her assistant Emily Johnson taught a multi-media materials art workshop to the STEAM Students in one of the Ben Shahn classrooms.  Students were asked to discover how they might create an interesting public artwork using a wide variety of provided materials. Students learned that the  creative process of constructing a sculpture is not linear but requires brainstorming, creative thinking, and collaborative decisions and actions.  

Images Above:  Students create collaborative float parade sculptures in their workshop with Kristen Evangelista and Emily Johnson.


After lunch students attended a superb performance of "Black Violin" at the WPU Performance Center.   "Black Violin is an American hip hop duo from Florida composed of two classically-trained string instrumentalists, Kev Marcus and Wil B.   Kev Marcus plays the violin and Wil B. plays the viola. They met in high school, went to different colleges, then became a team to create the musical group Black Violin. The duo plays a variety of music, relying heavily upon classical music; but they are often categorized as hip hop because of the changes to the rhythm and beats. The changes caused the music to become distinctively their own."  LINK

Black Violin inspired the students will several ideas/slogans that were very relevant to their lives including:

"Do what you love to do."

"Work harder than anyone else"

"Think outside the box."

Back in the GOPA classroom in Paterson, Mr. Jones' STEAM students are reviewing the ideas they were exposed to at the Ben Shahn art gallery with an eye toward creating their own collaborative art project.  Initially they were going to make a model of the City of Paterson, as a platform to initiate "social change".  However what they found along the way is that the most important thing they could probably do is to initiate dialogue.  And the best way to initiate the dialogue is to focus on what they can change on a personal level and model that behavior.  Mr Jones finds the evolution of this project interesting. 

His students have decided they will make a model of Eastside HS rather than one of the city of Paterson NJ.  In others words they have adapted what they learned with Maria Lux to both the classroom and to an art project pertaining more to their personal lives.