The Magic of Art

Paul Signac, Portrait of Felix Feneon

It's easy to forget, after years as a practicing artist, how exciting it was to try out new materials and techniques for the first time.  Luckily, I have my residency as an artist assistant for Learning Through Art to remind me.

We're two weeks into the classroom sessions now, and the experience has been incredibly rewarding.  Both times we've entered the room, our three third-grade classes have given us a reception that this age bracket usually reserves for Santa Claus: gasps, cheering, and applause.

The energy level in the room gets even higher when the lesson starts.  Our students are avid aficionados of Picasso and Matisse, and never tire of telling us that they want to be artists when they grow up (we tell them, "you're artists now!").  During the demonstration yesterday, after first seeing the broad strokes they could make with the side of a vine charcoal stick and then seeing how easily the strokes could be wiped away, our classes reacted as if we'd produced the drawings from thin air. 

Witnessing moments like that, who could doubt that the arts are a fundamental part of our schools?

Your Brain on Art

I'm very excited this year to have the privilege of participating in the Guggenheim's Learning Through Art program as an artist assistant.

For the last 40 years, LTA has been integrating visual arts into the academic curriculum at art-starved elementary schools throughout the five boroughs.  The program is even more remarkable when you consider the caliber of artists who have participated in the past, including Robert Rauschenberg, Paloma Picasso, and Keith Haring.  

Earlier this week, I attended a professional development workshop for LTA at the Guggenheim that featured a talk by Laurel Schmidt, educator, author, and advocate for arts instruction in the school system.  She was an engaging speaker, discussing the importance of art and inquiry in the classroom through the lens of recent neurological research that suggests that our brains achieve satisfaction through the release of dopamine, triggered by novel experiences, and cortisol, triggered by challenges.  She makes a compelling argument for moving away from the barren, test-laden approach favored by No Child Left Behind, towards an arts-rich model that encourages students to think.

As a fellow educator, I applaud Ms. Schmidt's approach and sincerely hope that administrators heed her advice.