In conclusion...

A nice closer for the bridge lesson we've been working on! Check out what I stumbled upon! A one night bridge demolition! And I thought the building component was the impressive part!

It seem's teamwork is needed here too!

In summation, I'm really happy with how today's lesson plan went. It felt so good too, to see people working together and playing around and overcoming obstacles. It felt successful, and that felt great! I feel like people actually learned something! I feel proud of our hard work and the results we were rewarded with. 

Would you like to learn something today?

The Brooklyn Bridge. Opened May 24, 1883.

How was it built?

Inspections

Bone up on NYS bridge inspection information!

Click here!

Bulletin Board

Teacher Examples

Our bridges!

A simple beam bridge.

Combination cantilever and suspension.

Arch bridge with supporting truss system.

Think about it:

Why would you need a different kind of bridge for a different kind of job?
Post your ideas.

Peers Lesson Plans

So far, I've really enjoyed being the guinea pigs for my classmates lessons! They've been a lot of fun and I've even produced some stuff I'd like to keep! Today from Lauren and Michelle's lesson:

(It's a picture from my crummy phone, if I get a better photograph I will post it!)

Their lesson was on hybridization of materials and ideas. I thought it was a very well executed lesson and really enjoyable too!

A peek at page 2!

It's what I think.

I'm supposed to step back and say 'whoa' to this after all I heard? That lecture was way to based off of one mans opinion for me to believe that he uses feeling, emotion, or anything that could lead to "transcendance" in his artwork.

The Tim Lefens lecture wasn't exactly what I had expected. In fact, it wasn't what I had expected at all. First of all, I had expected the lecture to be on A.R.T, his Artistic Realization Technologies organization that he founded. I would've preferred that and I was interested in hearing more about it. But we mostly were there to listen to his very opinionated views on what constitutes "art." He was basically preaching to the crowd the whole time on what "good art" is and why his falls under that category. And that is exactly what it seemed like. He was talking to the crowd the whole time, giving us his one-sided, controversy-full spiel, while never providing any proof. I hate to compare it to religion, but that's really what it seemed like. Even when I listened in on what other people thought of the lecture, a lot of people seem to agree that he was really trying to push his idea down our throat and not telling us why the other arts are no good. 

Understanding he has a pretty severe visual impairment, I understand why he did not rely on images to introduce us to his art. But still, with so much high talk of how awesome it was, a visual for our sake would be nice. 

Also, I just want to get this out there. Really? Really? Do we know who Da Vinci is? Do we know Duchamp? Do we know Warhol? Do we know Picasso’s ‘Guernica’? You know your audience right? We are all artists at the collegiate level and up. We have had at least one art history class ever. Yes. I'd say we're familiar with those guys. I was confused. Was that a diss to our intelligence or did he not know what sort of lecture crowd he was talking to? The latter might make sense.

Another thing I want to get off my chest is the Truncated Pyramid Theory. I am a strong advocate for arts for everyone. Anyone can do it, participate in it, make it, enjoy it. You don't have to be an elitist bigot to be an artist. I understand that he wants it to be special, to transcend. To have that awe-inspired “wow” factor. But...is that now or is he stuck in the Romantic Era? He seems obsessed on the sublime. All I can think of is Beth Wilson's art history class and Caspar Friedrich's painting, 'The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog.' What makes art so great is that anyone can achieve it. It can be done. And clearly, he knows this. His A.R.T. proves this. This is where I get confused and feel he is contradictory. I guess, he expects everyone to make the same kind of art. The ‘transcending’ kind. Not everyone is interested in that. Or will understand it. The literal and mundane are indeed art. At least in my opinion. Listen, I’m not a huge fan of Warhol, but I sure do bet that some people did stand in front of his soup cans and mouth, “Whoa” being totally and utterly blown away by it’s simplicity and it’s obvious nature. Gah! I feel like I don’t have the right words or the ability to organize my brain thoroughly enough to retort in the manner I’d like to!

And also, I’m sorry I’ve been so critical. Hearing about A.R.T. was nice though. Would’ve enjoyed more of that.

Streaming Live!

Rachel DeVona

Tim Lefens Lecture Notes
more later

Art realizations/technologies

share art experiences as he would to younger people-painting

makes up theories

“Death bed theory”- if you were in nice room, empty, bed, comfy, knew were to dye in 4 hrs, painless, but gone. no one visit you. foot of bed wall. What painting would you put there?


body and spirit co-habititate against wills-davinci

in end, work has to transcend, launch off. not go down with body/literal world

his secret to finding real art, letting go. loose self. “art is high. have to find a way to get there.”

near death experience. resuscitation. went into zone, no sense of body, house parents, light. nothing. endless feeling in every direction. Stunning beautiful. didnt want to leave. Since then looked for things that reminded him of that sublime moment. A sprinkler. Beautiful gestures. Clothes on a line.

“goal tonight, put a bug in ear that might help you.”

duchamp-beginning of the end. the fountain. doesnt make the leap. ran into warhol. opened a flood gate for mediocre artists who could choose to go low instead of go for top. 

coffins out of recycling.

truncated pyramid theory-so many people who can be prima ballerinas/astronauts/at the pinochle. warhol brought down high art. we’re ok, youre ok. took off top of pyramid. everyone can stand on it. all equal. but no more reaching up.

(so far, i think he’s sorta a jerk, of course everyone can make art. it is anything. it is anything. can be about anything. really generalizes.)

the literal, the banal, mundane. 

if you’re aware it’s a canvas, then you havent left yet. if you can tell it is, not it. gotta be gone. not know where you are. take you away. its not art if someone tells you it is. goal get lost.

double funnel theory- artists supposed to be egotistical. not true. bad way to make art. to get to higher scale, diminish self, so many things coming into you. smaller funnel. getting smaller smaller. out. 

camped out in utah by self. never saw stars like that. felt little. 

some great art isnt great. dont be drawn in by what is art.  (ok, true)

picassos guernica-dead, hates michaelangelo. all crap crap crap.

skiing in wyoming. “do not cross line” goes up 20 ft. steep. “im 18, what the hells up there” goes up. white in front of face. then a huge spacial bowl with giant breeching paleolithic rock. mythic power. vast space. 

high goal of art. go for the awesome. “no myth, no art”-his brother

post warhol allowed art to become sociopolitical. extra art. can be part, but not role. if you think of art as being free and not tethered art. no race no age just forget it. dont know anything about it . you have the art, take aboriginal, just see it and moved. don’t have to know about the politics. timeless art.

Two plateaus theory- a chasm. one plateau higher. make the leap. freakin scary. what if i dont make it? but if you dont try? stay with the masses of people. those people start to rationale why its better over here. Elitist assholes on the tall plateau.

one of his paintings- when loosing sight make tactile brushstrokes. embed rib bones in acrylic gel. Dave greenfeld, rib place. dave brought in ribs. put em in dishwasher, may be meat on em but no sauce! didnt want to leave them outside, animals get em. put em in bedroom. woke up. raccoons in room left door open. didnt want to get up. yelled at them. didgeredoo pvc pipe sounds scared em away. put ribs in trashcan, fire to clean. police. what are you doing, makin ribs? no abstract painting. put it out. ribs on the roof to dry later. Jamaican neighbor referenced jeffery chalmers. reporter with dog. dog went crazy.

through bones onto painting-black viscous goo, when he lost the feeling of suburbia. closed eyes threw. missed entirely. 

when he learned he was gonna loose vision, miserable about loosing art, painting. when he let go, i can still paint. paint monochromes anyways. Jamaican loves yellow painting. fridge repair man. kid comes in house runs up to painting “beautiful red painting”

dog into room with painting, growled, wouldnt go back in for month.

tim- yale think im a country bumpkin?

central ave west critic- its not what they think of you, what you think of them

A.R.T- when going through meltdown, realized how much he loved art. if i wasnt be able to keep it, im gonna pass it to someone else. ended up with nonverbal quadriplegic. linked with them. could tell something there. everyone else/staff was talking babytalk. how could you make a painting if you couldnt move? he saw them as super cool outsiders. saw they were hot to go from eyes. found simple ways. eye movement point system. head mounted laser pointer. one guys had such perfect laser control. tiny triangles. then everyone realized it was weed leaf. gruff sorry. 

realization.org email him, he’d love to talk! (Well, that’s cool!)  a.r.t.lefens@artrealization.org

Presenters

Today was the first day of lesson plan presenters. I thought that, generally, everyone did really well! I was engaged and interested. I'm posting here to share a photo of one of my end results from my role as student. In one groups lesson we were able to keep our project and I'm glad we could!

From Shanna (rhymes with banana, not Shaun-ah) and Nick's "Home" lesson:

My text about 'home away from home' was as follows:

I first feel at home in New Paltz as I drive towards town through the winding mountain road.

New Paltz is where Shaun and I met, fell in love, and now live.

It's just so comfortable here.

Also this...

If you wanna play around with bridge building, there's this program. Very cool.

http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/download2011.htm

Plus, there is a ton of cute little bridge building games that do teach some basics of structural integrity. Here's one:

http://armorgames.com/play/3999/cargo-bridge

Building bridges

Inspiration for partnered lesson plan. An 2008 lesson taught by my dad for his Art/Library class for 7th/8th graders.

We are scheduled to teach our lesson on Tuesday the 22nd. We'd like to do a similar plan to the above in that the students are given one class period to build a bridge out of everyday items and materials found in the classroom, but at the end of class their structures will be taken apart. Some notes from the bridge maker/Mr. Dad:

"At the end I always asked, Why did you work so hard when you knew I was going to take it apart?

What did I do? What was the best part of the exercise.

Their answers reinforced the reason for the project: empowered to work and fail, a willingness to overhaul first-starts with a better idea, transforming non-bridge items into bridges through visualization, a pervasive confidence that "we can do this," doing well for its own sake (personal pride)."

I really couldn't have said it any better. I think it is very important to accept changes and destruction and failure and to learn from it. All the time as an artist and a human I'll be in the middle of something when I realize, hey, I just don't like it or it's not what I want it to be so I'll scrap the whole thing! Whether that means gesso-ing over a painting, taking a half made scarf off the needle and unraveling it, or deleting an essay and giving it a make-over. I'm not afraid of failure, I will re-start with a better idea, I have visualized what I want, and I take personal pride in what I do. I think they're beautiful lesson objectives valuable to life and not just the art room.