Picturing America

Picturing America, an exciting new initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms. Our school is lucky enough to be one of the schools chosen to receive these beautiful gigantic art reproductions.

Here's a few words from the NEH website:

Picturing America, an exciting new initiative from the National Endowment for
the Humanities, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms and
libraries nationwide. Through this innovative program, students and citizens
will gain a deeper appreciation of our country’s history and character through
the study and understanding of its art. The nation’s artistic heritage—our paintings, sculpture, architecture, fine crafts, and photography—offers unique insights into the character, ideals, and aspirations of our country.

By bringing high-quality reproductions of notable American art into public and private schools, libraries, and communities, Picturing America gives participants the opportunity to learn about our nation’s history and culture in a fresh and engaging way. The program uses art as a catalyst for the study of America—the cultural, political, and historical threads woven into our nation’s fabric over time.

We're starting with this portrait of Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley:

The Pennsylvania State Standards for art say that it's important that students know how to look at a work of art intuitively, contextually, and through formal analysis. Those are big words, I know, but I reword it this way:

1. What do you think? The first way to look at a painting is to say what we think. There are no right or wrong answers. At least one student in every class things the painting above looks just like Jack Black! A lot of kids pick up on details, like it seems like Paul Revere is a very thoughtful person, and that he has tools there that he is using to make the teapot, so he must a silversmith. Some even notice that the artist has made the setting a little too pretty to be a craftsman's workbench -- and, where's his apron?

2. What do we know? To learn more about the historical context of the subject we look at this painting by Grant Wood, also from the Picturing America set:

Learning about the historical details of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere helps us understand the time period and importance of both paintings.

3. Let's talk about the design. This is when we analyze the pictures using the elements and principles of design. For instance, how does the artist really make his subject stand out in the first painting? One way is how he made the background completely dark.

We're really grateful for these beautiful posters. Click here to see the whole selection of images we'll be able to use from now on.

Today's News

Tiffany Peden, a reporter from the Daily Review came to visit last Thursday. She wrote a really nice article about the multicultural projects Mr. Malloy has been doing. The article was in today's paper. Here's the article:

Art for art’s sake in Athens

BY TIFFANY PEDEN
STAFF WRITER

Published: Saturday, October 4, 2008 3:22 AM EDT

ATHENS — The students at Lynch-Bustin Elementary School have been learning about different cultures — in their art classes.

Matt Malloy, a senior at Mansfield University currently student-teaching in art teacher Andrew Wales’ class since the beginning of the school year, has been working on teaching students about different cultures through art.

Currently, he is working with the fourth graders in making Celtic knots, a symbol of infinity in Ireland.

“We’re trying to show them about the Irish culture,” Malloy said. “A Celtic knot is a good way to learn about it.”

Malloy gave the students pieces of paper, which they folded multiple times and cut into, similar to making paper snowflakes. The outcome was that there were numerous shapes and sizes of Celtic knots made by the students, no two the same.

“They enjoyed it,” Malloy said. “They opened their knot and they were surprised by what they made. There were challenges, but a lot of the kids were happy with the way their Celtic knot turned out.”

While the students were making the knots, Malloy said he talked with them about Irish holidays, and interesting facts about Celtic cultures and Ireland.

The students also got a chance to write in calligraphy with the Celtic knot project, writing their names in the fancy script with surprising skill.

The third graders at the school got to learn about a different culture, as they had made coil pots in art class while learning about the Pueblo culture.

Wales said that the students had just been reading about Pueblo cultures in their classroom, making the subject a perfect tie-in with shaping and decorating the coil pots.

“The subject area they learn about comes to life,” Wales said, adding that sometimes, this makes it easier for the students to learn and understand the material.

“Every culture offers different things with art,” Wales said.

Malloy said he would only be in the Lynch-Bustin art room until Oct. 22, when he said he will then be student-teaching at Towanda High School.

He’s not sure if he’ll be teaching the students at the elementary school about any more cultures before he leaves, but he said he will probably continue teaching cultures through art at the high school.

Diversity is important, Malloy said, and he said it’s important that students learn about other cultures so that they have that knowledge.

“It’s good to learn so that everyone is accepting of other cultures,” he said.

Tiffany Peden may be reached at (570) 888-9652; e-mail: reviewvalley@thedailyreview.com.