MoCADA MUSEUM

This week we checked out the exhibit "eMERGING: Visual Art and Music in a Post Hip-Hop Era" at the MoCADA Museum in Fort Greene for the website Brooklyn Based.    It's a muti media showcase with videos to watch, music to listen to and sculptures to explore.  Read about our play date and definitely check out the exhibit on your own!

OH GEE, BARRY MCGEE!

BARRY MCGEE : MURAL

Mark Morris Dance Center

Fort Greene, Brooklyn

A bright spot in an already vibrant neighborhood is this new Barry McGee mural!  This San Francisco based artist and graffiti artist is known for his iconic look.  For his fans, this large scale piece was instantly recognizable.  It looks like a high tech mosiac-- with some amazing saturated colors!

QUESTIONS TO ASK:

1. What colors do you see?  Which colors stand out the most?  How do you think he chose the color scheme?  (Primary, Secondary...)

2.  Barry McGee once said: "Compelling art to me is a name carved into a tree."  What do you think he meant by that?

3. What do you think the words mean in this piece?  (Hint: watch the video below to find out...)

4. WHat is the difference between being a street artist and a fine artist?  Is it possible to be both?

5. How does this mural reflect what takes place inside the Mark Morris Dance Studio?

LINKS TO DIVE DEEPER:

* Video about making the Brooklyn mural

* PBS Art 21 segment on Barry McGee & Margaret Kilgallen

EXTENSIONS:

There is a full Barry McGee retrospective at the ICA in Boston, which we plan on definitely checking out this summer.  I will keep you posted on our take on it, but if you are in the New England area over the hot blazing NYC days- definitely take a look!

KIDS SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE 9

In this sketchbook challenge, we are drawing/ painting/ creating based off a new theme each week.  This week we focused on FAVORITE CANDY.  With Easter still on the forefront of his mind, my son chose a reinterpretation of the classic chocolate bunny.  Choco-holism runs in his genes, unfortunately.  When we were recently in LA, my main mission was to stock up on Almonds & Sea Salt chocolate bars by ChocoVivo which don't sell in NYC (yet.)  Next week, let's try to create something that shows off a "Most Recent Accomplishment."  In our house, hopefully that will be potty training!

LINK OF INTEREST

If Mother's Day is about the sacrifice that mom's make for their children, what better way to pay tribute to that than with our own health.  I applaud Angelina Jolie for coming public [in her NY Times Op-Ed about her preventative double mastectomy] with her own battle for health and time on Earth to spend with her family.  This is the new warrior: Mom.

The Learning Blog at the NY Times has some questions to review while reading and researching this op-ed piece.  These might be interesting and informative for older kids.  Plus, this is a great resource for reading the news with your kids.

Angelina Jolie’s ‘My Medical Choice’

By KATHERINE SCHULTEN

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Note: As a general rule, we don’t use Op-Eds for this feature — but, as a general rule, movie stars don’t break news by writing them. Given the content of, and the response to, this piece, we thought an exception was warranted.

Have students read Angelina Jolie’s “My Medical Choice” to answer the questions below. For more on the issue, they might also read Denise Grady’s “Jolie’s Disclosure Highlights a Breast Cancer Dilemma.”

WHO is Angelina Jolie?

WHAT is an Op-Ed?
WHAT are BRCA mutations?
WHAT did Ms. Jolie’s doctors estimate was her risk of developing breast cancer?
WHAT did she do to “be proactive” and minimize her risk?

WHEN did Ms. Jolie begin the medical process, and WHEN did it end?

WHERE was Ms. Jolie treated?

WHY, according to her essay, did Ms. Jolie have the procedure?
WHY does she say she decided not to keep her decision private?

HOW many people does breast cancer kill each year, according to the World Health Organization?
HOW do you feel about Ms. Jolie’s medical choice?
HOW do you feel about her decision to tell the world about it through a New York Times Op-Ed?

TRANSIT MUSEUM

This week we checked out the New York Transit Museum for the website Brooklyn Based.  A great place to spend the afternoon, it's also an under the rader spot for interesting exhibits.  Check out the review and comment about what your favorite part of the museum is. 

The Transit Museum also has a lot of free educational resources on their website for all different ages.  Here's a few examples that you can do with your preschoolers.

• I Like to Ride…Have students draw a picture of their favorite type of transportation to travel in and then write a few words or a sentence to describe it.  Completed pictures can also be used for sorting and classifying activities.
• The ABCs of TravelHelp students compile an alphabet list of various modes of transport.  For example, A = airplane, B = bus, C = car, D = donkey, E = elevator, etc.  See how many words students can generate for each letter.  Create a class alphabet book, with each student illustrating a page or two using drawings, collage materials, or digital means.
• Mosaic MakersOrnamentation has always been a part of subway station construction. Show students images of mosaics and plaques from various stations, or if possible, arrange a visit to a subway station in your neighborhood to see the artwork in person.  Ask students why they think subway stations have ceramic ornamentation.  How might the artwork be helpful, in addition to being pretty and colorful?  Provide students with small squares of paper to use in making their own mosaics.  What pictures or words will their artwork convey?  See our Online Gallery Talk entitled "Subway Style" for an in-depth look at subway mosaics with museum experts and curators.
• Stand Clear of the Closing DoorsHelp students compile a list of rules for safe travel on subways and buses.  What warning signs and safety announcements have they seen and heard on public transportation?   Have them design their own signs and posters for safe travel.

ART I HEART

Don't forget Mother's Day is this weekend!  Here's to celebrating all the mom's we know!

Albert Aublet (via iamachild.wordpress)

Alex Colville (via iamachild.wordpress)

 Diego Rivera (via Diego Rivera Foundation)

Giovanni Giacometti (via iamachild.wordpress)

Mary Cassatt (via Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Fernand Leger (via Wikipaintings)

KIDS SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE 8

Artist: Lincoln, age 3

In this sketchbook challenge, we are drawing/ painting/ creating based off a new theme each week.  This week we focused on FAVORITE SONG.  Recently this has been my son's favorite favorite past time.  He sits on the couch and listens to CD's, following along with the liner notes.  Because of the sheer volume of music he's been listening to, and my reluctance to hear the same songs over and over again, this new phase had me going bonkers.  But then I re-discovered Spotify!  Although, of course, I had listened to my own music on it- I never thought of it for kids music.  I'm letting the secret out: it is a treasure trove of children's music, everything from Wee Sing Fingerplays to They Might Be Giants.  My son is in heaven and I don't have to bash my head against the wall with the 70th re-listening of Music Together.  For this challenge, Lincoln chose a song by Raffi called "Baby Beluga" which is about a whale.  He even drew a picture of the play button on the computer to exemplify that this is a 'song' not just a 'picture'.  Next week, let's illustrate our FAVORITE CANDY.

LINKS OF INTEREST

Part of viewing art can involve looking for the meaning behind the visuals.  That's also the same with great literature, poetry and even dream interpretation.  Learning to look behind the lines in any of these fields is great practice for any other medium.  Being able to link historical events, imagery or quotations to what we are examining gives greater value to the object and our own education.  I love Eclectic Dad's examination of Six Socially Conscious Dr. Seuss Books.  Maybe it's obvious that "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" is about anti-materialism, but I never would have thought "Horton Hears A Who" is actually "an allegory for the Hiroshima bombing and the American post-war occupation of Japan."  It's easy to write off children's literature (and especially Seuss) as just silly rhymes or childish topics, but the truth is these classics stay around for a reason and can be great springboards to deeper conversations with our kids.

ADAM "MCA" YAUCH PARK

Today was the dedication of Adam (MCA) Yauch park in Brooklyn Heights.  This used to be known as Palmetto Playground (or as we called it, the "train" playground.)  In the midst of perfect Spring weather, there were poignant speeches by Ad Rock (see video below) and Marty Markowitz.  The crowd was an eclectic lot: tons of Beastie Boys fans, elder Brooklyn Heights Association members, parks department workers, confused nannies and lots of children.  All in all, it was an outstanding event to commemorate an artist, musician and Brooklyn kid.  And going forward, this will definitely be- hands down- the coolest playground in Brooklyn.  RIP MCA.

Columbia Place & State Street
Brooklyn Heights

THE EXPLODED MIND OF MULHOLLAND HWANG: AARON RUFF & OLIVER JEFFERS

This week, check out our outing to The Invisible Dog gallery -- that I wrote about for the uber- knowledgeable site Brooklyn Based.   Definitely sign up for the Brooklyn Based Kids newsletter for interesting events to fill up your calendar and other upcoming articles by yours truly.  

The Invisible Dog
51 Bergen Street, Cobble Hill
(close to G/F at Bergen St.)
On view through May 18, 2013

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

Last week we traveled to sunny Los Angeles.  It really is a place where dreams come true, artists have space to create, and the rent is still cheap enough for the weirdos.  Although we lived there for seven years, it was my son's first pilgrimage to la la land.  Behind the strip malls exterior and the glamorous gloss, there is actually interesting things happening all across the suburban city.  Let your freak flags fly, LA!

Jean Michel Basquiat (via Whitney Museum)

Charles & Ray Eames (via MOMA)

Ed Ruscha (via Christies)

David Hockney (via Liverpool Galleries)

Ed Rucha (via Tate)

Graciela Iturbide (via Chamatli.org)