Art Is Messy

This weather this past weekend was almost picture perfect. The fall air was crisp and cool. The sky was kind of blue. Not too shabby for a November weekend in Shanghai. David and I couldn’t let this weather go to waste so we set out to explore some of Shanghai’s contemporary art scene. We stopped in the M97 gallery on Moganshan Lu. This contemporary photography gallery is always a joy to visit. Their current show is called the Esquisite Corpse. It’s a photographic play on the famouse Surrealist game. Each photograph is linked to the photos next to it by some sort of visual element. It’s a good sampling of well known and up and coming Chinese photographers. I am particulary fond of Jiang Zhi, Lu Jun, and Yang Yi. I also really like the works of James Whitlo Delano.

In addition to the work, I absolutely love Steven, the gallery owner. He always spends a tremendous amount of time talking to David and I about art and life in Shanghai-two of my favorite topics!

My second graders just finished working on crayon and watercolor family portraits. Here are some examples of their work:

My fourth graders just completed a friendship collage project. Their task was to design a ‘quilt’ that uses patterns and silhouettes to depict an activity that they enjoy doing with their friends. Here are some of their images.

Earlier in the year, I took my 5th grade students to the Old Qing Pu elementary school. SAS students partnered with the migrant school students to create greeting card designs about peace. Here are some of their finished work:

My friend’s baby just had her first birthday party. (Happy Birthday Jaia!) One of the presents that she received was a series of alphabet prints. They were created by a woman for her infant son. I really liked the emotional idea behind this series. Jaia’s present got me thinking and dreaming. I am now on a quest to create my own alphabet book.

The only problem is that there are a million and one alphabet books out on the market. There are alphabet books on animals, birds, and people. You name it, it’s out there. I want to create something different. In order to figure out what’s been done and not done, I started doing some online research. Here’s what I found….

Metropolitan Museum of Art Alphabet Book

This is going to be the first Alphabet book that I buy when I have children.

3-D ABC: A Sculptural Alphabet

This might be the second ABC book that I would buy.

Steve Mack’s alphabet book

While this book doesn’t have the most creative overall concept, I really like many of this illustrations. To see more of his work click here.

Anti-Slavery Alphabet Book from 1847

The name says it all.

History Alphabet from 1905

Edward Gorey’s Gastlycrumb Tinies

I have a love/hate thing with Edward Gorey. I can appreciate his drawings and ideas, but at the same time, I don’t think I would want him reading to me if I was a child.

Upon our friend Tom’s recommendation, David and I have been watching the DVD series Madmen. It’s about a Madison Avenue advertising firm set back in the 1960’s. At first, the show made my stomach churn and my temper rise. In almost every episode the ad guys are smoking and drinking at work, sexually harassing the secretaries and cheating on their wives. It took me a long time to get past all of this. I reassured myself by thinking that director was trying to make a period piece that accurately depicts this time in our country’s history. And if you ask Mark Simmons, he would wholeheartedly disagree.

Mark is a little pickier about the accuracy thing than I am. And thank goodness for that. Mark wrote a great article about the typography found in the show’s opening, signage and props. He states that many of the typefaces used in these instances were actually designed after the 1960’s or were not widely popular during this time period. For those you who are obessed with typography, you’ll find it to be a great read. For those who think it’s a bit to picky, go eat some popcorn.

Most people back in the States do not have a clear understanding of what Chinese migrant schools are like. I’ve decided to post some photos to give people a better idea.

This is what the school looks like from the outside. The facility is built around a huge open area where the kids go out for recess several times a day.

Students either walk or ride their bikes to school. There are no buses.

This is a classroom of the cutest third graders I have ever seen. On average there are around 50 kids per classroom.

This is a group of Kindergarten students. Typically, students in China start school a year later than American students.

Recently, my 5th grade students traveled to the Old Qing Pu Elementary School, a school for the children of migrant workers, for a morning filled with collaborative art activities, games and cultural exchange.

Prior to going to the Old Qing Pu school, my students spent time leaning about the International Day of Peace. Students discussed what peace means to them and identified ways that they practice peace in their daily lives. After looking at a variety symbols, students created their own drawings about peace in their sketch books.

Once the field trip day arrived, SAS and Old Qing Pu students were partnered together. Armed with pencils, erasers, rulers and markers, students from both schools worked collaboratively to create joint peace drawings. Students had a fantastic time sharing and building upon each others ideas and problem solving their ways through language differences. The artwork will be turned into greeting cards that will be sold at different school events. All proceeds will be donated to the Old Qing Pu school. In addition, the collaborative artwork will be on display in both SAS and the Old Qing Pu School. I will post some of their designs once I have images of them. Stay tuned!

Whoa!!!! It’s been a long time since my last post. Sorry guys! Since coming back to Shanghai I have been sicker than a dog. Now that I am on the up and up, I am ready to blog.

Tomorrow David, myself and two of our friends board a plane to Jingdezhen, China. This area is famous for its long ceramics history. We are very lucky. A collegue of ours at school has two friends who graduated from ceramics programs in Jingdezhen. They will be taking us around for part of the day. I’m looking forward to having some insiders knowledge of the area!