Art Is Messy

Our school has an on going relationship with a local Chinese migrant school. We plan activities between our students several times throughout the year. The differences between our two facilities are extreme. Our school has a lovely budget that never leaves you wanting, the migrant school doesn’t even have its own chalk. Because of this, each year we collect items such as school supplies, gym equipment and clothing and donate them to the school and its students. This year we decided to start the school year off with a ‘Welcome Back!’ project for the teachers. Members of our staff have generously volunteered and donated school supplies that a teacher might need through out their year. This afternoon we assembled all 30 bags, donated by our cafeteria company,  and filled with pencils, notebooks, staplers, stickers, etc. We are scheduled to deliver them next Wednesday. I can’t wait to drop them off!

After writing about subways in my last post, I naturally started thinking of graffiti. I briefly considered doing a post about NYC graffiti, but I figured that would be too easy of a connection to make. So instead, I started thinking about graffiti in Shanghai. I really had to stop and think, “Is there graffiti in Shanghai?” I have seen walls of buildings covered with the cell phone numbers of people who want to sell fake IDs or offer their construction services, but I really couldn’t recall seeing “western style” graffiti. Upon further investigation, I discovered that I need to go out more.

One on the resources that made me realize I need to leave the bubble of my neighborhood is Juxtapoz magazine. Juxtapoz has several photos of graffiti found on the walls along Shanghai’s Moganshan Lu. To view graffiti photos by Chris Osburn’s, click here.

In addition, Danwei TV has a very interesting esipode on three graffiti artists working in Shanghai. The three artists that the video profiles are Popil (she’s so adorable, and not your stereotypical graffiti artist), Mr. Lan, and HKer. The video asks the artists to consider the use of western letter forms and the lack of Chinese characters in their work. The interviewer also inquires about the locals’ feelings about graffiti.

Finally, The China Daily has an article about graffiti outside of Shanghai. The author writes about graffiti’s roots in china, the Wall and commercialization. It’s a great read!

When compared to the sleek and clean train stations of London and Tokyo, New York City’s subway stations leave a lot to be desired. But if you take a second to get past the gritty grime and the foot long rats (yes they really, truly are that big!), I promise you that there are treasures to be found under the city’s sidewalks.

NYC’s Metropolitan Transit Authority has chosen to brighten up the otherwise dim and gritty subway stations with an extensive Arts for Transit program. This site is pretty neat. You can search according to subway line and station. Some of my personal favorites are the Houston Street stop on the 1 train, 59th and Lexington on the N, and the Prince Street stop on the R.

While living in NYC, I used to always think about taking myself on a little subway art field trip. I thought it would be neat to ride the rails all day long, getting off at every station to photograph the art found underground. Unfortunately, at times I can be a pretty impatient person. Waiting for the next train to come by the station would have driven me crazy. Luckily, a group of dedicated subway art lovers did it for me. Here is their subway arts guide.

In addition to the permanent installation, the MTA has created a series of fun and whimisical art cards. I’m not entirely sure why they are called art cards. They are pretty large and hang in the subways. Anyway, I am in love with the whale poster from 2001 and the Coney Island boardwalk scene from 2007! I’m not entirely sure what to make of the yellow chick-a-dee poster from 2004.

Subway art would make a great idea for art lessons at any age. The possibilities are endless! Students could design subway posters, signage, sculptural installations, video service guides and station designs. Any art medium could be used.