Art at RMS

Japanese expressionist painter Kazuo Shiraga, was more interested in the act of painting than in the resulting object. But it was his painting that demanded the attention of every class viewing this week’s collection of 4 art reproductions that made up a “5 Minute Museum” in the art room. The wild red and black slashes and swirls in Shigara’s painting defied definition and got my students talking, and then, painting.
Two students were especially fascinated to learn that Shigara made his painting by hanging from a rope and painting with his feet. Could they make painting with their feet?

Papier mache carefully applied to a plastic mask form somehow yielded an uncanny likeness to this artist. So lifelike was the result, the “P”, age 9 determined not to take it home, but to keep the mask at school “because it freaks everybody out when I wear it.”

6 ½ year old “T” declared that he was going to build something, then sketch what he produced. I showed him the book Design Technology (listed under ‘Recommended Reading’ at right) and specifically a page in which a young artist had done just that. He discovered inspiration within these pages. There were diagrams of inventions, parts lists and photos of student created innovations. “T” set out to refer to a page in this book, not to re-produce what was shown, but as a place of departure for his own ideas. He wanted to craft a “connecter” that would swivel. I showed him some jumbo wooded tongue depressors and a hand drill. At first I held the parts in place, but “T” soon discovered that if he used his feet, he could do it himself (this was an advantageous position, as it placed his chin in a good spot to add downward pressure to the drill. This looks like it will be along term project, with a wealth of possibilities for growth and discovery.