The Coleman Center for the Arts is pleased to present the work of students from the 21st Century after school program at York West End Jr. High School and Kinterbish Jr. High School completed in weekly classes during the 2015-16 school year. Artworks by students were displayed in two end-of-semester exhibitions at the CCA gallery featuring both individual and collaborative projects.
The core themes of the 2015-16 school year were transformation and imagination. These themes were the jumping off point to explore new techniques and skills with a focus on creative problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. Students also encountered a host of interdisciplinary subjects and concepts inherent to the process of learning to make art and express their ideas, such as art history, science, language, performance, resourcefulness, perseverance, communication, and community.
Below are a few examples of activities featured in each semester’s final exhibition:
Transformation FALL 2015
While learning about abstraction and expression, students created works inspired by 20th century artist Wassily Kandinsky, who took much of his own inspiration from music. Students created their own paintings based on Kandinsky’s ‘Squares with Concentric Circles’ while listening to different styles of music from various cultural traditions. They were asked to let the music inform their color choices and brush strokes, transforming sound into shapes and color.
Their final project combined language and visual arts in the form of original poetry accompanied by paintings. Students wrote poetry about a subject of their choosing and then transformed their ideas from words to images by illustrating their poems, first in pencil and then in paint. Students used their creativity to transform language into images, emotions into shapes, and ideas into art.
Imagination SPRING 2016
At the center of this semester’s activities was the creation of imaginary landscapes, places, and environments. Students began by using markers, collage, paint, and shaving cream marbling to create their own planets, moons, and stars.
Taking this imaginary world one step further, students looked at examples of contemporary architecture from around the world as inspiration to design and draw cityscapes. The resulting cityscapes from the two schools were shuffled together to create a wholly original and colorful urban landscape lining the gallery wall.
Students also studied 20th century African American artist Romare Bearden, who worked primarily in collage. Students explored how Bearden used imagination to translate the inspiration he found in music, urban landscapes, and his everyday world into meaningful artworks. After discussing his techniques, themes, and ideas, students created their own collages in his style.
Thanks to the 21st Century Afterschool Program, the Sumter County Board of Education, Kinterbish Jr. High School, West End Jr. High School, and all of the teachers, parents and students who made this semester a success!