Minneapolis 2009

My dear friend Becca inspired me to write a post about our trip to Minneapolis...

A group of art educators from The University of North Texas traveled to Minnesota a few weeks ago to attend the National Art Education Association's National Convention. The convention was amazing, and full of fun workshops to attend. These workshops provided us the opportunity to gain more knowledge in our field and learn new ways to approach teaching. There were also plenty of hands on activities teaching us new skills or providing us the opportunity to use new materials. FUN! Attending these trips really is a breath of fresh air and and a growing time in our lives. You are just surrounded by tons of people from all over the nation that share your passion.

We were BLESSED to be able to spend the day at The Walker Arts Center and Sculpture Garden. I had been dreaming of the day when I could visit The Walker. I was extremely ecstatic when we stumbled into a room full of artist books (Rebecca and I are teaching about altered books in our classes!) by Salvador Dali, Kiki Smith, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol to just name a few. I was overwhelmed. I was also thrilled to see so many amazing pieces of work there, I literally stood in front of a Rothko for fifteen minutes in awe.

We had many oppertunities to bond with our faculty and department. I would love to thank Dr. Donahue-Wallace for presenting us with a new Fall 2008 NAEA Student Chapter award (the old one was broken) for Service Organization of the Year. Go Team! I was a little emotional thinking those times with my art family are soon going to be few and far between. They have been my constant strength and guiding light. But I am excited about joining new families in the fall at The University of Texas in Austin.

Rebecca, Dr. Kalin, Dr. Bain and myself had the fabulous opportunity to present a workshop at the convention: Traveling to Uganda: Global Art Workshops for Families. We were able to share with other art educators our experience creating workshops in our community with a theme and global cause by working with artist FRED MUTEBI and our university.

We had the most amazing trip and cannot wait for TAEA in Dallas and NAEA 2010 in Baltimore!

For those of you still interested in viewing the Dan Eldon video Click HERE

Note to Art I

Amanda Batson, Artist Book, Mixed Media, 2008

FRESHMEN:

I really hope you are as excited about this project as I am. This is going to be a wonderful experience in exploration and experimentation to create your altered book. Your new sketchbook assignment is to PLAN for your first assignment. The overall theme for your altered book is IDENTITY. I want you to plan for your first days work in your book when will be focusing on our CHILDHOOD using images that remind us of this time.

Use your sketchbook to come up with possible compositions and ideas about that time. PLANNING brings forth a better product. However, you are not a slave to your planning. Planning is used as a starting point that can be changed or kept the same.

Your planning needs to include your written component (as usual) with art language and a visual. Talk about what elements of art or principles of design you will use to create your composition. As we have learned in class, artists use these as tools and rules to make a great piece of art. KEEP those elements and principles close to you as we move forward through this project.

So PLAN, PLAN, PLAN and write. Let there be a conversation between your sketchbook and your altered book.


Now...I am on my way to my trip to Minnesota. By request I am putting the links I asked the Freshmen to look at while I am away. See you Wednesday! Also, Congratulations William Mills and Sabra Ewing for making a 100 on the Elements and Principles Test! :)
Teesha Moore
Sabrina Ward Harrison
Dan Eldon
Altered Books

Don't forget to bring your book and ink jet images.

Dadaism

Man Ray, Indestructible Object, 1923

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917

Dadaism was formed during the first world war that particularly reflected the social issues and values of the time. The Dada Manifesto was written in 1918 and accused Expressionist artists of 'resistance to the times'. The Dadaists refused to create art that would be confined and to make people aware "that the definitions and standards by which we label and judge works of art are possibly secondary to art and not definitive of it."

The artists explored the use of haphazard, nonsensical, by-chance production. Some say their artwork was even destructive and had a more liberating approach to art making. Having decreased meaning behind their work. They hoped to really shock society.

Typical to their style, the word Dada was chosen randomly out of the dictionary. The word means "hobbyhorse" in French and "yes yes" in Slavic. Dada paved the way for Surrealism in the 1920's.