We're Making it Grand! Day 1

We started off the day learning that art has the power to change the world by watching the TED talk by French photographer “JR”. “JR” won the TED prize in 2011, and his TED prize wish was to use his prize to create a global art project.  He asked for help from people around the world to “turn the world inside out” through art. He asked the question “What do you believe in enough to stand up for?” We also watched his one year update and were amazed at the number of people participating, changing their world through photography.

Each student in this group is invested in a personal project, and will spend their week involved in the creative process of making something large scale, or largely time-intensive. Today they spent the day working out proposals and then doing media studies.  Each student is challenging themselves to do something much larger, more difficult, more creative than they have ever done before. I am impressed with their expressive goals and the thoughtfulness of their creative choices. 

Projects include: historical/political terrariums; a gown made out of recycled materials; a life size portrait collage; a mixed media piece combining poetry, painting, and drawing; a mixed media mural on the topic of friendship; several photography pieces and a sculpture from one student expressing an anti-abortion statement; a series of Normal Rockwell inspired self portraits; observational pencil drawings of a skeleton; and a series of three photographic works that illustrate pollution, climate change, and animal endangerment. 

This is an amazing group of students.  I can’t believe how lucky I am.