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Jack Shainman Gallery
Last Saturday, Nick and I met up with Ms.G at the library in the morning. We planned to spend the day looking at different galleries. We rode up to Kinderhook to visit The School. The gallery was hosting a handful of artists but the main exhibition was about Radcliffe Bailey’s artwork.
Bailey’s work focused a lot on African cultures seeing as he visited the continent prior to making his work. Each piece had a few details in common that allowed the viewer to identify the theme. He used railroads, sheet music, and ships quite often in his sculptures and paintings. My personal favorite piece of his was called To Be Titled. The rock included in it looked somewhat similar to a heart and it had a crown of thorns attached to it. It’s hard to describe but it left an eerie feeling with me.
The gallery included all their other exhibitions upstairs separated off into different rooms and hallways. There was so much art to look around out but I was moved by the photography of Gordon Parks. The way he captured the world of his time is just so amazing. Each piece gave off a different feeling and with the context of the time they were taken, you can just resonate with the subjects. Sadly my favorite photograph of his in the gallery didn’t have a name. The subject of the photo was a young black boy in a cowboy hat that was staring deeply into the camera. With just his look, you could feel the pain he was dealing with. I was completely amazed by it.
I honestly could’ve spent the entire day just looking between Bailey’s and Parks’ work. I would love to go back to The School sometime and see what else they had to offer.
To Be Titled by Radcliffe Bailey
Untitled by Gordon Parks
Teen Art Lab's Animation Class
With the start of a new week that meant a new session of Teen Art Lab. This week was focused on stop motion animation taught by Addie. I've always been into animation so getting to sit in on the first class was exciting. Addie was very enthusiastic about teaching the kids and it made me feel hype about the class too.
At 10am the class started as all the kids filled the room. I was amazed when majority of the kids had admitted to already having experience with animation. Addie showed a power-point presentation in order to inform the students on a few of the pioneers in the stop motion industry and some terms they should know. She also had a couple of videos prepared to show them. I especially enjoyed seeing the video of the very first stop motion animation films. It was also really amusing to learn that at the time of their creations people considered the films to be witchcraft.
After Addie's informative presentation, she actually made a quick puppet and created her own animation to show the teens what the process is like with the software she has. The class also got to work together, using the same puppet, to create their own animation of a very angry monster.
The whole class was exciting to just observe. I got to see the very end of the second day and see the progress the students have made. All of them have started working on their puppets and getting close to making an animation. One of the students had his puppet and animation complete by the time class ended. The entire process was truly fascinating. I can't wait to see what the others create.
Allysia Stephenson
D.R.A.W member
Trip to R&F and Bailey Ceramics
Last week, Ms.G took Nick, Jeanetta, and I on a walk around midtown to drop a few DRAW cards at places. After awhile she decided to take us to see the inside of R&F Handmade Paints and Bailey Ceramics. I was really excited about visiting both places. I've always walked past them but was too nervous to actually go inside to see what they did.
We went to R&F first as it was the closest. The small store near the front door of the building was filled with so many different types of painting materials. I was tempted to buy it all but the majority of it, sadly, was out of my price range. We also got to go deeper inside and see one of the art spaces they provided. There were small paintings hung all around the room. At the very back was a wall that was just dedicated to shelving their different pigment sticks. Many of which were in colors you can't find anywhere else. I was amazed to later learn that R&F works with the school and allows students to use their spaces to work on art. The visit made me wish I had put Chem For Artists on my schedule just so I could go back there.
After that we continued walking until we got to Bailey Ceramics. I had passed by the building prior to visiting with Ms.G but I never actually realized what it was. When you first enter, you're immediately greeted with a display case that is packed with ceramics of all kinds. There were the usual ceramic vases but they were painted with vibrant colors. There was even a tiny tea set and melting ice cream made out of clay being shown in the glass case. We got to walk around the showroom for a bit to see all the ceramic tools and look at more art. It was absolutely amazing. I could've wandered around forever just looking at the tools, kilns, and art.
Overall both trips were extremely fun and informative experiences. Both companies showed two different sides of art and made me want to try both more seriously. I would definitely love to go back again.
Allysia Stephenson
D.R.A.W member