TIM BURTON - MUSEUM OBSERVATION*

This must be one of the most crowded exhibitions in history! I went to the museum in the beginning of January for a film and didn't even think to check out this show then because the museum was such a madhouse. This time I made sure to go during the day on a Thursday. Perhaps it was spring break, but I'm not sure. The rest of the museum wasn't as crowded as the Tim Burton show, and when I went inside it was completely justified.

Outside the exhibit there is a wall that documents Tim Burton's milestone accomplishment and they can fill the wall. Inside, you can see so many of his sketches, drawings and paintings. There were sculptures, props and fashion displayed as well. Of course, there was video too. There is just about every visual art medium exhibited. His work is completely mind blowing and I really loved the show.

The sculptures were my favorite and I was so impressed to see the credit given to the artist who created them. Of course, at this point in his career, Tim Burton cannot be creating everything he does and it's impressive if he's still doing a decent amount of it. Anyway, these sculptures were mostly made out of Sculpey, which surprised me. I normally think of small sculptures when I think of Sculpey, but these were pretty big. They were all in his usual style of fantasy creatures. There was one wooden house with a window that you could bend down and look in to see one of his human-like creatures next to a Christmas tree with a bright red light. It had that touch of goth that his art usually possesses.

I thought about how often very successful contemporary artists often show work in more than one medium. Saturday night I went to see an aerialist performance. It was the dj, the aerial performance and the costume design that came together to create the experience. All elements were equally important. My last post talked about Siouxsie Sioux and referenced Lady Gaga. Musicians that use visuals to enhance their concerts really seem to stand out. Fischerspooner is another example of musicians using visual performance art as part of their work. I guess this is natural in film. In film, there needs to be attention paid to fashion, dialogue, sound and image manipulation. Tim Burton has really perfected the art he creates and can communicate his ideas in a variety of media consistently.

MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY - CHILD OBSERVATION**

The first thing that I noticed when I walked into the Museum of Natural History on a weekday afternoon, was that the whole building felt like it was filled with young students. The younger the students are the more close the group is in physical proximity. The youngest children have partners with whom they hold hands with while walking in a line, usually guided by two or three adults, one in the back and one in the front. The older elementary school children still form a double line, walking around the museum, but it seems a little looser. A few girls stopped to look at some animals as one said, "Eww! It looks real!" and then an adult in the back of the line reminded them they needed to keep moving. The teenagers seem to form their own smaller and are even more loosely organized. They're conversations are louder and there were even a few girls skipping in a line through the photography exhibit depicting Aztec culture in Peru. The adults that escort the older students are not always easily found.

The youngest children seemed to be most easily amused and the older children seemed to notice that some things caught there attention more than others. All the students seemed happy to be there and seemed to be enjoying themselves. I observed the children in the photography exibit as well as in various animal exhibits. There was a group of children waiting to see the butterfly exhibit, but I did not go inside.

There were almost no groups of children going to the Silk Road exhibit. This exhibit told the story of the history of silk and showed how it is made. There were even live silkworms on display. A group of girls with burkas escorted by a few adults were outside this exhibit, but none inside. Inside I was able to observe three girls with their mother. They were of different ages ranging from about 5 or 6 to about 13 or 14. They were all very interested to learn and read about the exhibition. They discussed what they saw as they walked through it and asked their mother questions. It seemed as thought the individual attention of the small group and the family connections inspired an interest to gain deeper knowledge of what they were looking at. It made me think of how important context is. I would love to have taken a group to visit this exhibit during a study on textile design and thought about ways to build up context and relate it to studio skills. I also thought about how important the relationship between people involved in studying is.

YouTube - Souxsie!

I could easily say that Siouxsie and the Banshees is my favorite band and has been since I first heard them when I was a teenager. I recently looked at her videos and interviews on YouTube. I am just as fascinated by all of it as I would have been if YouTube existed when I first heard them. After collecting all of her music and listening to it for years, I can easily sing along as I click on each video, including a few videos I knew and a few I didn't know from the late 70's when she was more punk than goth. I was able to find two interviews that took place in America, one was 8 minutes and the other was 2. I missed those ten minutes of television when they aired. Through the interviews I can better grasp Siouxsie as British pop as well as American underground goth. It's really amazing how many videos she did and how many of her concerts were filmed. Without YouTube I would not have access to these clips.

Siouxsie Sioux is known to be the "Goddess of Punk" and the pioneer of goth. She could easily be classified as a leader of feminism as well. She transformed the conventional feminine beauty of blonde hair and smiles into something darker, cooler, more intelligent and stronger. She was heavily involved in fashion and the visual aspect of art. She challenged female sexuality by portraying her sexuality abiding by her own rules, similar to Madonna in that way (not as raunchy though). She incorporates aspects of global culture in her work by commenting on Israel and Hong Kong in her songs, having one CD called Juju, a West African word for supernatural object (derived from the French word joujou meaning toy), as well as naming herself after a Native American tribe. You could even say her make-up resembles iconic images of Cleopatra and, in one of her interviews, she explains the Flamenco influence incorporated in the music of The Creatures (a side project with the bassist and her husband, Budgie).

Her influence carries on today and it's the element of Siouxsie, or punk, that I saw in Lady Gaga that inspired my first post. I think many critiques would gasp that I would even suggest such a thing. Lady Gaga is often criticized for not doing anything innovative even though she is looked upon as an artistic pop star. I see why they say that. However, I don't think any musical artist can compare to Siouxsie. She really had an insatiable energy and almost magical creative stamina that carried her through the past 30 years. I can spend hours clicking around YouTube to see her live performances, array of music videos and interviews. There is such a variety posted on YouTube; it's hard to choose what to post here.

An old concert clip -

(Yes that is Robert Smith from The Cure on guitar - he filled in for a year or so when they had problems with getting a stable guitarist)

A French Christmas Carol -

"In November 2006, within a year of its launch, YouTube was purchased by Google Inc. in one of the most talked-about acquisitions to date."

AIPAD PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW OBSERVATION*

The Association for International Photography Art Dealers had its annual show last weekend at the Armory located in Manhattan's Upper East Side. I originally thought it was purely an exhibition and then I realized that it an exhibition specifically geared towards dealers. There weren't any under $1,000 except for a few small prints on tables, that went as low as $700, sold in a matte. I didn't think that photographs were worth so much and I began to fantasize about life as a photographer.

Photography may be my most favorite medium. I do not agree with people who question photography as an art form. Painting is expected to alter the reality of perception, but photography is often assumed to capture the real thing. Two people who photograph the same thing easily produce different photographs. Photography is an expression of one's point of view, if nothing else. However, photography can elicit emotions in people to the same extent as other mediums.

My favorite work at the AIPAD show was by Kendall Messick. He was there so I was able to speak to him. He said that he went to SVA and then ICP, two of the top schools for photography in NYC. The work he was displaying showed his house after it burned down. At first, all I noticed were the textures. I love visual texture and he did such a great job capturing them. His work was flawlessly printed with vivid contrasted colors in framed squares. I fell in love. It's obvious that his house burned down was not as romantic as he depicted it. Some of his images are below:

I also attended a panel discussion featuring some of the members of the Photo League (http://www.moma.org/collection/details.php?theme_id=10464) and learned that the photo league members were the first group of photographers known for social documentary. The Photo League eventually closed due to the Communist scare and rise of Marxism in America. It goes to show how impressive photography, and art, can be and how much of an impact it can make on people. One of the photographers, Arthur Leizpig, laughed about how little he sold some of his work for. He said that he was looking at some vintage photography in the show and one piece was 300,000 dollars. Then he turned it over and on the back it showed that it was originally 10 dollars. Below is some of are two of his well known photographs.

It's interesting to see the two different styles, depicting two different time periods, two different points of view; yet, both are documenting life in the New York, New Jersey area.

Teenage Girls Explore Their Lives Through a Camera’s Eye - NY Times Article

I love the idea of giving students a camera to photograph their lives. It's great to see that the photographs of a group of teenagers were recognized in the New York Times and displayed in the Studio Museum in Harlem. The group was comprised of high school girls who were assigned to photograph their life as a part of their involvement with the photography program at the Studio Museum in Harlem. The expression of their lives gives valuable insight into the city we all live in and I think many adults in this city, especially those who are not in the field of education, often overlook.

This article makes me wonder if photography is a medium that surpasses obstacles teenagers face with expression in other mediums and let these teenagers express themselves with a camera the way a six year-old would with painting. I love the freedom that little kids have when they paint. Six year olds enjoy paint with little inhibitions. As children get older, if they do not have consecutive arts education, they usually do not continue to develop their skills and become self-conscious and inhibited. However, the images and the expression of these teenagers feel freely expressed. It would be interesting to learn more about the education program at the Studio Museum in Harlem to see what type of instruction and direction these girls received and in what social context.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/arts/artsspecial/18STUDIO.html

HIGH SCHOOL HANG OUT - TEENAGE OBSERVATION**

Today, there were some high school students hanging outside the school for a little while. This is unusual because, as I posted earlier, they are usually chased away by the police officer(s) who works at the school. Today I as able to observe about 7 male students relaxing in the gorgeous spring weather. They were all black or hispanic. One boy came later, who could pass for white, and was teased with the name "gringo" before he chased one of the boys away from the group.

They talked quietly among themselves about someone named Pedro and other things going on in their life. One sat on a parked car and a few leaned on a parked car and a few were standing. They also had a few basketballs so they were bouncing them and started bouncing them together a little bit before they were told to leave. Two police officer/security guard soon came and told them that they had to leave. One said that he was waiting for his mother, but his comment was ignored as if it wasn't true. She repeated, "You can't stay over here." The police officers stayed after the boys left told others to keep walking. I soon heard the male police officer yell again, "You have to get out of here." The female officer said, "Common' let's go" after another minute or two passed.

Observing those boys made me think of what it was like to be in high school when we were able to sit outside with a large group of people the same age and just talk. I did that so much when I was their age that, as an adult, I often wish I was doing something more productive. Looking at them today made me appreciate that experience and think about how rare it is that we do that as adults. I guess we may plan to meet a group at the park or barbeque in summertime, or inside in a nightclub, but it's planned. It's never spontaneous like that because we don't have the time. When we do have the time our friends may not.

I wonder if adults working with kids often come across as not understanding the value of such interactions because us adults have an agenda and are getting paid to educate, not to foster hanging out, or chillin'. I guess as a teacher, you try to incorporate this bonding experience in various ways, such as school trips and group work. Research says that the arts also support positive socialization and I think art class is often an outlet for students to continue creating the bonds having positive social experiences.

RENAISSANCE CHARTER SCHOOL - CHILDREN OBSERVATION**

My observations with DreamYard, an arts organization that is a client at work, include the Bronx Arts Learning Community (BALC) Festivals. These are works that are exhibited by teaching artists, art teachers and their students. The art, whether it be visual arts, music, dance or theater, is at a level where you can notice the work behind the final product. There may be a choreographed African dance performance where a narrator explains the origins of the dance or maybe a chorus mimicking Broadway hits in a way that is very impressive.

Last year I also observed school-based arts programs throughout the city for the NYC DOE in an investigation to gain more clarity on their annual arts survey. There was one junior high school in particular that was just mind blowing. Their arts instruction enabled students to get an early preparation for a professional life in the arts if they choose. I remember sitting for a practice dance performance that felt professional. Many of the children were only getting instruction from school, but it felt like they were all dancing it since they were toddlers.

Last night I went to see The Renaissance Charter School's (TRCS)talent show. The Renaissance Charter school has a very good reputation, but not because of it's arts programming. I'm not sure about the music program, but the visual arts program consists of one art teacher for 12 grades. Although I remind myself that I went to see a talent show that was put on by the social worker in which the students created the show, it was interesting to see the difference between this show and the shows that I have seen as a result of arts education.

TRCS is located in Jackson Heights, Queens, and the student population reflects the diversity of the borough. There is a criticism of charter schools in which they say that public schools show a decrease in motivated students because charter schools attract the most motivated students. I think this must be true for TRCS. There was an aura of motivation the auditorium. There was a great turnout with support in the form of audience engagement, cameras and video cameras. Performers were confident and praised by adults when they got off the stage. All members of the audience showed respect and all students in the room seemed well taken care of.

The students the performed at TRCS really did exhibit great talent, however, the production was lacking. Except for the two dance performances, there was almost no attention to the visual aspect of the performances. Most children who performed sang, two played the piano, there were also two dance performances. There was no theater or visual arts work. The music was almost all pop music. One piano player played classical and one dance performance was to dancehall reggae, but the rest included pop music such as current top 40 hits, Michael Jackson's Billy Jean and Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly. Overall, the talent show was a great success for those who put it together and the audience who went to see their loved ones perform.

Kongo to Congo - Reading Reflection

The article Imperial Transcultures: From Kongo to Congo stuck out in my mind after reading it. I knew that issues in Africa were linked to colonization, but this article makes it clearer. It discusses the beginning of colonization in Africa, how Europeans divided the established kingdom in the Kongo to tribes, the role photography played in manipulating people's perceptions of Africa and the creation of African art at that time.

I thought of what it must have been like to have been African when the colonists arrived. I think it must have been terrifying to have the colonists come into your home. I tried to think of what it must have been like to be a European at that time. I think that they must have been ignorant, gullible and unaware. The Europeans in power at that time must have been heartless. I thought about how African art at the time expressed some of this oppression. I was surprised to learn that at least some of the African art I'm accustomed to seeing in museums were expressions of colonial powers infiltrating Africa. Even today, most of us do not know about the intentions of those who created the art. Even museum descriptions do not reveal this point of view - http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/2957/Power_Figure_(Nkisi_Nkondi). I tried to imagine being a tourist in Africa, traveling to the depths of rural areas to find the most "authentic" view of "inferior" people. I tried to imagine myself amongst maps and photography manipulating ideas of what reality could be.

Sometimes history doesn't change much, or at least not enough. Currently the Congo is in distress and I would not be surprised to find out that it can be traced back to the beginning of Portuguese "infiltration" in 1483, when the Congo was ruled by King Nzinga. Last year I sponsored a woman through Women for Women International - http://www.womenforwomen.org/index.php after I found out about female war victims in the Congo. Throughout the world, too many people of African decent face some degree of distress and oppression. It could easily be said that racial discrimination is the perpetuation of skewed colonial perceptions.

Another aspect of this article that seemed similar to contemporary times is the manipulation of visual images. I think that today there is much more awareness regarding visual media in certain aspects of our society. There are advertisements and films that aim to reveal social issues that need to be addressed and visual media is often used to educate. However, there is still a large portion of visual media that aims to create an image, while overshadowing certain unpleasant realities. The advertising of big business is often loaded with imagery that entices viewers to buy products without a clear picture of what they are. Coca-Cola is just a drink to most people. Most people do not think about it's original selling point, cocaine. Today, Coca-Cola uses ingredients that are tested on animals, but is able to say that they do not test on animals because a different company does the testing. Most people don't think about the sugar content either. Instead, Coca-Cola is innocently a drink for happy people, according to the visual media that Coca-Cola produces. Another example of visual culture that has been affected by visual manipulation is journalism. When I traveled to Israel, I learned about how photographers stage scenes and crop photos to manipulate perceptions of war experiences. There are even websites dedicated to "photoshop disasters" - http://designcrave.com/2009-09-22/photoshop-tricks-10-historic-political-photoshop-disasters/

National Geographic now shows the perspective of exoticism for all places around the globe. Tourism is a thriving industry and people enjoy visiting all different types of places. This includes traveling to remote areas to view exotic people and cultures as in early colonial times described in the article. Tourism can cause distress to a location in many ways. In the Caribbean and in Hawaii, tourism often exacerbates racial/ethnic tension by segregating the tourists from the locals; where the tourists are offered more luxury. There is also eco-friendly tourism, such as the locally run tours through the Amazon rainforest. I think there are a lot of people who travel today to try and amend atrocities that have occurred due to Western powers. When I traveled to Cambodia, there were many American NGO's helping to rebuild the country from the aftermath the Khmer Rouge. Although the Khmer Rouge was a form of civil genocide, the occurrences can be linked back to the threat of communism that sparked the Vietnam War and the tension that arose from US/Russia conflict. This episode of Globe Trekker goes into the depths of the rural areas of Cambodia - http://www.pilotguides.com/tv_shows/globe_trekker/shows/asia/cambodia.php.

We can only imagine what the world would have been like without European colonization. Some people say that another part of the world may have taken over. Other people say that we would be much more peaceful. Many people don't think about it.

SHADOWED DREAMER - PERFORMANCE OBSERVATION*

Stephen Hart is an actor from the UK who is currently performing a monologue illustrating his childhood. Unfortunately, the show is about child abuse. His mother gave him up for adoption as an infant and spent the first 15 years of his life as the child of a schizophrenic mother, a physically abusive step-mother and a neglectful father. Life on his own was also difficult as he moved from the streets, to a group home, and finally to his own place. As he began to get his life together he was raped and is now infected with HIV. Through all of this is was theater that seemed to keep him going and even landed a part in a production by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Today, he is performing a minimal theater piece called Shadowed Dreamer, an autobiography, at Brooklyn College and in NYC public schools.

I was surprised that this was categorized as a LGTB production because the story focused on abuse and his heartache, more than his experiences with other men. The performance was more like storytelling. There was almost no visual component. He came in as though he was anyone walking down the streets of a big city; big sunglasses, shaved head, leather jacket, jeans, backpack... and after he took off his glasses and backpack he began to tell his story.

Shadowed Dreamer reminds me of a theater piece in the Public Theater in the East Village called "County of Kings" (http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/theater/reviews/13county.html) which also the autobiographical story of an adult's difficult childhood, but instead of highlighting abuse, it highlights the influence of hip hop. The County of Kings was also had minimal visuals, although, it was in a more professional theater with better sound. I also wonder about funding. Would Shadowed Dreamer be funded as a full production? Would people want to go see this in the theater? Also, I'm sure if funding for a more elaborate production was offered, he'd take it, but it doesn't seem like it's his goal.

Theater goers are looking for an escape from the mundane. One could say that Hart's monologue takes you from the mundane, helping you to appreciate what you have. If you have had similar experiences, it may help you to realize that you are not alone. At times his storytelling was captivating and at other times it felt like a list of troubled times he has been through. I found a video on you tube in which he described the performance as "opening the floodgates" and seems to emphasize the Q and A after the performance. He highlights his experiences of breaking through to people who have had similar experiences.

Although the performance was minimal, it wasn't minimal that would probably not be categorized as experimental theater. Classmates have criticized the lack of elaboration as though something is missing and questioned it's validity as art and as theater. Should it have been more visual? Should there have been more actors? Should the monologue have been written in a different way? Maybe it could be classified as a type of theater that is not purely theater. Could it be something other than Theater for Theater's sake? As we continue to ask in the visual arts, we can also ask of theater and every art form; "What is Art?"... or "What is not art?"

SLASH: PAPER UNDER THE KNIFE - MUSEUM OBSERVATION*

The elevator doors opened to the fifth floor of the museum and the wall directly in front of me caught my eye. The clean, minimalistic paper design covered the wall in almost paint-splattered shapes. The crisp edges and hard, although flexible, characteristic of the smooth, thick paper complimented the artist’s choice of using only black. I looked closer and the way the paper was cut, all curvy edges, gave an organic feel and sometimes repeated curved patterns clustered together, reminded me of bird feathers. Crows came to mind, giving me somewhat of a gothic, cool feeling. I started to wonder if the artist was representing death in a minimalistic, contemporary design. I couldn’t help but see the design representing a cluster of splattered crows. If this was done in a different material the repeated curved edges may not have reminded me of feathers and the crispness of the paper might not have seemed so cold. I may not have seen it the same way.

Slash: Paper Under the Knife is a show of works done in paper and is being exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Design. I enjoyed most of the work displayed there in awe. Most of it was just really beautiful and/or interesting. It was inspirational as I wondered what I could do with paper and informally brainstormed ways to adapt what I saw into lesson plans for children. I thought about how the artists made each piece and how some of them must have used drawing and cutting with an X-acto knife, such as a ceiling to floor piece of black paper which seemed to have been drawn on and then cut out to form silhouettes of the details of a working city, including people, trees, etc. Some of the work seemed much more complicated to recreate, such as the piece by Olafur Eliasson, in which he used a laser to cut pages of a book to resemble the outline of a house.

Overall, I think that the show pushes the boundaries of the never ending question of "what is art", but at the same time, it holds onto traditional ideas of expression and beauty.

SUPERCONSCIOUS FUTUREITUAL - GALLERY OBSERVATION*

I guess Keith Haring was one of, or thee, first to create graffiti in a style other than traditional tags. Now, it seems commonplace and much of the alternative graffiti feels like illustrative painting. I was first introduced to Nicolas Kuszyk, in 2008, through his mural on Metropolitan Avenue, on the side of a bagel shop. His mural brightened up the street.

Living in the neighborhood, I later noticed his work was later in a local gallery and currently his work is showing in Cinders Gallery in a show titled, "Superconscious Futureitual". The illustrative quality of his work speaks for itself. He illustrates a world of robots in which the robots are metaphors for people.

When I looked more into who this artist is, I found that he is from Virginia. In one interview he said that industry talk is boring, alluding to the idea that maybe he does not like to discuss his work formally, as art is usually discussed in the art world. He also thinks that insurance companies and banks, and the people who run them, are stupid. He seems like a typical guy who likes to draw/paint a lot, comes to NYC because there's more action than from where he's from, settles in Williamsburg because it's "artsy", makes connections with the people around (such as the publishing connection that helped him to get his book published), and continues life.

http://www.rrobots.com

ONE ART INTEGRATION PROGRAM- CHILD OBSERVATION**

Working in evaluation, observing children in art class is part of my job. This week I observed children who were receiving an art lesson from a teaching-artist that represents Studio in a School, NYC's leading visual arts education organization. Due to federal grant requirements and directions in education reform, they are currently piloting a program that will result in the creation of curriculum units with embedded assessments that integrate visual arts with literacy and math. We are evaluating the program and investigating whether the arts help to increase academic achievement, ensuring that the program is research based. The lesson I observed taught the kids to make fraction quilts.

When the teaching-artist walked into the room, the students were seated quietly, ready for their guest. They all seemed engaged by focusing their eyes on her. She gathered them around a table and all continued to pay attention except one boy who read on the floor to the side. When she told them that they would be making a board game one girl said, "Oooh!" She told them that one box of tissue paper squares was filled with hot colors and the other one was filled with cold colors. The students did not ask what that means. She modeled for them how to cut the squares into halves, quarters, eighths, or sixteenths. Again, the students do not question why and just continue to watch, waiting for it to be their turn.

As the students worked, they didn't question what they were doing. That is the teachers job. They enjoyed the opportunity to use a paintbrush to glue down their squares. It must have been a nice break from their other work. At times I heard comments that aligned with what we learned in our master's degree program; comments that alluded to aspects of children's' imagination and curiosity being expressed.

While the teaching artist showed her self-made visual to illustrate the fractions of a rectangle. There were papers side by side, matted on black construction paper, and each paper was white with a fraction of it colored red; each fraction getting smaller and smaller. One student said, "You should call that the invisible square!" When she explains that the glue is actually a varnish, another student asks, "Can you use it for paper mache?" While she's in the middle of gluing her squares, a pattern starts to appear and another student says, "It looks like checkers," who received an answer from the group, "Checkers are only two colors." Students continued to inquire about the materials, but they were not given the opportunity to explore them. "What makes it shiny?" "Where does white go?" (referring to hot and cold colors)

They worked quietly and contently. The only sad or disappointed face I saw was that of a boy who received rusted scissors. He wanted to exchange them for new ones, but was not allowed. As the students glued their squares, they talked amongst themselves. The classroom teacher was there to make sure the kids stayed in order, as that is not the job of the teaching-artist. "It looks like clear nail polish when you put it on your nails!"

The entire class, the classroom teacher and the school-based literacy teacher were all had an ethnicity/race other than white or Asian. One girl was Hindi and had homemade mini-pastries that her mother made for the Hindu New Year. The classroom teacher instructed her to offer me one. She came over to me and offered me one of each, making sure I was not allergic to bananas or cherries.

Soon the lesson was over.

It's not my job to include my opinion in this part of the evaluation. I'm also not the lead researcher, which means I do not have much say, and possibly not enough insight, in the overall project. However, when I watched this it made me question why a teaching artist is needed to do this. I questioned Studio in a School's marketing tactics and the survival of art education. Studio in a School does some really great work, but they really do market "artists" in a way that validates the lack of trained art teachers in schools. Studio in a School is cheaper than an art teacher and has the students create work that looks great.

I'm not sure about how the residencies work, which is the bulk of their contracts, but I do have insight into this program. The units were developed last year, with teaching-artists, classroom teacher, art teachers and literacy/math coaches from schools that they normally work in; schools that are not Title 1 or Corrective Action. I kept imagining what it would be like if school-based art teachers were given a considerable amount of paid prep-time to create a unit with the support of the others. I'm sure it would be great. Yet, this year, it's the teaching artists that go into the schools, training the classroom teachers and the art teachers, as though they have much more to offer. Under these conditions, how could they not walk into the school and give an impressive presentation?

This particular lesson felt like a regular classroom exercise, but without the instruction of a trained teacher. The students did not know they were doing math and did not know why they were playing a game. Maybe the unit has been more thought out, but I was not informed. In fact, I was informed that they needed to modify the unit that was planned last year and it's still a work in progress. They are not used to working in these conditions, with such "low-performing" students. I'm thinking that as the pilot program develops it will make more sense, however, after realizing that Obama is basically continuing where Bush left off in terms of education, I will not be to surprised if it doesn't.

Australian Beauty

In 2006 my husband and I visited Australia. I was surprised how much it reminded me of America. I guess it's because we didn't go deep into the center of the continent, where the gorgeous nature exists. We stayed in the cities that have come from British colonies and ventured slightly into the nature through day trips from the cities.

We started our trip in Cairns, in the north. I was surprised how much it looked like it could have been a city in America. Most people were white, the architecture was similar, the streets were large, the buildings were not high. Once we left the city we were able to go to the Daintree Rainforest and into the ocean to see the Great Barrier Reef, which were more interesting. On our way to the rainforest there was a cultural center educating the public on the Aboriginal experience. There was a film showing the history of the brutality of colonization in Australia, which was not long ago; during the 1900's. They explained their ways of life were intertwined with the land and the land was taken from them during the brutal murders that took place. It reminded me of the history of Native Americans; the story of a beautiful culture destroyed by colonization. I just thought how crazy it is that European colonization has affected almost every inch of this world. Once we got back to Cairns it felt so strange to see almost no Aboriginal people in the streets. I remember seeing one assimilated family that stood out as we walked along the boardwalk.

The second city we went to was Melbourne. Melbourne felt a lot like New York, but smaller. It was more city-like, there were yellow cabs and tall buildings. It was also more diverse. We stayed in an area just out of the center, which felt like it could have been a part of Brooklyn. They even had their own version of Coney Island, called Luna Park, which was built by the same people the built the original Coney Island. However, still, there was almost no sign of Aboriginal culture until we took a day trip out of the city. We took a bus down the Great Ocean Road where we were able to see a rest stop painted in the style of Aboriginal art.

Finally, the last stop on our trip was Sydney. We looked for more Aboriginal experiences, but it was winter and the outdoor happenings were closed. Sydney also felt like some type of Euro-American city, without anything special that stood out except the touristy Opera House. I found some galleries that had Aboriginal art, but not all of it was made from Aboriginal people. Then, walking along the water, we saw street performers; two aboriginal men and one white man. They were playing the didgeridoo to techno music.

On this trip I learned what happened to the Aboriginal people and saw the lack of their visual presence. I heard that some Aboriginal people live in the center of Australia, far away from all that the Europeans built up, trying to live their lives as they were, in peace. Other Aboriginal people struggle through the cultural differences that have been imposed upon them, while many white people cannot understand their lack of assimilation. Unfortunately, a huge amount of Aboriginal people were killed and simply do not exist anymore.

Due to the history of this land, the ice dance performed by Russian people during the 2010 Olympics hit a sensitive topic. They inappropriately dressed up as Aboriginals and it was the media acknowledged. There was no tribute to the culture and they did not form a relationship with the Aboriginal people allowing them to have the knowledge of how to portray the culture properly, if it were to even be approved by the Aboriginal people.

There is nothing that can compensate for all of the people and cultures around the world that have been forced into some form of colonization and/or genocide due to European expansion. As the time goes by, the generations that come after those who have already done what is now history inherit the repercussions. We need to be sensitive to the history that we have inherited in order to work towards making amends in any ways that are possible. If it is possible, we must also understand that it takes time. Hopefully this dance has raised awareness for some people that the world has not healed yet and/or raised awareness about ways that history affects the present day.