Class in the Gallery with Rach

Teaching in the Galleries with Chelsea Vocational

Rach Margolies ADE 515 with Lisa Capone

Chelsea Vocational High School131 Ave-Americas, New York, NY 10013

“Teaching in the Galleries with Rach” met every Wednesday between 4pm and 6pm.

11th grade participants:Hazel BonnillaNatalie CoronadoNichole Hernandez

Sometimes the girls met me at a designated museum or gallery space, but often I would pick them up at their school. (See photo of their school entrance)

Polly Apfelbaum & Ricci Albenda

D’Amelio Terras/Andrew Kreps GallerySession #1 10-22-2010

The work has fallen from the walls.“Is this really ART?” -Hazel BonnillaWe move through the space, and each find a place to sit amidst the sparkles. The girls comment on the colors, the sequins, and the glitter. They suggest that this the work of a distressed girl who just broke up with her boyfriend before prom.

With their eyes closed, I lead the girls into the second gallery space, to reveal a room full of sky blue oil paintings.We discuss the possibilities of who the speaker is, and who is being spoken to, and the questions that are raised about art that incorporates writing. The girls believe it is a boyfriend speaking to his partner, I learn that only I read this painting as “creepy.”

What might a stranger say about the Polly Apfelbaum exhibit? Should it be considered art? What happens when an artist incorporates words into their work, such as the work of Ricci Albenda?

Extending Polly ApfelbaumPratt Manhattan CampusSession #2 10-27-2010

Gathering together to make our own glitter-glue and sequin strung pieces, the girls worked hard during this studio-based class at the Pratt Manhattan campus.

We tried our best to incorporate a form of threaded sequins into our work, just like the work of Polly Apfelbaum.

The subject matter for each piece depicted that student’s personal visual perception of loneliness.

Must art be displayed on gallery walls? How much of an impact does material choice contribute to an artistic process? How about the product?

Think Again: New Latin American Jewelry

Museum of Art and DesignSession #3 11-3-2010

We studied the above works of (left) Julieta Odio, (center) Jorge Castanon and (right) Raquel Paiewonsky, among many other Latin American artists

Each student picked an artist, and prepared a short question/answer session for us, using a prescribed VTS format.

Natalie’s pick reminded her of an old piece of alabaster that she had as a child. She was nervous to speak out loud, so we each turned around and she spoke to our backs!

Describe the work: What might it feel like? Is it wearable and how? Can an inanimate object be considered “lonely?“ Can something be lonely even if it has a purpose?

Hiroshi SugimotoPace Gallery

Session #4 11-10-2010

In two of the galleries, the sky-lites were covered, and only stage lights lit the paintings, creating an incredibly dark atmosphere in the gallery.

The gallery space we all enjoyed the most showed only photographs of sunrise and sunset scenes that Sugimoto took while he was out in a boat in the middle of the ocean. We spoke about lighting, detail, and Biblical references at this point.

Nichole was spooked during this exhibition: she found Sugimoto’s photos creepy and weird.

How might the gallery design, layout and lighting change how we view the art work? Would these works look “real” in the light? Why or why not?

Edward HopperThe Whitney Museum of American Art

Session #5 11-17-2010

We immersed ourselves in debate over composition, viewpoints of the artist versus the viewer, color schemes, shades, shadow, and how Hopper is able tell a story without any words.

Bringing in outside texts, we studied the work of John Hollander, Sunday A.M. Not in Manhattan in reference to Hopper’s Early Sunday Morning (bottom left)

How do the titles of Hopper’s paintings contribute to the story telling of his works? Might a title contribute to a painting’s meaning? How do color, shade and shadow playimportant roles in Hopper’s works?

Erwin WurmLehman Maupin GallerySession #6 12-1-2010

Natalie thought this exhibit was about a person’s struggle with claustrophobia.

Nichole was excited by the oversized Police Hat, especially how Wurm drew, in pencil, the directions for “completing the piece” beside it on the gallery wall.

In the style of Erwin Wurm, we built our own one-minute chair sculptures using a hard plastic chair, a brown paper grocery bag and oranges as props, and a Polaroid camera for documentation.

Check out the Erwin Wurm One-Minute Sculpture references in this video!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfOdWSiyWoc(Only Nichole had heard recognized the band name Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Is this art? Should the works included in “Gulp” be considered “art” or “design?” Why didn’t Wurm display his work’s titles? What kind of viewer does Erwin Wurm strive to appeal to?

Rachel Perry WeltyYancey Richardson GallerySession #7 12-8-2010

What issues is Welty trying to raise through her series of work,”Lost in My Life?” Is Welty a performance artist, or a photographer? Both? Who do you think takes

these photographs?

Noticing Welty’s wedding ring, the girls were convinced that her husband must have photographed her while she would pose.We played a sort of “I spy” game- and searched within LostIn My Life (Boxes) for 5 items we would find in our own kitchens.We were astonished and inspired by Welty’s use of recycledboxes and materials, and talked about the idea of consumptionand waste, reflecting on how much is thrown away in our lives.We relaxed at Moonstruck Diner, and used recycled boxes from my kitchen to make our own No-Tan paper-cuts.

Reflecting and Bidding Farewell

Pratt Manhattan Campus Session #8 12-15-2010

I’ll Miss You Girls!

Thanks for a wonderful class…I couldn’t have done it without you! I’m very proud of all of you, and wish you only success in all of your future endeavors!