The 10 Best Apps. 4 Art Teachers

Thanks Lindsay and Emily for sharing this site, it's a really great resource!

http://theteachingpalette.com/2010/12/13/the-10-best-iphone-and-ipad-apps-for-art-teachers-2010/

http://theteachingpalette.com/2009/08/03/30-best-iphone-apps-for-art-teachers/

Teenage Curators

I think the idea of teenage curators is great! Museum's could benefit greatly from using youths' influential ideas. According to museum's director, Jill Medvedow, of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, “So many contemporary artists deal with issues of identity, sex, politics, gender and authority...Those are the issues that so many teenagers deal with.”  Teenagers as leaders within the art world helps broaden the general audience by introducing innovative ideas that address a variety of interests usually not met in a common museum setting. Additionally, students are able to interact and immerse themselves in art through ways that would not be provided otherwise. More museums, and organizations in general, should implement programs as such that involve the youth- so much can be gained.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/arts/design/teenage-curators-at-the-institute-of-contemporary-art.html?_r=3&ref=artsspecial

Crazy Food Art

This video made me think of Sarah's and Jessica's possible thesis work.
Here's also a link to Balla Tamas's website (some of his work is featured in this video):
http://www.ballatamas.com/kreativ/en_creative.html
His food sculptures and manipulation of objects in general is really amazing! I highly recommend checking out his website...it's crazy.

Dirty Car Art

Thought this was really great....and wanted to share with you all!

Youmedia- Love it!!!!!

Thanks for posting Paulina, I've walked past this area many times never knowing what it was- but always seeing many kids. Youmedia is really amazing.....makes me want to be able to spend some time there to record some videos and play around with some tracks. For kids to become "makers and creators of things, rather than just consumers" is a great way to put it- and actually putting this goal into practice is even better. I really enjoy seeing spaces as such designated only for youth but I think more of them need to exist . It's not only empowering for youth but it also gives them an opportunity that they normally wouldn't have, and offers an alternative to being on the streets.

Tonight's Forum: Chicago School Reform!!!

Tonight's Forum was great! I really enjoyed being in the midst of this passion and energy that fueled the speakers, as well as, the audience. From the start, Kevin caught my attention as he compared the school system to a competitive children's 'water cup' game. The questions that arose were: Why are we losing? Who made the rules of this game, or in our case, this system? What's the story we tell the losers to make them keep playing the game? -But rather than adequately exploring these questions, we ask how can we fix the losers? The system is analyzing the end results rather than looking into their initiating causes.

So many good points were raised, but I'll start by just reflecting on those that left a deep impression on me. During the discussion of vision 1, it was stated that studies showed a strong correlation between test scores and income. Although I agree with these findings, they also only analyze the end result. Poverty itself is not causing low test scores, but the hardships that live within it: not getting adequate sleep, not eating enough/healthy, underfunded schools in the district, not enough/quality school supplies, often less motivated or qualified teachers, more violence and drug distractions, less parent involvement due to more time spent at work and or other reasons, less curricular programs/activities and aid, and the list goes on. Certainly all these aspects are not the case for every child living within a low income family, but there’s no doubt that at least half of them are.

I'll end with Jitu Brown's fitting quote, "School of choice is a coward’s way of saying the school system is still not equal!" -couldn't have said it better.

Digital Interactive Game: "Museum Hunt"

The is one image representing Kelsey's and my proposal. Our written description, as well as, more images can be found on her page.

Google Art Project in Question...

Thanks for posting this Kelsey, this article is interesting and very thought provoking. To be honest, I don't really know what to think about the Google Art Project. Although the work becomes more accessible, I just don't know if it takes too much away from the traditional museum scene. Yes,  one gets to look at various work from different museums all under one website, but the authenticity seems to be lost along with it. the texture, the date, and the size are absent from the work. On the other hand, it is amazing to be able to zoom up that close to any work of art. We are able to see things we usually wouldn't, but that might also be an indication that we need to be more observant. Should the experience of an artwork be about seeing the work through the artist's eyes, and those of the computers?