I did a compare and contrast with Georgia O’Keeffe’s poppy painting and Cai’s poppy piece. Interesting observations.

I toured today with two great third-grade groups from a Mandarin-focused school. The first group consisted entirely of boys (which I love), and the second was 50/50. Both groups were articulate, curious, and engaged throughout the tour. I explained the concept of observation and also explained that we would be learning how to examine Cai’s work closely to try to determine his purpose and understand what he was trying to say.

After introductions in the garden, which included an observation activity, we proceeded to Palmyra where the students engaged in close-looking at the work. After sharing their observations, I introduced an activity of “jumping into” the work. They noted what they saw, heard, smelled, and felt while immersed in the Palmyra environment and shared their observations with the group. The first group was very interested in Palmyra’s history and the concept of destruction over time and through natural forces (one boy also added that Palmyra’s latest destruction was caused by humans).

Next in Palmyra, I asked students to use their imaginations and jump into the work and note what they saw, heard, smelled, and how they felt in that place. Both groups were very thoughtful and openly shared.

Following our visit to Palmyra, we moved to Gallery 6 (Pyramid), where students explored the work independently and then shared their thoughts, questions, and observations. Before examining Fetus Movement II: Project for ETs No. 9, I demonstrated to the students how to locate their heartbeat on their neck and had them count and record their beats per minute (BPM). Then, we ran in place for about 30 seconds, rechecked our pulse rate, and recorded the results. We discussed the difference between the two recordings and explored the reasons behind it (resting vs. elevated heart rate). We then examined Cai’s heart rate diagram and discussed the probable causes, including stress, fear, and anxiety. 

Finally, in the permanent collection gallery, we looked at the mandala and the oracle bones. With the first group, I distributed a graphic of Chinese writing forms and representations, thinking it would take them a bit of time to complete. I was wrong! It took about 10 seconds! Needless to say, I did not do this with the second group!

With both groups and the remaining time we had left, we went through the rest of the galleries and examined the work, asking and answering questions.

Reflection (what would you do differently?):
I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Both groups were engaged, curious, and responsive.

Today was a bilingual group, I started out from the garden, checking in with the group with some ice breaker like greeting them in Chinese and asking them several questions. Then I asked them what they expected to see today, turned out they were expecting to see our old permanent collections, so I have to manage their expectations by introducing them to the artist and the medium he uses. From introducing gun powder as a source of casting away ancient monster, I asked them to hunt for a different creature that also protects and is a symbol of royalty and prosperity- the dragon. I allowed them about 5 minutes or so to spread out and count the dragons in the courtyard, the kids were very excited they get to run around a bit and compete to see who got the most count. Then I settle them down and introduced our court yard a bit and then went into the first gallery, the one directly across from the gift shop. This exercise is great for younger kids as they either were sat on the bus for a long period of time or had been sitting for a long period of time upstairs. So it allows them to let loose a bit and you can also see how the group will behave and respond as a whole.

We sat in front of the poppy artwork, I am big on visual so in my tour I always incorporate some form of video to explain what the artist do, today I found a video on how Cai prep his work from sketch to finish. It is about a 10 minutes video. I would pause in between and ask them questions, like why did he use that long stick with a pen at the end, what is the purpose of that, what would you have done etc. I find that at this age audio visual really explains a whole lot more of his work, and seeing that in action was very exciting for them. After that I hand out paper and clip board and ask them to draw what Cai had intended his flower to look like. I discovered there were many young artists in the group. I prefer using my own video sauce than relying on the video in the gallery is because it loops and I can never tell which part of it that we will be watching. Having my own gives me more control.

After this fun activity we head to the Pyramid, they again sat down and since they are in bilingual class, some can read the writing on the canvas. I had them guess what are the things astronauts saw when they  look down on earth from space. This also received many interesting answers, I asked them individually what they would want to see if they themselves were in space. Sometimes I had them draw out the image on the clip board.

We then head to the adjacent gallery and we studied the porcelain flower. A vote on if they like the original version or the tempered version. I find that older kids like the gun powder version vs young kids like the original one. 

For the second group we did not head to the Pyramid but instead we went into the room where the Pray for Protection is. They did not seem to be bothered by the images and were having lively conversations about what war, lives, and the meaning of peace (dove) in the artwork which I was very impressed. A little history lesson never hurt.

After all I think the tour was successful, this age group is very engaged the entire time so don’t be afraid to tour them, they many times are so eager to speak than most of the middle school kids…..
Also having name tags on them helps a lot, you can often call a student by name to get a respond. They also appreciate you remembering who they are.

Today was the day that all plans went out the window. The school (from Costa Mesa) did not arrive until 10:35 (but they did call to inform us that they would be late). Thanks to Lonnie’s swiftness in getting things moving, we started immediately. It was decided that we would have two 45-minute tours.

I was splitting the tour with Jane, and thankfully, she could step in when I had to leave before the end of the tour. I started in Gallery 5 (Pyramid/Seismograph) by asking the students to take time to study the various works in the gallery. I then had them write one word on a card describing something that stood out in one of the pieces. They then gave the cards to me, and I read the words. They had to point out the work that was described. Their observations were quite creative. I pointed out that the room reminded me of the convergence of science and art.
As a follow-up, we discussed the explosion video and viewed its seismograph recording. We talked about heart rate and how the heart can react to things like fear, excitement, etc.
We then moved on to the next gallery.

Reflection (what would you do differently?):
I don’t think I could have done too much differently, given the circumstances.

Comments & Suggestions:
I would like to give a shout-out to Lonnie and how accommodating and helpful to us, not only in this instance but all the time.

Clipboards always work well for me. For example, in the AI gallery, ask them to sit with their backs towards Canvas on the Moon and as far away as possible looking at the other mirror-on-glass panels. Then, ask them to sketch figures that they see in those panels and share them with each other. This can lead to a discussion of what kinds of things Cai might have put in his AI model and what kinds of designs might have been generated by that model. This is so much fun because the kids love sharing their sketches with each other and with me.

Standing in front of Palmyra or Shadow: Pray for Protection.
Look at it from a distance and write down one word, then write down another word looking at it from a middle distance, and then sit down close to it and write down a third word. Then, share what they wrote down.
In the AI room, find all the places where they can see themselves in the mirrors. Speculate about why this might be and whether it affects how they feel about these works.

Lately, I’ve introduced on my tours the topic of immortality and how it influenced Chinese beliefs. While in the garden, I point to the mountains maquete and the Taihu rocks as being connected to the group of eight immortals in Daoist tradition. I point to the linghzi mushrooms carved on the staircase as a food that promoted longevity. When starting the gallery tour, I connect the discovery of gunpowder as part of the search for immortality. At the end of the tour I raise the idea that maybe Cai’s AI experiments are a way for him to search for immortality as his AI program will continue to create art long after he is gone.