Students in both tours were all very engaged and responded to my questions well. One student appeared to be more comfortable answering questions in Chinese, which was not a problem.
I might try having the students do some drawing in the future, but meaningful conversations about these artworks with 6th-grade students are rewarding also.
It was a pleasure to tour these students today.
I tried asking questions to students as well as create groups and have them discuss by themselves. The answers from the group discussion derives in-depth answers than the individual answering the questions.
Before showing “The canvas on the moon”, I told them to draw their own picture of the same title. In front of the “The canvas on the moon”, I asked students the difference between his/her painting and Cai’s painting. They were very creative.
I show Mandala located in the permanent collection gallery then show the video of Cai’s Mandala explosion video and painting.
After seeing Cai’s black & white and color works, I made a group favoring black & white and color works whey prefer black & which or color. Very good responses.
I let them watch the video in the 1st gallery, but student had hard time grasping Cai’s work process. So I used touring aids canvas and stencil to explain his work process, and they understood better that way.
More I give tours, better I get. Yey!
Both classes indicated expectation of seeing “Gunpowder artwork”, and had previewed some of Cai’s art work prior to visit. Majority of the students were engaged in close looking discussions- i.e canvas on the moon, return to darkness, pray for protection
I would direct the students to look other art works in Room 5. The students are drawned to stop and sit in front of the Inverted Pyramid on the Moon. Student responded with silence when I asked them to come up with artwork they would show for beings in outer space.
This is the first time that I experienced students eager to respond to activities and share thoughts.
The groups enjoyed the exhibition. Although students are not conversational, their response is very well thought when they speak out. One student came up with Cai’s work as “creation from destruction”.
Jane and John came up with the idea to have group or pair conversation among the students for them to come up with something to say instead of asking question to each student.
Thank you Jin Sook and Jeanne to follow my tour!
Both groups of Students reacted similarly. They all paid attention to what I said to them and appeared to be very interested; however, I found the responses to my questions were limited mostly to one or two students.
The videos were helpful in explaining how and why Cai creates his art. Also, open-ended questions were asked to the students to pique their interest in specific artworks. Conversations ensued about Cai’s use of gunpowder to tell stories about suffering, art, and life.
I would like to pair students to work out observations and reflections about Cai’s artistry, then I would ask them to present their discoveries to the entire group. More discussion would follow.
Will continue to do more research on the Getty connection to Cai.
The students enjoyed tracking how Cai added something new to his practice with every gallery. They liked being given time to observe and report on questions asked.
Reflection (what would you do differently?) Add another activity.
This was my first tour. I was impressed by the group I had–they didn’t ask many questions but were very engaged.
I started the tour from the gallery next to the store showing the recent works of Cai, AI arts, then went to the 1st gallery. They are interested in the Asian culture, so I included Chinese and Japanese culture here and there, and concluded that many of Asian traditions are similar to theirs (students).
I had a trouble having them engaged in conversation, but when they talk, they have very good answers. I wish I know how to stimulate high school students to talk…
Went well. Good participation. Did a “word share” in front of the Hiroshima piece, and talked on more extensive talk on AI.
It went well. The students paid attention to what I told them and also responded to my questions.
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