Week 16

This was my last week working with Dorian and the students at Dyett High School as part of the Teaching Artist practicum. We've completed the majority of the first mural and have concrete plans for the installation across the hallway. I plan to continue assisting them until either the mural is finished or I move back to Minneapolis. I'm really grateful for the experience and insight that participating in this project has given me and I'm excited to see the mural completed. Dyett is a really important space for students who need and deserve access to resources and guidance in the arts and I'm honored to have had the chance to watch members of its first class grow as artists and collaborators while beginning to refine their own approaches to art and their own artistic practices. I hope to see more community-based and collaborative art from them in the future. Dorian is an incredible artist to work with; I really admire her ability to relate to individual students and build healthy and communicative student-teacher relationships with each of them while also encouraging and fostering the same communication in the students' interactions with each other.

Thank you Dorian! Thank you Dyett!

Hours: 5

Week 15

This week I taught a lesson about a selection of public art pieces and installations in hopes of inspiring the students to find their own ways of incorporating installation techniques into their own practices. We talked about Candy Chang's Before I Die... and her use of chalkboard paint for the sake of public interaction and collaboration, the wheatpasting technique used by Moju Manuli in Ginger & Olive Oil, Alison Saar's symbolism in Monument to the Great Northern Migration, Tyree Guyton's community collaboration within The Heidelberg Project and its revitalization of the Detroit neighborhood he grew up in, Marc Chagall's translation of painting to mosaic in Four Seasons, and Chakaia Booker's use of recycled materials in Brick House. Before beginning the presentation I asked the students to take notes and write down which techniques we were discussing that they thought could be adapted to this mural project and their own personal projects. This lesson lasted much longer than the first because on Lynda's suggestion I attempted to treat it as more of a discussion and less of a presentation. I tried to ask the students for their opinions on each piece and allow them to draw from the information presented in their own ways, finding meaning and value independently. The discussion was really exciting because the students were able to express their own feelings about installation and art in general; they all seemed to have a really high interest in community-based, collaborative, and interactive work.

Two students' notes from the presentation.

After the lesson we continued work on the mural. The stripes in each color field are adding important depth and dynamism to the composition. The students are getting a lot better at painting techniques and are clearly gaining a better understanding of the materials and its uses over time. We also prepped the second wall for painting. The base is a gradient from a dark to a light blue.

Hours: 10

Week 14

This week I planned to teach a lesson on public art and installation on Wednesday but we had to postpone the presentation after a minor technological snafu. Instead, we continued work on the mural. All of the major shapes have been laid down now and we've begun work on some of the more representational aspects of the composition. We've started adding a striped pattern to each major color field and have scheduled time to begin pulling the composition onto the floor of the space. Dorian prepared 3 cardboard models of benches that could be constructed out of cardboard and installed on the side of the hallway (pictures to follow!). The students voted on their favorite option and discussed more ways that they could make the left side of the hallway into an installation space. We're currently considering designing that mural to act as a background for a line of cardboard cutout figures.

Hours: 10

Week 13

This week the students were on spring break but Dorian and I got the chance to get lunch with four of them on Wednesday. We went to India House and casually discussed how the project has been going. After lunch Dorian and I went to Dyett and continued laying down some of the larger shapes and general outlines of the design.

Hours: 7

Week 12

This week I prepared and gave a presentation to the students about the history of murals in Chicago. I focused on the Wall of Respect, William Walker, Calvin Jones and Mitchell Caton, and Marcus Akinlana, as well as the continued efforts of the Chicago Public Art Group. At the end of the presentation, the students and I discussed ways that the murals we viewed and the processes behind making them might be able to inform the mural at Dyett. The students were interested in the collaboration involved in the Wall of Respect and the works by Calvin Jones and Mitchell Caton, especially the way that, in each collaboration, the artists played off of their own and each others' strengths to create a cohesive piece. One student was excited to recognize two of the pieces discussed ("The Great Migration" by Marcus Akinlana and "Another Time's Voice Remember's My Passion's Humanity" by Jones and Caton) as murals he had seen before at Elliot Donnelley Youth Center in Bronzeville. 

Hours: 6

Week 10

This week Dorian brought in a book of paint samples and a small-scale copy of the design for the first layer of the first wall for each student and had them choose and then execute a color scheme with markers. We also came up with some more ideas for the second wall's design. The students are considering a repetitive design of figures wearing protest signs linking arms; we've discussed a couple different options for the text and the presentation, including making the protest signs out of cardboard so they are more realistic and come out from the wall slightly, extending the design onto the floor, and pulling quotes for the text on each of the signs from famous African-American poets and/or from songs by students of Walter Dyett. 

Hours: 5

Week 11

After some disappointment with their lack of progress last Wednesday, this Tuesday Dorian had a conversation with the students about their roles, responsibilities, and commitment to the mural. The students all agreed to communicate more effectively when they are unable to attend meetings, as well as to remain more focused on workdays. We reviewed the activity from last week where the students designed their own color schemes, finalized the color scheme for the first wall, and began discussing the plans for the design of the second wall that Dorian prepared.

Final plans for design of left wall and gridded plan for first layer.

Final plans for right wall and color scheme.

Preliminary idea for left wall.

The students then began transferring the first layer of the design to the first wall using a grid technique. This was a good chance for the students to gain an understanding of how to translate a small design onto a large surface and it was really exciting to see the first marks of the final design on the wall. 

On Wednesday we began filling in the large shapes with the base colors. Dorian showed the students how to use the rollers to evenly coat the wall, as well as the most efficient way to use the brushes to paint clean edges. The students are getting more chances to make use of their specific skills and strengths and there seems to be a revitalized interest in and commitment to the project.

Hours: 6

Week 9 -

Dorian and I are both back in town! This Tuesday the students kept drawing on the walls in the space, this time attempting to loosely recreate Dorian's plan in full-scale. Several of the students were originally very focused on details that are unnecessary at this point in the process so Dorian and I tried to help them focus on the bigger picture by emphasizing composition and scale over detail. On Wednesday the students moved on to paint. Dorian brought in purple and blue paint and let the students begin painting whatever they wanted on the walls while practicing painting techniques; this was a low-pressure activity because they knew anything they painted would disappear next week when we start priming the walls and this seemed good for them. Dorian and I walked around and painted with the students while introducing them to blending techniques and new ways of working with the materials. It was really cool to see the students start expressing their own styles and strengths on such a large scale, as well as understanding the styles and strengths of the other students.

Hours: 5

Week 8 (2/2)

Dorian and I didn't meet with the students this week because we were both out of town. Before we both left we discussed possible lessons I could teach; I've started preliminary research about small-scale modeling and planning and the history of murals in Chicago and I've started thinking about how I can use my knowledge of sculpture and installation to give these students a good introduction to sculptural techniques and thinking 3-dimensionally.

Hours: 1

Week 8 (1/2) -

This Tuesday the students were allowed to begin drawing on the walls of the hallway with pencil. This seemed really valuable for them; they're all clearly excited about the size of the space and the possibilities it presents. The eight students who came to the first meeting have continued to attend meetings consistently and have exhibited constant dedication to and passion for the project. Although other students may be allowed to give input or contribute in other ways at very specific times in the future, Dorian and the group came to the decision that this core group will make the majority of the decisions about the space moving forward. We won't be meeting tomorrow or next week because Dorian and I will both be out of town; when we meet up again we will introduce the students to the space and start working with paint.

Hours: 2

Week 7

On Tuesday, the group discussed different uses of color, imagery, and symbolism and made some decisions regarding which ones the students were most drawn towards. Dorian had the students come up with a list of conceptual themes that they wanted to include in the mural. Each student was then asked to choose one from the list and find a way to portray it visually. It also seemed like the students want to work with expressive, colorful shapes and designs so Dorian suggested that we find a way to bring these motifs into the narrative of the mural and showed the students her own ideas and sketches as a basis they could work off of. On Wednesday, Dorian had the students bring in shoeboxes and make dioramic sketches of their ideas for the space. Each student was able to begin to think somewhat sculpturally about the space and the ways that we might be able to transform it. Dorian brought in her own dioramic plan for the mural, a small-scale model of the hallway with removable panels for the 2 murals and a plan for each layer of each mural made with tracing paper. It seemed helpful to the students to see some of their ideas rendered by someone who has experience with mural painting and to see a scaled-down model of the space they will actually be working in.

Hours: 5

Week 6

This Tuesday Dorian and I met with the kids who expressed interest in the project at Dyett High School. Seven students showed up to the meeting. A large number of them expressed interest in cartoons and anime so we're hoping that the graphic qualities of those media will lend themselves well to the design for the mural. Dorian showed the students a wide variety of images of political murals, protests, and protest materials from around the world and we talked about possibilities for the composition of the mural and ways we could incorporate elements of installation into the hallway. On Wednesday, Dorian brought in more examples of protest signs, some patterns samples, and large swatches of brown paper and we brought them to the space so the students could start collaging onto the walls with tape and begin visualizing their ideas more clearly in the space.

Hours: 5

Week 5

Dorian and I met at Dyett High School this week to look at the space where we'll be executing the mural. The space is very drab (grey floor, white walls, fluorescent lighting). Dorian wants to find a way to change the shape of the space in some way, with wooden or fabric hangings framing the ceilings and the tops of the walls. We also discussed the possibility that we may be able to paint directly onto the floor as long as we finish it with some kind of shellac or polyurethane. We've been looking at a lot of old and new protest imagery for inspiration; we talked about incorporating the names of the other 50 schools that were closed down into the mural in some way, as well as finding a way to include sheet music or lyrics from some of the musicians who Walter Dyett was involved in training. Next week we'll be meeting with the students who expressed interest in the project to start planning.

Hours: 2

Week 4

I met with Gregory Smith and Dorian Sylvain at Hyde Park Art Center on Wednesday (February 1st). We discussed scheduling and Dorian's plan for the mural we're set to complete at Dyett High School over the next few months. Dorian plans to work with three different topics: 

1. The life of Walter Henri Dyett, a violinist and music educator for whom the school is named. He served as music director and assistant music director at Phillips High School and  DuSable High School, two of Chicago's predominantly African-American high schools, from 1931 until his death in 1962. 
2. The Great Migration of African-Americans from southern to northern states (many of them to cities like Chicago) between 1910 and 1970 following segregation, an increase in the spread of racist ideology by white supremacist groups, widespread lynching, and lack of social and economic opportunities in the South. 
3. The attempts made to close Dyett High School, along with 50 other Chicago high schools, by Chicago Public Schools and the Board of Education in 2011. These attempts were protested by a group of education activists who went on a hunger strike for 19 days in August 2015, as it was the only open-access high school still serving Bronzeville. CPS decided that September to reopen the school as Dyett High School for the Arts.

Dorian and I plan to meet at the school next Tuesday to see the space and discuss the ways we'll be able to alter it. 

Hours: 1

Week 3

I've been in contact with Mike Nourse from Hyde Park Art Center for about a week now. I have yet to go there but I have a meeting with him on Wednesday to discuss scheduling and programming over the next couple months. Unfortunately my schedule at SAIC won't be finalized until the end of next week which is holding things up but I think I'll be able to figure everything out soon. After researching HPAC online it seems like a great fit. The opportunity to do what I love while working with and contributing to an artistic community like the one HPAC has fostered is exciting.