A Program for High School Students. The exhibition opens January 19 in the museum's Caroline Wiess Law Building, 1001 Bissonnet Street, and will be on view through June 29.
The goal of the multi-visit program is to complement and expand the classroom curriculum at participating schools, and to encourage students to view learning about a work of art as developing a friendship—every encounter deepens the relationship. The students and teachers of the three schools represented in the exhibition—Waltrip and Furr of the Houston ISD, and Atascocita of the Humble ISD—worked closely with MFAH staff on their visits, each one designed to provide a new way to interact with works of art. Local printmakers and painters were brought in to encourage students to express their thoughts and ideas about art and introduced them to art-making techniques. A writing instructor worked with students to create poetry inspired by the art. On some visits, students viewed art while listening to specially selected music and evaluated its effect on their experience. The program is designed to go well beyond the typical once-a-year, hour-long tour.
The participating students worked in a studio space at the MFAH. The exhibitions that inspired their work ranged from shows of Latin American Modernism to one about The Dog in Art to The Modern West: American Landscapes, 1890-1950 to The Masterpieces of French Painting from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800-1920. Dominating the exhibition of 26 monotype prints and acrylic paintings are canine portraits inspired by artists such as George Stubbs and Andrew Wyeth from Best in Show: The Dog in Art and geometric compositions inspired by the work of Brazilian artist Helio Oiticica. A few students focused on landscapes, creating colorful compositions after Marsden Hartley and Georgia O'Keeffe from The Modern West.
Visitors can access the story of the students' experience on the computer kiosk in the gallery. On nearby tables are notebooks with sample writing exercises by the students and statements from the art teachers: Lynsey Priddy, of Waltrip; Dan Agans and Dave Eldridge, of Furr; and Steffani Zachry-Holubec, from Atascocita.
All of the teachers said the experience enriched their students' knowledge of art and reinforced their teaching efforts in the classroom. They also observed that some students began to make museum visits on their own.
"I could tell that by our third visit the students were actually feeling as if they owned their museum," said Zachry-Holubec. And that's just the reaction she wanted. "The museum has long exposed me to many new ideas and I want my students to see what an endless source of pleasure and learning the museum can be throughout their lives."
Participating students are: Nicole Ahlers, Laura Campos, Chelsea Carter, Shannon Fitzgerald, Lydia Jackson, Julian Luna, Brenda Melendez, Jordan Saragosa, and Maxine Solis, all of Waltrip High School; Sergio Arredondo, Kerina Lockhart, and Lilia Solis, all of Furr High School; and Brittany Austin, Ryann Bogenschutz, Rebekah Carriere, Ryan Hawk, Nicole Makrakis, Darius Marta, Jennifer Navarro, and Nicki Zachary, all of Atascocita High School. -- www.mfah.org
