Art Room 161

'The Virgins Show'

2012-02-13T07:38:00.005-05:00

My former teacher Marilyn Minter is the curator for the upcoming 'The Virgins Show' which will feature my former student, Smithtown grad Andrew Brischler at the new Family Business exhibition space on 21st Street in Chelsea which is run by Massimiliano Gioni and Maurizio Cattelan fresh off his retrospective at the Guggenheim. Andrew has been doing some amazing work recently and we are very proud of his achievements thus far, check out some of his work at AndrewBrischler.com

Friday Advice: John C Reilly

2012-02-10T07:49:00.012-05:00

"Keep growing, keep moving and you’ll find the world that you need"

This Friday's advice comes from Oscar and Grammy nominated actor, singer, and screenwriter John C Reilly who you probably know from films like: Step Brothers, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Chicago, Gangs of New York, Boogie Nights, Casualties of War, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and one of my favorites What's Eating Gilbert Grape. He'll be in the upcoming film The Dictator and Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie but I interviewed him for the film Terri last year in which he plays a high school assistant principal.

Mr. Needles: What's your advice for students who are being bullied or having a difficult time in high school?

John C. Reilly: If you’re in high school and you’re freaking out about your place in the pecking order and you feel like a monster or an outcast and you feel like, in the deck of cards that is high school there’s the aces and the kings and queens and you’re like the three of clubs, just know that this is true for every single person in the world- the moment you get out of high school that deck of cards is thrown into the air and those who were kings and queens often end up the assistant manager at the grocery store and those who were the three of clubs end up on press junkets for movies starring themselves, it gets better for everybody, and you just have to get through it. Keep growing, keep moving and you’ll find the world that you need.

Full story: Short and Sweet NYC

Painting: Edward Hopper

2012-02-09T07:25:00.001-05:00

"Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world"

In painting class we are looking at the work of Edward Hopper (1882-1967) an American painter that was a master in watercolor among other media and who unique, geometric, and often isolated style influenced artists from Rothko to Hitchcock. We are looking at the painting of The Lighthouse at Two Lights from 1929 which is at the Metropolitan Museum and is done from the Cape Elizabeth Light which is just south of Portland, Maine. Above is a short video of his work from a recent show at the Whitney Museum in NY but check out the Smithsonian Museum's Hopper scrapbook and the National Gallery of Art's video podcast narrated by Steve Martin for more information on the artist.

Art Honor Society update

2012-02-08T15:33:00.006-05:00

The Art Honor Society is currently working on preparing the JR mural, arranging a spring field trip, working on the Japan Society's Going Global project, and arrange our yearbook page but this week we also saw that the Smithtown Patch posted an article about our newly designed Art Honor Society t-shirts, check it out!

Going Global: Favorite Foods

2012-02-08T07:17:00.004-05:00

This week we will begin working on the Japan Society's Going Global program in some of our classes and we will begin by discussing our favorite food with students from Japan and Pakistan so take a photograph of you're favorite food and post it to the site to begin. My example is shown above, it's a tough call but today I'd say it's the turkey and brie sandwich from Miami Beach's La Sandwicherie with a Starbucks coffee on the beach.

SCAD visit today

2012-02-07T08:40:00.006-05:00

Today Michelle Garrigan, a representative of the Savannah College of Art & Design will visit our AP Studio Art class and give a presentation about the school and it's wide array of programs. I had a chance to visit the school in February last year and in addition to exploring their wonderfully designed facilities and eclectic classes I was able to attend their deFine Art exhibition and lecture with performance artist Marina Abramović which was amazing!

Friday Advice: Jonah Hill

2012-02-03T08:21:00.010-05:00

"My advice would be writing is everything"

As you may know in addition to teaching I also work as a journalist and occasionally have opportunities to interview actors, writers, directors, musicians, and artists for magazines and blogs. In each interview I try to ask a question that might aid my students and throughout this month I'll be sharing some of the advice I've heard from some of the people I've interviewed each Friday.

We'll start it off with actor and screenwriter Jonah Hill; I'm sure most of you are familiar with Jonah from his roles in films such as: Superbad, Knocked Up, Get Him to the Greek, Funny People, and Moneyball (for which he was recently nominated for a Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor) but in addition to acting he's also a prolific screenwriter. I had a chance to sit down with him at the Fox offices last year while he was promoting the independent film Cyrus from the Duplass brothers which also stars John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei and I asked him about his advice:

Mr. Needles: I teach film and screenwriting in high school
and wanted to ask on behalf of my students what advice do you have for people who want to succeed in the business?

Jonah Hill: My advice would be writing is everything. You know being an actor and not being able to write is one of the scariest things in the entire world, I know this from friends of mine who are actors and don’t write because a lot of time as an actor, especially starting out you spend 99.9 to 100% of the time unemployed so if you can focus on writing everyday and getting better at writing- you should spend every day getting better at what you are trying to do. If you’re an actor and you want to act there’s not going to be movie parts for years unless you are one in a billion so find some friends who are into writing, write a play with them, and then you guys put it up where ever you can: in someone’s house or at a party or something or whatever, borrow a family members camera make a short film, read plays out loud with your friends… every day should just be spent moving forward at getting better at what you are trying to do. That’s my advice and that’s what I did, I just didn’t waste any day when I wasn’t writing or acting even in the few years of unemployment, you know, you just have to fill that time with things that are positive towards your goal.

Here's a link to more from the interview: Short and Sweet NYC

Art Honor Society 2012 T-shirt Design

2012-02-02T15:31:00.003-05:00

The Art Honor Society's 2012 T-shirt Design is complete and incorporates work from a number of our members. The t-shirt is available for purchase now in a variety of colors, sizes, and styles!

Adobe Photoshop in photography

2012-02-02T07:36:00.006-05:00

Our last photography assignment for the semester was using Adobe Photoshop to prepare images for publication. Students used a variety of techniques that we learned in class from basic alterations with color and contrast to using and creating filters and above is a great example from class. If you are interested in learning more about advanced tools such as these in Photoshop there are some terrific materials on-line such as Adobe TV and Lynda.com.

Long Island Peace Poster Competition

2012-02-01T12:57:00.003-05:00

Three members of our AP Studio Art class had their art chosen to be included in the 2012 Shanti Fund calendar as a result of being named finalists in the Long Island Peace Poster Competition. The competition aims to promote peace and non-violence for Long Island students. The students: Carissa Camilleri, Alejandro Carazo and Jeri-Anne Vestuto are pictured above along with Assistant Superintendent for Instruction & Administration Maria Rianna, Superintendent Edward Ehmann, SHS East Principal Ed Thompson.

Watercolor Painting

2012-01-31T07:16:00.003-05:00

In Painting class this week we are staring out by learning about watercolor painting whand to get an idea of the range of possiblities take a look at this Smashing Magazine page with a range of works in watercolor including the image above by Matheus Lopes

Welcome to semester 2!

2012-01-30T13:01:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the new semester, for inspiration here is a preview of the new documentary on artist Wayne White, Beauty is Embarrassing. He's a tremendously creative and eclectic artist and I love his quote at the end of the preview- "Do what you love, it's going to lead to where you want to go!"

AP Art: Mandalas

2012-01-27T12:57:00.004-05:00

Here's two examples from one of our cultural assignments from this quarter's AP Art class, creating a personal mandala. Mandala is Sanskrit for the word circle and has a religious and spiritual significance in the Buddhist and Hindu religions but for our assignment I asked students to create a mandala that is meaningful to them personally and the results were varied and really interesting. For more information on mandalas check out the Mandala Project.

Isamu Noguchi Museum

2012-01-26T08:37:00.006-05:00

This weekend I visited the Isamu Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, Queens, a museum I've been wanting to see for quite a while. If your are unfamiliar with Noguchi, he's a Japanese-American sculptor and artist who is also know for his set design, furniture design, and paper la terns which have become immensely popular.

He apprenticed with Constantin Brancusi and was a contemporary of artists we've discussed in class such as: Willem de Kooning, Alfred Stieglitz, and Alexander Calder but his style and body of work is very different and defies category. He collaborated with other creative and innovative people like engineer Buckminster Fuller and dancer Martha Graham and has a varied body of work so take a look at the museum's website timeline to get a better sense of how he developed.

Having studied Japanese art and culture as well as American art his work has interesting aspects of both but his later work which is the majority of the collection at the museum has a intensely Japanese feel due to it imperfections and connection to nature, especially thanks to how it is displayed in open air rooms and gardens.

Continuing the creativity

2012-01-25T12:01:00.003-05:00

Now that our photography class is over anyone who's interested in continuing with the creativity might want to join me on Instagram, a free app for digital devices and smart phones which has a number of filters and effects available (such as the image above which was taken on the walk into school this week). My user name is "Tim Needles" so add me as a contact and sharing some cool new pictures! Also if you want to see the images and you don't have a device or phone around try Webstagram.

Maurizio Cattelan at the Guggenheim

2012-01-23T12:44:00.005-05:00

I had a chance to catch the Maurizio Cattelan: All show at the Guggenheim NYC yesterday just before it closed which was thankful because it was without question one of the most tremendous installations I've seen there. If you're not familiar with Cattelan's work, he is an Italian artist who primarily works in sculpture with a definite sense of humor and social satire. The show was as interesting technically as it was thought-provoking which is the most an artist can ask for!

End of the semester

2012-01-20T15:03:00.005-05:00

Here are two fantastic student triptych portraits from our last in-class project in photography class. Today is the final day of classes for the semester so I'd like to thank everyone from all my classes for their hard work and dedication, I wish you all well in your future endeavors!

The Wonder of Wacom

2012-01-19T12:45:00.006-05:00

Here's a student example of our most recent assignment in computer art and design class which had students working with the Wacom stylus and tablets digitally drawing selective self portraits of themselves.

Senior AP Show 2: Ally

2012-01-18T14:01:00.004-05:00

Wednesday was Ally's senior show which was a great success incorperating various media such as photography, drawing, painting, and mixed media work.

SKYPE time!

2012-01-17T08:37:00.004-05:00

As of this week we now have SKYPE available in our classroom so we will finally have a chance to speak with some of the students that we have been working with all semester from Japan and Pakistan through the Japan Society's Going Global social networking program! All of our sessions will be early in the morning due to the time difference so if you are in later classes you'll get a pass to come by earlier in the day, don't forget, it should be fun!

The first 10 Days of the year

2012-01-13T07:51:00.005-05:00

This week we collected our first assignment of 2012 in photography which was to document your first 10 days of the year on film. There were some really great results and if you continue to the end of class it'll also count as extra credit.

It's an interesting project that teaches you a little about yourself, here is my example which I did every day for the full year in 2008: Tim Needles 2008

Art Honor Society 2012 murals

2012-01-12T11:04:00.002-05:00

The Art Honor Society has begun a series of new mural throughout the school beginning in the art wing and branching out to other parts of the school and community.

AP Art Senior Shows

2012-01-11T15:02:00.004-05:00

Today was our first AP Art senior show of the year featuring Ariel's work from the past two years.

Enviromental Portraits in School

2012-01-10T12:43:00.002-05:00

Here's a few of the enviromental portraits photography students created of faculty and staff this month in school during our portraiture unit.

Last day to enter the Scholastic Art Competition

2012-01-06T07:27:00.006-05:00

Today is the final day to enter the 2012 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards! Just upload your images to artandwriting.org and make sure to mail out the forms today because envelopes must be postmarked and dropped in the mail by the close of business on 1/6/12.

Maurizio Cattelan @ the Guggenheim

2012-01-05T11:51:00.004-05:00

The NY based Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan currently has a retrospective entitled "All" at the Guggenheim that runs through January 22, 2012 and I would strongly suggest checking it out before it closes. The artist will be present in the museum on Monday for a book signing and the show features 130 sculptural works from the artist's career hung through the center of the museum, it's a perfect fit for the space!

Miranda July Project

2012-01-05T08:54:00.005-05:00

Here are some of the results of our recent Learning To Love You More project based on artist/filmmaker/interesting person Miranda July. There are still a few of our inspirational banners up around school and the reaction has been pretty positive. Above are some of the images students created for the following:

30. Take a picture of strangers holding hands.

27. Take a picture of the sun.

33. Braid someone's hair.

Making Fontastitic Design!

2012-01-05T07:47:00.004-05:00

This week we will be creating our own typography using freeware We had a chance to watch some clips of the Helvetica documentary and looked at some of the details of how fonts are created so sketch out some of your ideas in pencil and make it creative and legible. There are a number of websites that have step by step instructions (fontforge, yourfonts) if you forget a step or get stuck.

Famous Photographs Project

2012-01-04T16:01:00.003-05:00

Here are some of the results from our project on remaking a famous photograph that was due today concluding our photography history unit. There were some really fun remakes, great job!

Writing for Television

2012-01-04T08:10:00.005-05:00

This week we are working on writing short segments for television that we will produce in class. We will learn the process and go over each element involved from the concept to the filming to post production. Above is a short clip from the Paley Center with the cast of Curb Your Enthusiasm discussing how the show came about and below are the writers from Jimmy Fallon talking about how they were hired on the show.

Welcome to 2012!

2012-01-03T08:44:00.003-05:00

Welcome back and happy new year, I'd like to begin the year with a short message from Art & Copy, a terrific documentary on advertising art which reminds us that in order to succedd we need to "Fail Harder"!

Happy Holidays from Mr.Needles!

2011-12-25T19:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays everyone, see you soon!

Panoramas

2011-12-23T14:16:00.003-05:00

Our last assignment before the holiday is an indoor & outdoor panoramic photograph. The term panorama comes from the Greek words for "all" and "sight" and there are a number of ways to create them both in the camera or later in Adobe Photoshop. Above is a very cool and festive example from class, enjoy and have a fantastic break, see you next year!

Goodbye John Chamberlain

2011-12-22T09:39:00.004-05:00

Yesterday the art world lost one of it's foremost sculptors, John Chamberlain, an artist widely known for his use of abstract expressionist works featuring vibrant colored metal from automobiles. Mr. Chamberlain has lived locally in Shelter Island, N.Y. for a number of years and I had the chance to meet him and hear him speak about his work a few years ago at Jack Larson's Longhouse Reserve when he showed up as a substitute for Chuck Close who couldn't make it. John was a really friendly guy and I thought it was fascinating hearing how he developed his style after different attempts at other creative endeavors such as music and drawing. It was at Larry Rivers Southampton home where he found his craft which continued to advance over the years. I've seen a number of his works in person over the years and they are supremely American in every way regardless of how you read them.

Here is a link to his NY Times obituary: John Chamberlain, Who Wrested Rough Magic From Scrap Metal, Dies at 84

Mr. Needles class in The Matador

2011-12-21T09:39:00.008-05:00

This semester's edition of The Matador featured an article about Mr. Needles class and their participation in the Inside Out Project from the French photographer JR. After the winter break we will be working on expanding the project outside of the art wing and into the rest of the school and larger community so if you are interested come by art room 161 in January! If you haven't seen JR's acceptance speech at TED last make sure you check it out here: TEDprize

AP Printmaking

2011-12-20T14:16:00.002-05:00

This week we will begin our actual prints in printmaking unit and we'll be using a number of techniques including the one pictured above in the video. You'll be experimenting a bit but make sure you have your designs ready because we'll be doing a demonstration in class again tomorrow.

DIY Historical Photographs

2011-12-19T14:44:00.004-05:00

To follow up on our photography history unit I'm going to ask each photo student to choose a well image from any of the photographers we discussed in class (I included the list below) and remake one of their photographs. You can use people, toys, or nature but be creative and have fun! The example above referencing Cindy Sheman's famous "untitled film still #21" is from a great article on the DIY (Do It Yourself) project from Flavorwire by Adda Birnir and Tom Starkweather.

1. Alfred Eisenstaedt
2. Alfred Stieglitz
3. Ansel Adams
4. Autumn De Wilde
5. Barbara Kruger
6. Bruce Davison
7. Chuck Close
8. Cindy Sherman
9. Danny Clinch
10. Danny Lyon
11. David LaChapelle
12. Dorthea Lange
13. Edward Weston
14. Greg Crewdson
15. Henri Cartier-Bresson
16. Herb Ritts
17. Irving Penn
18. Lauren Greenfield
19. Margaret Bourke-White
20. Marilyn Minter
21. Nadar
22. Peter Beard
23. Robert Capa
24. William Wegman
25. Yousuf Karsh

Designing a Tshirt in Adobe Illustrator

2011-12-19T14:39:00.005-05:00

This week in Computer Art class we will learn how to use Adobe Illustrator to create an original t-shirt design which can be printed online using companies such as MySoti. Above is the example that Mr. Needles did is class using a drawing from his sketchbook which was then scanned, vectorized it in Illustrator, cleaned up, made transparent, then uploaded online.

Alphabet Soup

2011-12-19T14:30:00.002-05:00

Here's the results from last week's assignment which was to "photograph the alphabet" by finding things in nature that resembled letters and edit them together (an example from class is pictured above). After the alphabet was finished students had the option to add one or two additional symbols such as an asterisk, exclamation point, ect. to finish out the image grid and add balance. Finally we took the letters that were created and put together an inspiring word that which we'll print out and post up in the gallery(an example from class is pictured below).

Destination: Queens Trip

2011-12-16T15:20:00.005-05:00

Friday's Art & Media Art Honor Society field trip to the Museum of the Moving Image and 5 Pointz art space in Queens was a great time. We had a chance to see the museum along with the fantastic Jim Henson exhibit and some amazing urban art!

Design Fundimentals

2011-12-15T07:48:00.003-05:00

Here's an awewsome video on The Fundamental Elements of Design from Erica Gorochow which covers all of the things we went over in class visually.

Northport One-Act Play Festival

2011-12-13T07:58:00.004-05:00

The 3rd Annual Northport One-Act Play Festival is March 30-April 1, 2012 just announced their call for entries and this year's theme for student submissions is "Bullying." The works are due by Jan 7th. Take a look at Rich Vernillo's award-winning PSA about bullying Stop Bullying Now Public Service Announcement from last year for some great content and visuals created here in the hallways.

Mr. Needles Haunted Hospital

2011-12-12T14:40:00.002-05:00

Here's a short video recap of this year's Haunted Hospital which was put together by the Art & Media Art Honor Societies for our Safe Halloween. The video was created for our new MSG Varsity page where we'll be posting regularly.

Marilyn Minter

2011-12-09T17:02:00.004-05:00

Here's a great short video interview with my former painting teacher, Marilyn Minter, with some information on how she creates her work and her new show Salon 94 Bowery

Chuck Close's show opening

2011-12-09T09:11:00.008-05:00

Here are some highlights of Chuck Close's recent opening at Blum & Poe gallery in California from the Arrested Motion blog. We just learned about Close, who lives locally in the Hampton's and NYC, in our AP art class and the photography class, he's one of those few artists who are equally important in the painting and photography world.

Destination Queens, NY

2011-12-08T12:20:00.006-05:00

Next week the Art & Media Art Honor Societies will be on a trip to visit The Museum of The Moving Image for the Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit, MOMA's PS1, and 5Pointz exhibit space in Queens.

Portraits with Words

2011-12-08T10:06:00.010-05:00

This week's assignment in computer art class is to create a portrait of a person who writes (authors, songwriters, screenwriters, comedians, ect.) using letters, words, or sentences. Above is a detail of an example that I created in class of musican, comedian Reggie Watts.
In class we explored Adobe's amazing Words At Play website by designer and illustrator Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich and designer Matteo Bologna. Above is a an image from the site of author Anne Sexton which uses letters to create to portrait as opposed to the one I created with words. There are a number of different ways to create a portait for this project and different programs that would work and as this is one of you last assignments I'll give the freedom to decide to you. Wether your using Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign make sure the final work is 8x10" and the resolution is 300.

Before you start take a look at this tutorial from Layers magazine on how it was created which can help you think about how you want to approach the project.<>

Go Animate

2011-12-07T10:12:00.006-05:00

This weeks Media Arts assignment is to create your own short digital animation on the GoAnimate.com website. Above is a short demo of how the film works with instructions on the assignment. I'll do a short demonstration in class and go over some of the basics but you can begin by creating a free account and adding me as a contact, my user name is VoteNeedles2010 and the email chunckerthedonut@aol.com

AP Art: Printmaking

2011-12-07T09:54:00.009-05:00

This week's assignment in AP Art is printmaking but what type of print you doing will depend on which AP test your taking. Below are the assignments with some student examples:

Fine Arts (Painting & Drawing) - Monoprint Series

We will use water soluble media to create a series of 3-5 monoprints that have some relation to each other. They can be variants on an image or a narrative series, it's up to you. For this assignment your work should work in a series and it preferable that you include a figure but not absolutely necessary.

Design (2D) - Stencil Prints

We will create our own original 3-5 color stencil using cardboard that you will print with different media on a constructed background. For this assignment your theme should be based on a modern social issue of your own choice.

JR Inside Out Photography Project

2011-12-06T09:43:00.004-05:00

Here's the first round of images from the JR Inside Out Project from students in Mr.Needles Photography class. The images include students, teachers, and staff and are currently displayed in the Needles AP gallery in the visitor's entrance hallway. Below is a video from JR's talk at the TED conference outling the project and it's message.

Animating the Alphabet

2011-12-06T09:31:00.006-05:00

Mr. Needles media arts classes are working on creating an alphabet animation using hand drawn frames. Each student will create a 50 frame animation based on a letter they are given and morph images that begin with that letter into their sequence (Letter A: Apples, Alligators, Andrew Jackson). All of the letter sequences will be combined into a full animation of the alphabet which can be used to teach elementary school students next year.

Here's an example of a finished storyboard

Here's an example of a finished name credit and below is an example of what the final individual animated segment looks like.

Edublog Award Nominations

2011-12-02T12:08:00.034-05:00

I recently heard about the Edublog Awards and wanted to nominate a few of my colleagues. I'm a pretty avid blogger and here are a few of my favorite educational blogs.

■ Best individual blog - The Carrot Revolution
As a visual person I appreciate varied imagery and mixed media and this blog does it right!

■ Best individual tweeter - @TomWhitby
Tom Whitby is a fellow Long Islander and founder of #Edchat. I've never met him but his tweets keep me up to date on all the educational talk while I'm hidden away in my classroom.

■ Best group blog - Illustration Friday
This is a fantastic blog that posts a new theme each week and is open to submissions. We use it in my advanced art classes and it's a great way to get feedback from artists outside the classroom giving advice and encouragement to the students.

■ Best class blog - Colin Maxwell's Maximized
Colin teaches Computer Arts and Digital Design at Carnegie College in Scotland and is someone I came in contact with through the Adobe Education Leader program. I love how he uses Adobe Connect on his page and regularly post tutorials and lessons in different media, pretty terrific stuff.

■ Best student blog- Nataliee Loves Art
Here's a blog from one of my current AP students where she has begun to showcase her portfolio and discuss the work she is doing.

■ Best ed tech / resource sharing blog- Dan Pink Blog
Of course the best art advocacy comes from a former lawyer and businessman but Pink's resources are always useful and often inspiring.

■ Most influential blog post- TED
This is easily the blog that I use most as a teacher and I'm not the only one, it's always thought provoking

■ Best twitter hashtag- #Educationnation
I was late to the game with Education Nation but their twitter posts and discussions are really interesting.

■ Best teacher blog- Moodlea
This blog from Buckinghamshire County, England comes from another one of my former AEL compatriots Ian Usher and has the best Moodle info out there among other things.

■ Best librarian / library blog- A Media Specialist's Guide To The Internet
This is a fantastic resource with tons of helpful information and it's always fresh!

■ Best School Administrator blog- A Principal's Reflections
I often imagine working at New Milford High School because Principal Eric Sheninger is possibly the most tech friendly Principal ever and the info he shares is always interesting. A wealth of knowledge also comes across his twitter feed.

■ Best free web tool- Photoshop.com
This tool is brilliant, I love how students can work at home, at school, or on their mobile devices and save their work in the cloud plus it's a pretty sleek design that's had a few new additions lately.

■ Best educational use of audio / video / visual / podcast- Dryden Art
As a high school and adjunct college teacher I love to see what's going on in this video of an elementary art class

■ Best educational wiki- Ms. Santangelo's Wiki
This is from a Smithtown HS East colleague and I hear from the students that they are using it all the time. I like the wealth of information up on the wiki and the willingness to share, it's not always so common.

■Best open PD / unconference / webinar series- Kathy Schrock's Guide for educators
Kathy is another former AEL teammate who put up this fantastic resource that is open to educators, in addition she's known for her amazing professional development work in Second Life.

■ Best educational use of a social network - Japan Sociey's Going Global
The educational wing of New York's Japan Society put together this moodle site connecting classrooms across the US with classrooms in Pakistan and Japan. This semester was just a first run but already I can say my classes are more globally informed and really benefitted from the experience of doing the same lesson collaboratively with students from around the world.

■ Lifetime achievement - Alan November's novemberlearning
Alan can be a bit abrasive but content wise he was out on the tech highway as an early adopter and kept it up with some really important media awareness issues and plenty of good content.

AP Assignment: Re-inerpreting classic themes in art

2011-11-29T09:43:00.006-05:00

Seven Deadly Sins Design by Joby Cummings

This week's assignment is to create a visual interpretation of the "Seven Deadly Sins", a theme that has been featured in art since they were developed in the 4th Century by a monk by the name of Evagrius Ponticus. There are a number of different terms for some of the sins and they ave changed a bit over time but don't let the semanics weigh you down just create an original work comprimising one or all of the sins: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, & Pride.

You can interpret them any way you like but first look at some of the ways artists have dealt with them in the past first and you may want to consider framing them in a modern context to bring something new to an ancient theme. Below are links to a few varied interpretations to look at.

Classic:
Hieronymus Bosch
Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Recent:
Jamie Wyeth
Nick Hunter

Artist Wanted: Exposure Photography Contest

2011-11-23T12:55:00.005-05:00

Exposure 2011 from Artists Wanted on Vimeo.

Here's the new Artist Wanted contest -Exposure Photography Contest The deadline to Submit is November 30, 2011 and the prizes include a trip to Paris and a show at the Aperture Gallery in NY if you are interested click the link above!

Assignment: Miranda July

2011-11-21T14:25:00.008-05:00

This week we are taking our inspiration from artist and filmmaker Miranda July who we spoke about in class. We will each create an inspirational banner and post them around school and photograph them (I did an example pictured above on the outdoor classroom blackboard). You should also choose another creative assignment from her learning to love you more project that can be used for you AP portfolio (photographers should do a photo, drawing/painting students should do a drawing/painting: below are some suggestions).

Assignment #49
Draw a picture of your friend's friend.

Assignment #62
Make an educational public plaque.

Assignment #55
Photograph a significant outfit.

Assignment #8
Curate an artist's retrospective in a public place.

Assignment #9
Draw a constellation from someone's freckles.

Assignment #56
Make a portrait of your friend's desires.

Here are some examples from students in the AP Studio Art Class:

Smithtown East alumni: Jess Brett

2011-11-18T14:35:00.003-05:00

Smithtown East alumni Jess Brett visited the AP Studio Art class Friday and talked to currents students about the college experience, the artistic process, and some technical tips while presenting some of her work. She also gave some pointers to students as she looked at their portfolio and some advice for students as we head into the stressful college season ahead.

Art Honors Shirt Design

2011-11-18T12:03:00.005-05:00

We began designing the Art Honor Society shirts yesterday after school so if you missed it, each member should design a square 8"x8" design that includes the word art in someway and we are going to tile the designs and put together the shirt as a group in December. Use any materials you want and let your creativity flow just make sure your design is complete and scanned by 11/30!

Smithtown Art alumni visit: Jess Brett

2011-11-17T10:00:00.005-05:00

Friday we will be have a visit from Smithtown AP alumni Jessica Brett who is a recent graduate from the Hartford Art School. Jess will show some of her work and discuss her process as well as giving some tips about the college experience. She recieved her BFA in Painting and Art History from Hartford and is now in the process of getting her work out to gallerys and we will talk to her about the process.

Mr. Needles class in the news

2011-11-17T09:42:00.006-05:00

The Smithtown Patch wrote a piece on Mr. Needles photography class and our continuing Going Global project in which we connect to students in Japan and Pakistan here: http://smithtown.patch.com/articles/yup.

All of Mr. Needles classes will be participating in the project this semester and we will conclude with a live discussion with students from the different schools via SKYPE. Today educators from the Japan Society's education department will be visiting the AP Studio Art class and the Photograph class to observe students working and discuss some of what they've learned so far.

A visit from The Japan Society

2011-11-15T18:46:00.008-05:00

This Thursday The Japan Society will be visiting Mr. Needles AP Studio Art and Photography classes in conjunction with our continuing Goin Global Social Networking project. The AP Art class has been working on a lesson collaborativly about the different conceptions of beauty with students from The Waseda University High School in Tokyo, The BVS Parsi High School in Pakistan, and The Woodlands High School in Texas. Above is an example of work from one of the the AP student's.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street

2011-11-10T12:32:00.002-05:00

Here's a clip of an artist we just looked at in class, Keith Haring, and his contribution to the storied children's television show- Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

Speaking of Jim Henson the Media Art Honor Society & the Art Honor Society will be visiting The Museum of The Moving Image, MOMA's PS1, and 5Pointz Graffiti Museum in Queens in December

PRATT Institute Visit

2011-11-09T12:41:00.006-05:00

Here are some images from my visit to the PRATT Institute this week for a conference day activity. It was great to spend some time with the professors and sit in on some of the classes, they have a terrific campus in Brooklyn with some outstanding facilities!

AP Art Halloween Figure Drawing

2011-11-01T09:21:00.007-04:00

Here's some pictures from the AP Studio Art class yesterday, we have a tradition of creating figure drawings of classmates in costume every year on Halloween.

Safe Halloween

2011-10-28T16:33:00.006-04:00

The Art Honor Society teamed up with the Media Art Honor Society to put together a zombie hospital for this year's Safe Halloween Friday.

Dreamworks artists after dark

2011-10-25T11:53:00.003-04:00

Moonshine : Artists after dark from alexis wanneroy on Vimeo.

Here is a tremendous documentary about the work of some of the DreamWorks staff after their office hours entitled “Moonshine: Artists after dark”. It shows both a peek into their process and is evidence of the bridge across art and media in terms of creative people.

AP Art Research Artists

2011-10-24T09:27:00.004-04:00

Here's the list of artists which are represented in our first artist research project of the year. Each AP art student has been assigned two artists that relate to their work in some way and should research these artists creating a slideshow of information with at least 10 images of their artwork.

1.Andrew Wyeth
2.Andy Goldsworthy
3.Ashley Wood
4.Banksy
5.Chuck Close
6.Claeus Oldenburg
7.Damien Hirst
8.Egon Schiele
9.Francis Bacon
10.Gregory Crewdson
11.H.R. Giger
12.Henri Matisse
13.Hieronymus Bosch
14.Janet Fish
15.Jasper Johns
16.Jeff Koons
17.Jenny Saville
18.Julia Margaret Cameron
19.Katsushika Hokusai
20.Keith Haring
21.Lauri Anderson
22.Marilyn Minter
23.Michelle White
24.Mr Brainwash
25.Paul Klee
26.Richard Avedon
27.Robert Rauschenberg
28.Romaine Brooks
29.Shepard Fairey
30.Starn Brothers
31.Takashi Murakami
32.Ralph Steadman
33.Ai Weiwei

2011 Smithtown High School East Pep Rally

2011-10-21T13:43:00.019-04:00

The Media Arts Honor Society and Mr. Needles Media Arts classes covered this year's Smithtown High School East Pep Rally as part of their new program with MSG Varsity. Look for some clips on our MSG Varsity page this week!

Spirit Week at Smithtown

2011-10-19T07:31:00.016-04:00

It's "Spirit Week" in Smithtown and we are collecting images and video of celebrating: Pajama Day, Tie Dye Day, Superhero Day, Wild Wild East Day, and the PepRally for our MSG Varstiy page.

Volunteering at The 2011 Hamptons Film Festival

2011-10-17T09:00:00.004-04:00

This weekend a group of students from Mr.Needles classes and the Art Honor Society and Media Art Honor Society spent time volunteering for the 2011 Hampton's Film Festival in East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Montauk, & Southampton. Students had an opportunity to meet and work with professionals from the film industry such as: Alec Baldwin, Steven Spielberg, Wim Wenders, & Alexander Skarsgard.

Photography in the classroom

2011-10-07T14:03:00.002-04:00

The Art Honor Society & Media Art Honor Society are teaming up with Mr. Needles Media & Photography classes to participate in JR's amazing, TED winning photography Inside Out project

Japan Society's Going Global Social Networking Project

2011-10-07T12:56:00.002-04:00

We have begun collaborating with students in Japan, Pakistan, and throughout the United States as part of The Japan Society's Going Global Social Networking Project. The AP Art and Photography classes started in September and the Art Honor Society and media classes will begin this month.

The 2011 Hamptons Film Festival

2011-10-06T09:47:00.001-04:00

Next week we will once again be volunteering at The Hamptons Film Festivalon the east end and there will be some information given out on Wednesday in a joint meeting of the Art & Media Art Honor Society afterschool. If you're interested be sure to fill out the volunteer application here.
This year the festival will be showing some great films such as: The Rum Diary, The Descendants, & Jeff Who Lives At Home. Among those expected to attend the Festival are: Lauren Ambrose, David Bailey, Bob Balaban, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Barkin, Harry Belafonte, Matthew Broderick, Jay Duplass, Felicity Jones, Penelope Ann Miller, Matthew Modine, Susan Sarandon, Bobby Valentine, Rufus Wainwright, Lucy Walker, Wim Wenders, and Anton Yelchin.

Art Honor Society mural

2011-09-28T15:35:00.002-04:00

This week the Art Honor Society we worked on designing a mural for the art wing based on black & white student portraits. Here's a demo of what the mural will look like.

Shanti Peace Poster Contest

2011-09-26T12:10:00.002-04:00

Here are some of the student works created for this year's Shanti Fund Peace Poster Contest.

Illustration Friday: Mesmerizing

2011-09-23T13:05:00.006-04:00

This week's Illustration Friday themes is Mesmerizing, here are some student examples.

Upcoming Art Contests

2011-09-22T12:41:00.010-04:00

Shanti Fund Poster Contest - Due September 23, 2011

Young Arts - Due: October 14, 2011

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Due: January 6, 2012

2011 National Art Honor Society

2011-09-21T15:27:00.002-04:00

This week the 2011 National Art Honor Society met for the first time and discussed this years activites such as: the homecoming parade, Halloween, the school murals, workshops, field trips, volunteering, and some exciting new art projects that we will be working on throughout the year. Any students with an intrest in art, design, & media are welcome and students that meet the credentals can also be inducted officially at the end of the year. Seniors are also eligible for the Charles M. Robertson Memorial Scholarship, a four-year scholarship to Pratt Institute School of Art and Design in Brooklyn.

We will be meeting weekly on Wednesdays afterschool in Mr. Needles artroom 161.

Illustration Friday

2011-09-16T12:59:00.004-04:00

Every Friday we will be participating on the Illustration Friday blog this quarter in AP Art. Here's some examples from the class for this week's assignment "boundries".

AP Art 2010-2011 Class

2011-06-10T00:19:00.003-04:00

Best of luck to all the graduates of the AP Art 2010-2011 Class, stay open and creative!

Critiquing with Henri Cartier Bresson

2011-06-03T13:32:00.003-04:00

After watching Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye , choose any of his images (or drawings) and write an educated critique of at least 200 words to be handed in on Monday.

Congressional art show finalists

2011-05-27T09:42:00.002-04:00

Congradulations to our 4 finalists in this year's Congressional art show. Each of the students work was included at a show in the new Lyceum Gallery in Riverhead and was given a certificate of recognition by Congessman Tim Bishop.

Assignments for the upcoming AP Art 2011-2012

2011-05-27T09:08:00.007-04:00

On Thursday June 2 there was a meeting in art room 161 for all incoming AP Studio Art students in which went over some of the important information about the class and the summer assignments. If you missed it make sure you see Mr. Needles and get the assignments and information.

In addition to the four breadth pieces below you should complete at least 10 sketchbook pages with sketches and ideas for what you might want to concentrate on for the AP class as well as 10 sketches or paintings from life.

Below are the first four major breadth assignments due the first week of class (I suggest you email an image of the work in progress before August 1 so that you can get feedback):

These are strictly 2-D assignments and should be complete with a foreground, mid-ground, and background.

Assignment #1: Monster
This can be done in monochrome (black, white, gray) or in color using any medium, technique and style you desire. The important thing here is to illustrate a monster (real or imagined) including some background that makes sense in context.

Assignment #2: An mixed-media portrait
This can be done in monochrome or in color using any medium you desire (ink, collage, newspaper, paint, & other mixed media). The style may be handled in any way you wish: realistic, abstract, expressive, impressionistic or cubistic, etc. It’s your decision. (Note: select the style of your favorite historical artist to use in this assignment.)
This portrait should reveal something significant about the model. Hands, torso and face are important features and should be included in the work. Try an unusual surface. The portrait may be done on any flat smooth unbreakable surface such as cardboard, mural paper, plywood, masonite, plexiglass, homasote board, etc. It’s up to you. The portrait cannot be smaller than 16”x 20” and no bigger than 22” x 28”.

Assignment #3: One large landscape (outdoor or indoor)
This is strictly a 2-D assignment! The landscape must show depth and distance (receding space or informal perspective). The landscape can be done from any angle (bird’s-eye view or worm’s-eye view). Overlapping and repetition helps to create a sense of depth and distance. NO OUTLINES PERMITTED IN NATURE! Emphasize dark and light shapes, textures and space. Be sure to obtain a strong contrast!!! The landscape must be done in color. Any medium you wish - paint, collage, mixed media. The landscape must be done on a flat, smooth, 2-dimensional surface. Minimum size: 18” x 24”. All landscapes must have a foreground, middle ground and background. Lighting is important and should be dramatic!

Assignment #4: Reinterpret a Master Painting
Choose a painting by a well known artist from before 1960 and do your own version of the same painting. You shouldn’t mimic or technique the style of the original, just the subject matter and basic elements which can be rearranged to your liking. This can be done in any media but should be proportionate to the size of the original.

Japan Society

2011-05-03T11:41:00.006-04:00

Here are a few images from our recent trip to the Japan Society in Manhattan where we viewed their show on Zen painting entitled "The Art of One Clap Clapping" and studied painting alongside students from The Museum School in NY in a workshop with Zen Master Max Gimblett

A Thousand Paper Cranes

2011-03-22T08:25:00.001-04:00

This week we are doing a project where we are going to create 1000 individual origami paper cranes (known as a Senbazuru, it’s a symbol of peace and good fortune- in Japanese lore if you make 1000 you are granted a wish) and we will photograph each one to make a large photo montage. I had the idea after looking at a photograph I took in Hiroshima of Sadako Sasaki's final crane- http://goo.gl/QOSsK when I had a chance to see her brother speak at her memorial site.

Each student will create and photograph their own crane and we will combine each of them into one larger piece which we would like to share with a school in Japan. Prints will be sold to raise funds for the Japan Society's relief fund and the montage will be delivered to a school near where the disaster occurred as a symbol of hope and support.

AP Alumni Visit: Jen Yu

2011-02-16T10:06:00.009-05:00

The AP Art class had a chance to meet with some alumni who are currently in art schools to begin the year. Here's some photos of the presentation given by alumnus Jen Yu who is currently attending the Maryland Institute College of Art. She showed the class her most recent project which was a powerful collection of drawings and paintings based on her family in China.

Here are some samples of Jen's work that which was shown to the class

And here's an image of Jen in class working on a self portrait from back in 2008.

Senior Art Shows

2011-02-15T10:05:00.011-05:00

Our Senior art shows have seen a great turnout so far this year with a eclectic group of artists, below are some images from the first semester shows.

Needles AP History Artists

2010-11-24T13:44:00.004-05:00

Damien Hirst £50m Diamond Skull
Uploaded by emalyse. - Watch the latest news videos.

Here's this year's list of artists that we are covering as part of our modern art project, an eclectic list. Make sure you are familiar with the work visually as well as their biographical information and style notes. Our test is on Tuesday and Wednesday, bueno suerte!

Alberto Giacometti
Andrew Wyeth
Andy Goldsworthy
Annie Liebovitz
Ashley Wood
Banksy
Barry McGee
Chuck Close
Damien Hirst
David Downton
Francis Bacon
Frank Miller
Gregory Crewdson
H.R. Giger
Henri Matisse
Howard Schatz
Janet Fish
Jean Paul Basquiat
Jean-Philippe Delhomme
Jeff Koons
Jenny Saville
Joan Miro
Joel Peter Witkin
Katsushika Hokusai
Lauri Anderson
Laurie Simmons
Lucian Freud
Margaret Kilgallen
Marilyn Minter
Matthew Barney
Michelle White
Mr Brainwash
Paul Klee
Peter Beard
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Wilson
Romare Bearden
Sally Mann
Shepard Fairey
Sket One
Starn Brothers
Takashi Murakami
Tom Wesselmann
Tommy Kane
Umberto Boccioni
Victor Vasarely
Wassily Kandinsky
Wayne Thiebaud
William Eggleston
William Kentridge

Japan Society's zen art workshop with artist Max Gimblett

2010-10-27T08:03:00.005-04:00

Next month we'll be participating in a series of workshops that are facilitated by the Japan Society in New York City featuring: prominent New Zealand artist Max Gimblett (who is featured in the video above), and museum educators Petra Pankow and Suzanne De Vegh. We will be working with students from different schools in Manhattan as we learn about Zen Art and later create it ourselves. The results of the experience will be exhibited at the Japan Society in conjunction with the current show "The Sound of One Hand: Paintings and Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin" which runs through January 9, 2011.

2010 Summer Assignments

2010-06-22T09:28:00.006-04:00

Welcome to all the incoming AP art students, below are the summer assignments for next year's class. These are general thematic assignments so they are open to interpretation, be sure to bring to it your own sense of style and creativity!

Complete the first set of assignments by August 1 and the second set of assignments are due the first week of class. If you have any questions about the assignments please email Mr. Needles and take a look at the examples on the blog that will be posted over the summer.

Part I:

1. Self Portrait Without a Face

2. Design a New Animal

3. “Man vs. Nature” Landscape

4. Antediluvian (Very, very old) Portrait

Part II

5. Ennui
–noun
A feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom: The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui.

6. Noir
–adjective French
Black; noting the black numbers in roulette or the film noir style which incorporates deep shadows and a grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair.

7. Nouveau
–adjective
Newly or recently created, developed, or come to prominence: The sudden success of the firm created several nouveau millionaires.

8. Voix De Ville (“Voice of the City” led to the term vaudeville):
-noun
Stage entertainment offering a variety of short acts such as slapstick… Also a light comic play that often includes songs, pantomime, and dances or a popular, often satirical song.

2010 AP Art Class

2010-06-09T10:37:00.003-04:00

Congrats to the AP art class of 2010! Fantastic job enjoy a safe and happy summer and best of luck to all of you in the future!

Completion of Smithtown's "Fundred" dollar bill program

2010-06-04T19:04:00.010-04:00

Pictured above are leaders from the Media Art Honor Society serving as guards along with Mr. Needles and driver Tory Tepp as we deliver the money in front of Smithtown East.

After years of creating and collecting student produced "Fundred" dollars bills to raise money and awareness for the Katrina relief in Louisiana Tory Tepp stopped by the school today to collect the bills in Mel Chin's Bio-fuel driven Armored Car. If all goes to plan we should end up having raised over $360,000 thanks to the all Suffolk County students and teachers who participated.

Fashion Illustration

2010-01-25T07:41:00.003-05:00

Congradulations! Today's the last day of this year's Fashion Illustration class. We'll have an interview the class did with an alumnus who works in the industry soon. Here's an image from earlier in the year after the class designed their own t-shirts.

Who are you?

2010-01-19T14:55:00.003-05:00

Kelsey's solo art show resembled a dance party this week with Girl Talk blasting down the hallway and Kelsey's special brand of color in the gallery. It was one to remember for sure.

Ari-stotle Art

2009-12-15T14:32:00.002-05:00

This week our featured art show took a spiritual turn and hit the mark with some cool design features incorperated into the gallery space to pull it all together.

Make it work!

2009-11-25T13:03:00.002-05:00

Hey crew Happy Thanksgiving! Give some thought to your concentrations over the vacation because for the next 12 weeks you'll have a concentration piece due each week! Time to... (you know)

Queen Muppets

2009-11-25T12:31:00.003-05:00

Here's a awesome short film that a former student, Kelli Krysh, sent me that her company, Soapbox Films, worked on to commemorates the anniversary of Queen front man, Freddy Mercury's death from AIDs. They shot it in 1 day using 79 muppets and 53 different setups- impressive!! It's great to see students graduate and do what they love!

Senior AP Shows: Amanda & The Rat

2009-11-17T14:49:00.005-05:00

Our second senior show was a big success this week and certainly piqued the interest of more than a few students and faculty with it's promotional Rat posters. Special guest "Twilight" was a big hit as well as a great body of work from 2 years of AP art.

Breadth Madness

2009-11-02T10:30:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween and congratulations- you're now almost 1/4th the way to the finish line! As the 1st quarter comes to a close I'd like each student to post the Breadth piece that you are most proud of and to comment on each others work. This will help give you some direction in terms of where you are headed for your portfolio and your concentration. The important question to ask yourself is- Why is this your favorite? What about it do you respond to? Try to write a short sentance or two summing up why the piece was chosen and when commenting see if you can help give each other some more focus in terms of your direction.

This week we'll go over the basics of blogging and working on the web!

Senior AP Shows: Chelsea mouse City mouse

2009-10-30T08:46:00.006-04:00

This week we had our first AP Senior Artshow with Chelsea's work and the work was equally as popular as the amazing cupcakes that she brought in!

From memory?

2009-10-27T21:05:00.004-04:00

Here's a clip showing autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire who is able to draw detailed cityscapes from life- amazing stuff!