AP Assignment: Re-inerpreting classic themes in art

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Illustration Friday: Mesmerizing

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