A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1898

1898Yes, I took an art class or two in High School… I’d failed French, and typing, so after avoiding taking an art class for a year, I started taking art classes again. My art teacher seemed to have some requirement that we had to study art history. My friends and I (being kids) tried to take the easy way out, which was modern art. Instead of studying the “Great Masters” we would study Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, and Calder. They were fun, they made cool things. They were easy to replicate (which was what we were required to do). This came back to me early in my teaching career when I was asked to help develop curriculum for Calder exhibit in Indianapolis… Calder’s work is what education should be about- creativity, whimsy, fun, but also a little of the old STEM stuff.  Alexander Calder was basically known for wire sculptures (he created an entire circus), bright colors, mobiles, and stabiles