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Art Exhibition Educates at Board of Ed

by Allan Appel | Mar 18, 2007 8:16 pm

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Posted to: Arts

IMG_1058.JPGThese two figures are decidedly not members of the Board of Education (BOE), although they are almost sitting in or vying for their seats and will be through April 10.

The two impressive larger than life self-portraits were done by students from the Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School. They are among the 150 works of art in the New Haven Public Schools’ (NHPS) annual visual arts showcase now decorating the board room at the 54 Meadow St. school system headquarters.

IMG_1054.JPGOrganized by the NHPS’s Comprehensive Arts Program, the show features colorful works, contributed by kids in all grades and all schools, in oil, acrylic, pastels, photography, textiles, sculpture, and multi-media even including fruit, such as these wonderful “apple people”  made by students in Ms. Marchitto’s third grade at the Truman School. The bodies of the dolls were fashioned not by just any ordinary apples, but by dried tree-ripened fruit locally picked.

p(clear.) IMG_1055.JPGAcross the board room, where important, but, by comparison to the creativity on display here, mundane business involving merely money is usually conducted, you will find the fantasy shoe department. It has been stocked by seventh-graders from the Hill Central Music Academy. The red and black sneaker making an athletic statement is by Moises Ramirez. The big, sparkly, pink pump behind is by Tanei Williams, and the elegant brown shoe on the right was fashioned by Shaylah McQueen, all in the class of Ms. Jakubice.

p(clear). The works contributed by the high school kids are impressive not only for their execution but the sophistication of some of the assignments. Students from Wilbur Cross High School, for example, studied the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and then were asked to practice being young architects. They were told to choose a client, decide the wealth level of the client, and therefore what kind of house they would build for him or her. On display (no photo, unfortunately) were detailed architectural drawings and renderings of several homes that, one day not too far in the future, might actually be built by these kids if they go on and harness in college the talent in evidence here.

p(clear). IMG_1056.JPGSo of all the many worthy and fascinating works on display, what to look at next? A weary reporter was drawn to an empty chair. Lo and behold, that chair happened to be near two collages, illustrating stories written by two kids from the Columbus Family Academy. The first story, titled “A Bad Good Day,” with this jazzy illustration, by its author, fifth-grader Bradley DeJesus, captures the juncture where art and life meet for perhaps all too many New Haven kids. Bradley’s text is presented here in its brief entirety:

p(clear). “On a hot sunny day, a group of men walked into a pizza restaurant. The customers were eating and talking. Suddenly a group of men slammed through the door and shoved everybody out of their way. They carried a radio that was blasting. The customers were disturbed. The owner asked the men, “Please lower your radio.” They refused. They started to talk trash and the customers began to leave, one by one. A waiter was watching and he quickly called for help. The police arrived, and the men started to run out the door. Two of the men were caught by the police. The police said that they had a right to remain silent, but they did not. They made excuses and began to fight back. The police were scared and had no choice but to take them to the police station.

p(clear). IMG_1057.JPG“The neighborhood people were sad and angry. They did not like to see the police treating the men so poorly. They began to fight the police. The police called for back-up. Some people ran away, some people got caught in the ruckus but someone started yelling STOP and everybody stopped and listened.”

p(clear). And here, showing how art can not only provide an outlet through documentation and recording as in Bradley’s story, but also can be transformative, is this nifty yet also haunting line-up of horse-headed people collaged by Jose Omar Mendosa Rodriguez, Jr., a fourth grader at Columbus, to illustrate his story “People Magic:”

p(clear). “Once upon a time there was a man who was born with a horse head. Many people were mean to him because he looked strange. This made him very angry. Miguel, the horse-headed man bought many books of magic, and with the help of these books, turned all the people who made fun of him into mixed up people like himself. At first these people were very mad at Miguel for what he had done. Until they were treated meanly the way he was. These mixed up people were changed back to normal only when Miguel, the horse-headed man, felt they had learned their lesson.”

p(clear). The exhibition at the Board of Ed can be viewed weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through April 10th. A selection will be made for a display at City Hall, which will open May 14th, run through June 8th, and have its opening reception on May 17, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.. The public is invited.

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