Same image, different stories   Andrea talked about how we take in information through our senses, and then the brain interprets that information. Different people interpret the same sensory information differently.

She showed an image from La Paz Porfiriana, a period in Mexican history of relative peace and economic stability. There was, however, considerable injustice during Porfirio Diaz’s presidency, thus fueling the revolution of 1910.

La Paz Porfiriana?

The image shows a young boy standing on a chair and holding the Mexican flag. Andrea asked the children to make up a story about the boy.  While they were writing, she gave them bits of information about the time period to incorporate into their stories.  When they finished she asked them if they would like to read.

Only one of the children chose to read.  But they all wrote detailed narratives and put them into their folders for safe keeping.

Abstract vs. Figurative Andrea asked the children how they would define the difference between abstract and figurative.  She showed slides, including of Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas, to illustrate figurative art, and showed them some Jackson Pollack paintings and a photo of him tossing paint on a canvas. She showed them a series of lithographs of a bull by Picasso, illustrating a process of abstraction.  See Pablo Picasso – Bull: A Master Class in Abstraction. See The Two Fridas for an image and analysis in English and Spanish of Kahlo’s work.

Abstract and Figurative?

Andrea asked the children whether they would call Rufino Tamayo paintings abstract or figurative–or both.

Awareness and expression of feeling

The children enjoyed chatting while making abstract art.

Andrea asked the children to close their eyes and she led them through a visualization exercise, imagining in detail a place where they had positive feelings.  She then asked them to express their feelings in a piece of abstract art.

Parra’s Art Workshop I

Parra, Hacer la creación (video)