Gin & It

2010-02-24T08:10:00.001-08:00

Any thoughts or ideas about what the "it" is in Gin&It?

Day Night Day Night, A film by Julia Loktev

2009-11-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

Day Night Day Night
View a film clip
A newspaper story about a female Chechen suicide bomber inspired Russian-born filmmaker Julia Loktev's tense, unnerving story, which follows a teenage girl's preparations to become a suicide bomber. Winner of the Prix Regards Jeune at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. 2006. In color, 94 min.

View trailer

Sneak Peek...

2009-05-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

Well...as we say goodbye and wrap up the school year and participation in Pages, I wanted to give you a quick sneak peek of the cover of the Pages anthology. You worked hard writing throughout the year and we here at the Wexner Center worked hard to showcase that writing in an interesting and hopefully "cool" way. We hope you like it. Books will be distributed to everyone at their respective schools just after Memorial Day.

One more thing...
I want to get some feedback from you about how you think Pages went this year. Your feedback is very important so feel free to write whatever comes to mind. I've listed a few questions to guide you and get you thinking but again, feel free to come up with your own thoughts and comments.

What did you think about the Pages "experiences" this year? Did you have a favorite part of the program?

What would you change about Pages?

What surprised you about participating in Pages?

Thanks for your comments and feedback!

Take care,

Dionne Custer
Wexner Center for the Arts

Ray Lee's Siren

2009-01-22T08:51:00.001-08:00

The Pages performing arts experience is Ray Lee's sound installation Siren. This work incorporates installation (a work of art you can interact with) and performance art (sound and performance of the spinning sound mechanisms). Ray Lee, the creator of this work, is an artist, composer, and performer and is generally fascinated with, "the hidden world of electromagnetic radiation and in particular how sound can be used as evidence of invisible phenomena."

You will visit the Wexner Center and physically experience a unique sound art work by Ray Lee. Please look to the right side of the page to find out more about Ray Lee's work and "sound art" in general. There are dozens of links that give you information into this art form. Please be prepared to discuss and explore for the classroom visits in February.

I will be teaching this portion of the program so I am excited to work with each and every one of you with this particular work of art. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Dionne Custer
Wexner Center for the Arts

Quotes on Sound Art

2009-01-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

Sound art. I find it a useful term. But why? I apply it to the pieces I make using electroacoustic resources, and which I intend to be presented in galleries, museums, and other places in which sound is, increasingly, conceived of as a medium per se, like video, lasers, but not as performance. —Annea Lockwood

When faced with musical conservatism at the beginning of the last century, the composer Edgard Varese responded by proposing to broaden the definition of music to include all organized sound. John Cage went further and included silence. Now even in the aftermath of the timid “forever Mozart decades” in music, our response surely cannot be to put our heads in the sand and call what is essentially new music something else—“Sound Art”... —Max Neuhaus

I think it is in sound’s nature to be free and uncontrollable and to go through the cracks and and to go places where it’s not supposed to go. —Christian Marclay

Tell us one thing you know about Andy Warhol

2008-11-06T08:47:00.001-08:00

Click on the comment link below and share with us one thing you know about Andy Warhol.

Dionne Custer
Wexner Center for the Arts

Andy Warhol: Other Voices Other Rooms

2008-11-06T07:04:00.000-08:00

For our visual arts experience, we will explore Andy Warhol's current exhibition here at the Wexner Center. Many of you may be familiar with some of Warhol's work by way of his influences on today's popular culture and media. You may have seen the Marilyn Monroe or Cambell's soup can prints. For instance, the image above is a recent example of Warhol imagery in the front window of the clothing store The Gap.

Most of you are familiar with Polaroid instant camera images or photo booth images, two ways of producing interesting and instant images that Warhol used and manipulated as he captured the portraits and personalities of himself, friends, and famous people far and wide for decades. Interview magazine, a publication Warhol created, is also still in print and just recently celebrated 80 years of Andy Warhol's influence on American mainstream culture in its June/July 2008 issue.

Warhol was not only fascinated with popular culture, his work in some ways began to translate and define American popular culture as he rose to his own respective celebrity and artistic fame during his career that spanned from the late 1940's to his death in 1987.

During your tour at the Wexner Center, you will see the only American exhibition encompassing many previously unreleased footage, imagery, and objects from Warhol's work with film and video including: films produced in Warhol's infamous "Factory" in New York City, and a range of episodes from Warhol's cable television network series. Additionally, you will see glimpses of objects from Warhol's time capsules, photographs and biographical information, and finally Warhol's magical "Silver Clouds", a room filled with inflated mylar balloons (shown above).

I have included resources for this experience along the right side of the page. You can click on the links and start exploring.

You will work with writer Kelli Trinoskey, as she helps you explore character development in fiction writing.

As always feel free to share interesting things that you find or think about while learning about Andy Warhol. Click on the comment link below to share with other students.

We will see you soon!

Dionne Custer
Wexner Center for the Arts

Tell us what you're thinking about American Blackout

2008-10-07T05:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

It was nice to formally meet all of you yesterday. There are a few familiar faces and I love to see that. :) I look forward to working with all of you this year, reading your writing, and seeing how you progress through this program this year.

Good session yesterday. Many of you asked thoughtful questions and I could see you thinking about the context of the film and how timely the subject matter is today. I could see many of you relating to the film from various points of view and I hope that you spend time talking about what you think.

For those of you who didn't ask questions or share comments during our discussion, I'm interested in some of the conversations you had on the way back to your schools. What were some of you thinking after viewing the film?

Please feel free to share your thoughts, comments, and questions with all of us.

And remember, this website is a safe and respectful space for comments so please be respectful of everyone's opinions and views.

Thanks!

Dionne

For Students!

2008-09-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I can't wait to meet all of you. As we prepare for your first field trip to the Wexner Center, I hope you all have been wading through all the resources and information on the blog. If you look to the right you'll find tons of information on the film and interesting things to read about as it relates to the film and the political process, including voting, getting involved, and having your say.

Mimi Chenfeld will be visiting your class in the coming days to talk about what gets you fired up! What are you passionate about? What would you like to see change in the world around you and what can you do to enact and/or support that change? What sorts of things are you doing now as teens to let your peers and the adults around you know that you have a voice and your thoughts, ideas, and opinions matter?

Let me know what you've been talking about in class.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Dionne Custer
Educator, School Programs
Wexner Center for the Arts

Interview with Ian Inaba, director of American Blackout

2008-09-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.scene360.com/EDITINGroom_Inaba.php

For Teachers: Welcome Back!

2008-08-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Ah, the beginning of the new school year. I know you all are just getting back and settled; but I am curious about how you've been planning for Pages this year. Have any of you made any curriculum connections so far? Or maybe, everyone is still just trying to get their classrooms organized? Well, I hope to hear from you. Let me know what you're thinking now that you've had some time after the orientation to think through your materials and strategize.

Of note:

I will need a writing sample from each of your students. I sent details about this in an email. Please feel free to share any ideas about what you'll have your students write about. Just click on comments below and share.

Until next time,

Dionne

Pages 2008-09

2008-07-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

Pages Program Overview 2008-09

Performing Arts experience
Siren, by composer Ray Lee
February 26 – 27, 2009
Guest Artist: Dionne Custer

Students will experience a unique light and sound installation by British composer and performing artist Ray Lee. They will learn about and interact with some of the artist’s concepts of imagery, metaphor, sound, technology, light, movement, and space.

Performing Arts experience
William Forsythe Synchronous Objects by choreographer William Forsythe
April 1- 3, 2009
Guest Artist: Barbara Thatcher

Students will have the opportunity to experience the interactive web project Synchronous Objects created by American choreographer, William Forsythe, Ohio State’s Department of Dance, and the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD). Synchronous Objects analyzes one choreographic work so that its choreography can serve as a template for various creative problem-solving exercises that can be applied to other practices and fields. Innovative and media-driven, the exhibition allows for students to participate in a limited interactive experience with the work. They will learn about and interact with the artist’s concepts of movement, technology, choreography, and installation.

Visual arts experience
Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms
November 11 – January 27, 2008
Guest Artist: Kelli Trinoskey

Students will tour the exhibition, Other Voices, Other Rooms, an exhibition that stages Warhol’s media arts work in the forefront. Students will participate in discussion and writing in the galleries during and after the tour. Students will explore many of Warhol’s conceptual interests including: his fascination with fame and celebrity, the concept of time, space, color, beauty, and repetition.

Media Arts experience
American Blackout by director Ian Inaba
October 6, 2008
Guest Artist: Mimi Chenfeld

Students will view the film American Blackout, which will serve as the source material for writing and discussion. The documentary film examines civic activism and participation, disenfranchisement in the voting process, civil rights, and political process. Part of the film was shot here in Columbus, Ohio during the November 2004 national election. Following the film, students will be joined by a non-partisan panel to discuss the voice of the average citizen in voting, enacting legislation, and the political process.

For Students:

2008-05-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

What do you take away from your experience with Pages this year? (You can comment on anything from the writing, the art, the blog, the resources, etc.) Just click on the green "comments" link below. You can write as much as you wish. Thank you!

Dionne
Wexner Center for the Arts

They Call Me Muslim, a film by Diana Ferrero

2008-03-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

They Call Me Muslim
http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c698.shtml

We've come to the third and final experience in our year of the Pages program. During this final experience we will screen the documentary film, They Call Me Muslim, a look at the practice of wearing hijab as told through two very different perspectives. Following the film, we will be joined by educators from the Office of International Affairs Education Outreach to hold an open discussion and panel to explore a range of issues addressed in the film. We will move through this experience thinking through issues of identity and follow-up with writings ranging from personal essay to poetry.

Please explore this website for resources related to this experience.

Web Links related to They Call Me Muslim

The Veil
A brief exploration of the complex topic of hijab and face-veiling in Islam
http://www.islamfortoday.com/veil.htm

Why do Muslim women wear the hijab?
Eighteen year old Canadian Muslimah Sumayyah Hussein explains. (Followed by discussion points for young people.)
http://www.islamfortoday.com/hijabcanada4.htm

Understanding Turbans
Pictures and explanations of various types of headwear..
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/lifestyles/links/turbans_27.html

Veiled in Controversy
New concerns of girls and women about wearing distinctively Muslim garments.
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/printar.jsp?p=0&ar=271&pi=current

For Teachers
Lesson Plans – religion & culture – Suppression or Liberation, Islam, Hijab & Modern Society
PBS Wide Angle lesson plans for grades 9-12.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/printable/classroom_2religion5_print.html

Who Are the Arab Americans?
Downloadable lesson plan at Teaching Tolerance website
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=155

Media Connections

PBS Special Looks at Life for Young Muslims in America
Transcript and links to video & audio versions of article.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/jan-june07/crossroads_04-13.html

Understanding the Veil in Islam
Link to audio article, approximately eight minute segment.
Good for a classroom with computer access. A little more in-depth than the previous article.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6402349

And as always, you are welcome to comment on any of the posts by clicking on the highlighted "comments" link.

What the Qur'an says about hijab

2008-03-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

This summer teachers asked for specifc text from the Qur'an that addresses the practice of hijab. Please see below:

Weblinks to Articles about Qur'anic References to Hijab

Qur'anic Verses about Hijab
Three important quotes
http://www.soundvision.com/cgi-bin/print.asp?url=/Info/news/hijab/hjb.quran.asp

Hijab
Longer article about hijab, including quotes from Quaran, explanations, and a chart of laws and clothing customs by country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijab

Seven Conditions For Women’s Dress in Islam
The requirements of Islamic modesty in dress and their Quaranic background.
http://www.islamfortoday.com/7conditions.htm

Women Dress Code In Islam
Three Rules for women dress code in Islam (Submission)
http://www.submission.org/teenagers/dress-teens.html

Is Hijab Compulsory?
Quran is insistent on the full participation of women in society and religious practices.
http://www.islamfortoday.com/syed06.htm

The Virtues of Hijab
Quotes and Explanations.
http://www.islamworld.net/hijabvirtue.html

Persepolis (In theatres now)

2008-03-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

Directors: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Cast: Chiara Mastroianni

"Persepolis" is the poignant story of a young girl coming-of-age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of precocious and outspoken nine-year-old Marjane that we see a people's hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power - forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, she outsmarts the "social guardians" and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable...
http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persepolis/

Audio Interview with graphic illustration
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/20071225_PERSEPOLIS_FEATURE/#section1

Official Movie Website for Persepolis at: http://www.sonyclassics.com/persepolis/

Marjane Satrapi's Blog : http://www.marjane-satrapi.com/news/3.shtml

For Students

2008-02-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

Kerry James Marshall experience

We are nearing the end of the Kerry James Marshall experience and will begin putting together graphic narratives inspired by the experience. So far, what are some of your ideas? Are you beginning to carve out the characters and storylines? How is this experience going so far? Are you making connections and discovering new ideas for approaching your narratives? On this site, be sure to check out Shakespeare's Othello and Macbeth as graphic narratives.

Would love to hear from you! Click on the green comment link below and join the discussion.

--Dionne

For Teachers

2008-01-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

Here are a few ideas about how some of you are preparing for Kerry James Marshall's Rythm Mastr exhibition:

Students will look closely and respond in writing to various African sculpture objects and images

--Nancy Mulick, Wellington

Students are reading and exploring the graphic series The BoonDocks, by Aaron McGruder

--Nancy Mulick, Wellington

Students will view the PBS series Art:21 documentary segment on Kerry James Marshall

--Kim Leddy, Christopher Program

What are some other ways you are preparing students for the visual arts experience with Kerry James Marshall's Rythm Mastr? Click on comments and feel free to share.

Rythm Mastr

2007-12-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

(Click on the images to learn about each of the main characters.)

Meet Stasha and her boyfriend Farell, teenagers who become caught in the violence of their urban neighborhood, and the Rythm Mastr, an elderly man who brings African sculpture to life through his use of traditional drumming.

For the Pages visual arts experience we will explore the artist Kerry James Marshall’s exhibition of Every Beat of My Heart, from the Rythm Mastr series. The story originally in the form of a comic narrative will come to life through contemporary sculpture and the traditional Japanese art form of Bunraku puppetry.

Rythm Mastr

2007-12-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

(Click on each image to enlarge and read descriptions)

These images are examples of the kind of traditional African sculptures Kerry James Marshall used as influence for his characters in The Rythm Mastr. Each sculpture has a name and unique characteristics. As you see the images translated in graphic narrative and later through contemporary sculpture and puppetry, think about why Marshall chose these particular sculptures and how the characteristics associated with each influence the personality and actions of the characters in the Rythm Mastr story.

As you consider this, also think of what characteristics you want your own characters to have in your individual graphic narratives. Think about what influences and inspires you in history or in contemporary culture. What elements can you draw from to begin building your story?

2007-11-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

Spectropia, good or bad? what do y'all think? Personally, I liked the realism used in the analagies. I felt that T. Dove expressed her feelings about society such as politics and such as our government. What do y'all think?

Tyler F.

Hello Students!

2007-11-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

I hope you all enjoyed the Spectropia performance, the Q &A with the artist, and our discussion afterward.
Let's continue the discussion and move into your writing assignment.

Start off by posting what you wrote in your journals as an immediate response or reaction to the experience-and let's all respond to those responses! Then share a list of those emotions that the Spectropia experience evoked in you, and why you think you felt them-we all want to know!

Start thinking (if you haven't already) about your main piece of writng. Will it be fiction or creative nonfiction? Will it be an extension of the Spectropia storyline? Whose perspective will you tell it from- yours? Spectropia? William, Sally the bubble dancer? Toni Dove, the artist? The duck? Spectropia's father? Be creative and share your ideas with your new writing buddies-you shared the same experience, so that gives you the perfect opportunity to learn from each other!

P.S. What you write on the blog will be good material for your first draft...

Any questions? Start posting them!

Joan DeMartin, your writing teacher from the Wexner Center

Spectropia

2007-11-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

What did everyone think of Spectropia? Let's continue the discussion.--Dionne

Welcome to Pages!

2007-09-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Pages 2007-08. The Pages program pairs literacy and writing with the exploration of contemporary art, film, and the performing arts. This interdisciplinary multi-visit program will offer challenging contemporary arts experiences coupled with in-depth writing opportunities. Each of you will have multiple opportunities throughout the year to discuss, document and respond in writing thoughts, observations, and opinions of what you’ve gained from your experiences at the Wexner Center for the Arts. I hope you're ready because we have an exciting year ahead.

I want to invite you to use this blog as a forum for discussion with other students about the Pages experience this year. We will use this blog to have discussions with the writers, artists, and other students involved with Pages. This forum gives you an opportunity to meet other students and keep in touch while going through this experience together.

I ask that you use this forum responsibly. Please respect any opinions and comments posted on this blog. This is a positive forum to discuss ideas and be a part of a learning community outside of your school. Again, please use this tool responsibly and most of all have fun!

Again welcome and I look forward to meeting and working with each of you.

Dionne Custer

Educator, School Programs

Wexner Center for the Arts