Tuesday, December 1, 2015

what they noticed 7 - bird ghost

Portions continue from one class period on Tuesday, Nov.17th. Sharing painted panels with art students at Carrollton Elementary School, in Carrollton, MO  (Students are unnamed) Double click on images.


Karl Marxhausen (KM): Okay, I'll show SOME PEOPLE I have done. I need a volunteer. (to student) Come on down and just hold this to show everybody.

A Student With Painting (SWP) holds up a 20 x 16 inch canvas, while I hold up 8 x 8 1/2 inch photo mounted on card stock and covered with clear packing tape (click on next image)


KM: So I showed the thing with the Holy Child, now I am going to show you, I don't even know WHAT to call it. But when you take art and you do SOMETHING  MORE with it.


KM: So here is what the picture looks like, that I worked from. And someone yesterday asked why I didn't paint in the buildings in the background. Well if I wanted to do it just like the photo there would be building back here. But when I was doing this I was doing a series. A SERIES is when you have an idea. You have one, two, three, four pieces with AN IDEA in mind. And the idea I was doing here was thinking about people in other countries that maybe think or believe in the same kinds of things that I do.


KM: And so I found this mom and this daughter. They are from a province called Samarkand. It's near Turkey. And so I was doing a series of brothers-and-sisters-of-a-faith-that-I-believe-in. And so, and so I left the buildings out. I didn't want to do them.


KM: But I did put THIS up here (pointing to the upper left-hand corner) What do you think that MIGHT be? Hold it up so everybody can see it. What do you think THIS IS!!!? It sort of looks like a star.  I don't know what it could be. (Points to student) The gal in the pink.

Student in Pink (SP): It looks a little bit like a bird.

KM: Like a bird? Yeah! ON PURPOSE!!! That's a CLUE. (To another hand raised) Yeah, what do you think?

Student Near (SN): I looked at it and I thought it was a ghost or spirit.

KM: Yeah! You are right on it! A ghost or a spirit. And a bird. Those are two very important clues. (To another hand raised) Go ahead.

Student Too Quiet (STQ): Let's see.

KM: What was that? A ghost? or a spirit? (To another had raised) What's that? Yeah?

Student X: An angel.

KM: (To student holding the painting with a hand raised) Yes, what do you think?

Student With Painting (SWP): I think, like the holy spirit.

KM: There is a thing out there called The Holy Spirit, which is like a ghost. So, by putting sort of a symbol in the picture it is sort of saying: "There is more going on there." And I'll tell you, when I was working on this, you could either call it a devotion or a meditation, where you were thinking about: Okay, this person that I have never met is connected to me. We believe in the same kind of thing. Then, it is also an EMOTIONAL piece, because I have never met these people but we have something in common. And that sort of takes art to another level. Thank you (for holding the painting for me).


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