Tuesday, December 1, 2015

what they noticed 8 - fancy house

Sharing painted panels with art students at Carrollton Elementary School, in Carrollton, MO (Students are unnamed) Double click on images to enlarge.

Karl Marxhausen (KM): I want to show you another PERSON I've done. I need another volunteer to hold the painting. This will be our last piece. And then there will be no more peace. (points to student) This Gal Here With the glasses (GHW). (hands the work to her) Hold it up so everyone can see it. Hold it high.

GHW holds a 16 x 13 inch cradled panel.


KM: And this piece here is going to be very similar to the squirrel in the tree, the holy child, the mother daughter, in the vein, I'm sort of taking the picture but I'm doing something more with it. But it's sort of ABSTRACT, so it just depends what you want to bring to it. And I have noticed that when I paint in pieces like this - people come up to me and say things that just blow me away. That tells me that this is, uh, something more than I could have possibly imagined an art piece could be. Wow!
Like when you came up with the title of the guy painting in the park. It's like - wow, he nailed that one. (points to hand raised) Ya, what do you think?


Student At Table (SAT): Oh well, I was thinking like, maybe one of her siblings died. She was praying and she was kind of crying while she was praying.

KM: Okay, so someone who has had loss and praying (pointing to hand raised) Ya, what do you think?

Student B: Maybe she was mourning the loss of a loved one.

KM: And so this piece touches into emotions and people are in a different state. And there have been times in my life when I have gone through a rough patch and I found hope or help.


KM: (moves hand vertically down the right side of the painting) So what is THIS? Now see that is SYMBOLIC. When you add, it is sort of like that dove or bird or that thing stuck up in the corner. It is sort of like: "Hey guys! There is a clue HERE. What is THIS? How does that ADD to the painting?" (pointing to hand raised) Ya.

Student In The Back (SITB): It sort of looks like she in a real fancy house.

KM: Okay.

Ms. Jan, art teacher (MJ): You mean the background of the walls?

SITB: Yeah.

KM: Walls, okay. That is one way of looking at it. (pointing to hand raised) Yes?

Student J: I think it is light shining down from heaven.

KM: Okay, so maybe something, what they call spiritual or intangible or something abstract is going on. (pointing to hand raised) Yes?

SAT: Well I kind of different, but when you close your eyes you see a bunch of different dots and stuff. She had her eyes closed and that was what she was seeing.

KM: That is something I have never thought of! It could be something that is GOING ON INSIDE HER that is being shown to everybody!! That is a good insight. (pointing to hand raised) Yep.

Student C: Like a ray of hope.

KM: A ray of hope. And you know, that is the way I lean. When I look at this, I look someone who is troubled, going through some kind of change, or being MOVED by something for the better. And there has been times in my life where I HAVE BEEN AT THAT SPOT. For me, on an emotional level, I could really, that could be me even though I am not a girl.

Ms. Jan, art teacher (MJ) : And to me, it seems like it could be HER WORDS going (up) like if she was praying, and God's words coming down. Kind of intermingling.

KM: Sometimes paint, thank you very much (for holding painting up). Paint can show what you've got (passing hand over the painted girl's face). But then sometimes you can SHOW OTHER THINGS (hand passing downward over right side of painting). You know, certainly, when you've got super heroes, and you've got a red beam coming out of a guy's eye. It doesn't mean, like, he's walking around with a big red stick sticking out of his eye (hand moving from eye outward). No, that's a like a HEAT VISION TYPE OF THING. Or, when we have super heroes doing that (an extended arm with a palm opened outward) and you have lines like something exploding, those expressive lines are used to SUGGEST something.  Are we done? Ms. Jan?

MJ: They leave at ten after.

KM: Oh, we still have lots of time. Okay, any questions that you have at this point about painting?

Silence from class.

KM: Okay, okay, I've got something, I've got a whopper here to tackle. Something to figure out.


++++++++++++++++++

No comments:

Post a Comment