New Children's Museum

Going to the New Children's Museum was a new experience for me.  I have never been in a museum centered around children.  I loved my time at the museum.  I enjoyed the hands on interaction with the art.  You could go in the barn and dance or take some blue paint and paint on a whale.  You can jump through a rainbow or you can swing on a rope.  All these things represent art, but it is more meaningful and easier to grasp concepts for children.  My favorite part of the museum would have to be the rain room.  I loved sitting in their and listening to the rain hit the metal roof.  I can definitely see myself in the future bringing my class to this museum.
I believe that they have successfully integrated new media into art at the New Children's Museum.  In the barn house, you could listen to music and flip on and off lights.  As you walk through the museum, you are listening to whale and bird noises.  In one room, there is a delay video recording that children can play with.
I believe that the museum is not just for entertainment.  The museum tries to get the children to also think critically.  By each piece of art, there are cards with commands and questions that the children should either perform or answer.  I believe this takes the museum beyond just being some place to play.

Luz Chung

From watching the video clip of John Stewart on the Daily Show, I am shocked to find out that this had been going on in Texas.  I am surprised that ordinary people (like the dentist) are allowed to be on a school board that concerns the type of education that children are receiving.  Most of these people on the school board have no experience in education.  I believe that this should be outlawed.  I think that people who are inexperienced with education should not have a say on what should be put in state textbooks.
The quote by Paulo Freire is very moving.  I believe that what Freire wrote is the absolutely true about "Pedagogy of the Oppressed."  You can see how "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" takes place throughout history.  One example of this is the history of California.  The Native Americans of California faced this oppression from Spanish missionaries.  They made the Native Americans leave their homes and tradition to live in the missions.  This continued on with the Mexicans taking over California, and later the Americans.  The Native Americans were constantly oppressed.
One way you can use art in the classroom to create a common ground among your students is through self portraits.  This allows children to love their bodies and their skin.  You can have the student paint themselves creatively, emphasizing their favorite aspect of themselves.

Children and Their Art

Media art is starting to take a major role in art today.  The invention of photography caused this shift into this new style of art.  One example of this is the Tribute in Light.  This is a photograph of the two lights that represent the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they fell.  This is an example of media art because it is taking the use of photography to bring across a message or meaning.  Another example of this is Sandy Skoglund's Radioactive Cats.  In this photograph, the artist paints the room a certain color and places certain objects in certain places to make art.  This is a unique way to create art through the use of media.
Media art can also be implemented in the classroom.  One way to do this is through self-portraits.  (Like what we did in class) you have the students dress up and pose like a character that they identify with.  This is an easy to create media art in the classroom, and it is also fun for the children.  This also allows children to be creative in the type of outfits and materials they decide to use to reflect the character they are trying to portray.

Visit to SDMA

I greatly enjoyed our trip to the San Diego Museum of Art.  I have always been interested in visiting this museum, and was so excited when we finally did.  Looking at all the different artwork was an amazing experience.  The most interesting part of the museum was on the artist Howard Hodgkin.  Hodgkin's painting Leaf showed me how complex an art piece can be, when on the surface it looks so simple.  I never thought that art could be so simple and yet so complex with meaning at the same time.

 
I also liked looking at different types of art from different countries.  You could see the similarities and differences from artwork done in India and those done in the United States.  I really enjoyed how the tour was showing us how we, as teachers, can use art in our classroom in many different subjects, including mathematics.  I found myself beginning to visualize what it would be like to bring my future class to SDMA.
The San Diego Museum of Arts is a viable place for elementary and secondary students.  I believe that SDMA would be a positive learning device for children to think more critically.  At the museum, the students and teachers could use VTS to begin thinking on a deeper level for the artwork that they are perceiving.  As much as I would like to say that the San Diego Museum of Art is accessible for elementary and secondary students, in some cases I do not believe it is.  I feel like some schools that are located in a low-income community will have a harder time getting the students to the museum.  Transportation is obviously the the problem with making SDMA accessible.