Visual Arts

The visual arts program enables students to develop the art skills and techniques necessary to give full visual expression to their ideas and experience. The students are involved in age-appropriate, material-based art exploration, through painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and collage.  Art projects are often interdisciplinary, offering students the chance to consider aspects of their other classes through a cultural lens.  Individual creativity within the context of a larger art historical dialogue is emphasized.  There is opportunity to visit the many museum and cultural institutions of New York City.

Fifth & Sixth Grade

Required Courses

Fine Art 
The 5th and 6th grade art students begin their year in art by designing and binding their own personal sketchbooks for drawing investigations. Students begin each class with 10 minutes of silent drawing. Using real specimens such as insects, bones and shells, they create their own observation drawings in pen and ink, and complete an indepth study of drawing and mark-making, which includes drawing techniques such as contour, figure and still life. They use charcoal, pencil, graphite and conte crayons to investigate the subtle aspects of line, how to use darks and lights, and how to create texture in their work.  They also explore in pen, brush and ink, looking at masterworks by classical artists to study the properties of lights and darks and ink washes.  In addition to drawing, students explore painting and sculpture through various materials such as clay, wire and paper mache.  
     Many 5th and 6th grade art projects are interdisciplinary---connecting to the course of study in the Humanities curriculum.  This offers students the chance to consider aspects of their other classes through a cultural lens.

Woodshop
A full-year course for fifth and sixth graders, students get the chance to test skills learned in the Lower School. Projects are carefully planned, with each child using his/her plan as a guide throughout the various stages of a project. The class is often given a problem to solve such as redesigning a simple box, chair or clock in order to make it unique and different. The project and cutting plan seeks to eliminate waste and promote rational thinking. Some recent projects have included a marble run by fifth graders and Adirondack chairs built by sixth graders. 

Seventh Grade Electives

Studio Art (Fall)
The Studio Art program is designed to expand students technical skills and visual language so that they can give vision to their own ideas and to expand the world of their imagination. By working in both two-dimensions and three-dimensions, students broaden their understanding of representing the human figure, perspective, the properties of collage, drawing from observation and imagination, painting, color mixing, and sculpting. Students will go on at least one field trip.

Woodshop (Fall)
This is a one-semester course that reintroduces the basic shop skills and techniques. Students will learn how to plan and create their own ideas while working safely with both hand and power tools. The first part of the course will be spent on a group project exploring how things are constructed both by observing the world around us and by trying different ideas. We will look at the many different ways that wood and other materials are used to create both functional and artistic projects. The rest of the term will be spent on individual and group projects of the students own choosing. Through the process of planning and constructing these projects we will examine the concept that there is usually more than one right way to do something.

Independent Art (Spring)
The independent art class is designed to encourage and aid students to explore projects of their own conception, developing skills and ideas through a autonomous approach with support. The nature of the small class size allows for the one-on-one instruction that this kind of exchange requires. All students make hand bound books and cultivate a sketchbook practice as a means to research and draw. In addition to the studio component, students research and present an artist to the class in order to deepen their understanding of art history. Students will go on at least one field trip. Class meets twice a week.

Eighth Grade Electives

Film as Art (Fall)
This elective is an introduction to the creative process of cinema. Students will watch movies or movie segments in order to analyze them shot by shot. They will also learn techniques through various creative exercises. Most importantly, students will work together in groups to produce their own scripts for short films. Possible field trips include: MoMA film screenings, Museum of the Moving Image.

Independent Art (Fall)
The independent art class is designed to encourage and aid students to explore projects of their own conception, developing skills and ideas through a autonomous approach with support. The nature of the small class size allows for the one-on-one instruction that this kind of exchange requires. All students make hand bound books and cultivate a sketchbook practice as a means to research and draw. In addition to the studio component, students research and present an artist to the class in order to deepen their understanding of art history. Students will go on at least one field trip.

Spanish Cartooning and Comic Books (Fall/Spring)
Comics have sometimes been controversial and they are a wonderful medium to use in the study of race, class, gender, nationalism, popular culture, consumerism and national Identity in America. This class will look at the development of comics after WWII. While newspaper comics were censored to some extent, comic books were not. Many were extremely violent and caused a move towards censorship after WWII. A new comic character, the superhero appeared at this time. Superman and the amazing characters that followed him were extremely popular with a different audience than prior comics. These heroes were created by and for people that needed them. In this class we will explore the comic medium as pop culture as well as the world that they were born out of. This elective will have a foundation in the spanish language. Ideas behind this will be largely student driven and can range from conversational spanish to creating spanish subtitles for cartoons. Espero con interés trabajar con todos ustedes el próximo año. (I look forward to working with all of you next year). 

Studio Art (Spring)
Art class focuses primarily on refining students’ understanding of 2-dimensional materials and techniques including drawing, painting and printmaking. Students work from observation, imagination and memory in order to expand their visual language and give full expression to their own ideas and experiences. Projects are complemented by at least one field trip and discussion of both historical and contemporary artists’ work in class.

Woodshop (Spring)
This is a one semester course that reintroduces the basic shop skills and techniques. Students will learn how to plan and create their own ideas while working safely with both hand and power tools. The first part of the course will be spent on a group project exploring how things are constructed both by observing the world around us and by trying different ideas. We will look at the many different ways that wood and other materials are used to create both functional and artistic projects. The rest of the term will be spent on individual and group projects of the students own choosing. Through the process of planning and constructing these projects we will examine the concept that there is usually more than one right way to do something.

See Student Art in the Media Gallery for samples of student work.