Dia Beacon, Arts Education Program: “Sensory Libraries”
Location: Dia Beacon and Sargent Elementary
Date: Spring 2024
Ages: 2nd Grade
Overview:
The Arts Education Program (AEP) is a partnership program facilitated by Dia Beacon that pairs artist educators with local Beacon City School District classrooms. Each season of AEP is comprised of six sessions with a local school, which take place both on site in the classroom and in person, as well as a culminating exhibition of student work. This iteration of Dia Beacon’s AEP program at Sargent Elementary explored ways of communicating through various kinds of information collecting represented via the five senses. We discussed different ways we can communicate, harnessing the 5 senses as a conduit. We investigated the concept of a collection or “library” in broader terms, such as: a library without any books, a library with contents that you touch but don’t see, a nature focused library, a library of smells, a library of sounds, etc. We worked individually and collectively to create different kinds of sensory libraries and collections through object making, deep exploration and engagement, close looking, and other methods. These “libraries” included: A plant library (sight), a touch library, a star library (AKA star chart), a scent library, and a sound library. Through art making activities as well as group exercises that aim to open up the conversation further, we expanded on the definitions of how art making can help us to communicate with all our being, and with all our senses activated as much as possible.
Artists in the lesson plan included Mary Heillman, Meg Webster, Eva Hesse, Anni Albers, Anna Atkins, Roni Horn, Thomas Cole, and Louise Lawler.
CRITICAL QUESTIONS:
What are some ways we can communicate and share information?
How can we communicate through art making?
Why would we engage in art making as a way to communicate?
What are the five senses?
Why are the five senses important?
What happens when we experience an artwork with our senses? What senses are activated when we encounter an artwork?
ACTIVITIES:
“Sensory Sculptures” (inspired by Meg Webster, relating to the senses of smell and touch, made from beeswax, cinnamon sticks, cloves, bay leaves, licorice twigs, and salt)
“Constellations” (inspired by Mary Heillman, relating to the sense of sight, made from hole punchers and cinefoil)
“Soil Drawings” (relating to the sense of touch, rubbings of different textures made with soil pigment based crayons)
