The Rockwell Museum in Corning, NY is Open today, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Color, Shape & Texture: Corning-Painted Post Unified Art Student Exhibition
From December 7, 2024 to February 23, 2025
Location: KIDS ROCKWELL Art Lab
The Rockwell Museum celebrates the creativity of Unified Art students in the Corning-Painted Post Area School District! Inspired by art in The Rockwell’s collection, students created mixed media, process-based pieces with their art teachers. The individual and group projects encouraged teamwork, creative thinking and developing fine motor skills.
C-PP Elementary and High School students visited The Rockwell in the fall with their art classes and art teachers for a special tour of the Museum galleries and KIDS ROCKWELL Art Lab. Students learned about art and objects made by diverse American artists. They explored various art styles and mediums, and were prompted to look closely at landscapes, abstract paintings, sculptural works and Native American art. The visit included the Contemporary Gallery with a focus on mixed media art and Le Mat (The Fool) by Devan Shimoyama. In groups, they experienced the collection through interactive sensory exploration using sight, sound and touch.
A Rockwell educator visited the C-PP Middle School for an outreach program in October. Students had the opportunity to touch different materials and textures connected to Devan Shimoyama’s Let Mat (The Fool) artwork. Following this experience, they explored mixed media for their own projects.
This holistic program focuses on hands-on experiences, engagement and flexibility in navigating the Museum environment in both the galleries, KIDS ROCKWELL Art Lab, and through outreach visits.
Class Projects:
Zoe Fabian’s middle school students created their own mixed media self-portraits inspired by Le Mat (The Fool) by Devan Shimoyama. They incorporated iconic imagery from Tarot decks and used markers, acetate paper, glue, glitter and other materials in their pieces.
Sharron Holland’s high school students created self-portraits inspired by Martine Gutierrez, Demons, Xochipilli ‘The Flower Prince’ self-portrait. Maria Goldwyn’s Photography I students took photographs of Unified Art students and manipulated the photographs in Adobe Photoshop.
Then, Unified Art students created their own one-of-a-kind frames connected to how Gutierrez created and painted the frame for her piece. Students used different materials to express their individual identities in their work.
Victoria Riina’s students at Severn Elementary School built their own mixed media landscapes using a selection of different papers, fabrics and digital images inspired by Le Mat (The Fool) by Devan Shimoyama. Students thought about what they would wear and bring with them on their own journey. They were photographed in a pose to represent their starting point along their path. Once assembled, students added final details to their pieces using paint, glitter and other materials.
Megan Wukovitz’s high school students looked closely at the mixed media work, Le Mat (The Fool) by Devon Shimoyama. Students created playful marionettes using various collage materials, including photographs of themselves, fabric, papier mâché and acrylic. They also painted the backgrounds and posed their figures in expressive positions.
Inspired by Shimoyama’s depiction of a young person about to embark on an adventure, the student marionettes represent their young spirits full of dreams and ready to take on their own adventure of life.
Special Thanks
This special exhibition was created with support from Corning-Painted Post School District’s Special Education Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA).