We’re gearing up for Arts Week right after spring break so we thought we’d recap on the two museums our visual arts students recently visited –  Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Broad.

“Since its inception in 1965, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has been devoted to collecting works of art that span both history and geography, in addition to representing Los Angeles’s uniquely diverse population. Today LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection that includes nearly 130,000 objects dating from antiquity to the present, encompassing the geographic world and nearly the entire history of art. Among the museum’s strengths are its holdings of Asian art, Latin American art, ranging from pre-Columbian masterpieces to works by leading modern and contemporary artists; and Islamic art, of which LACMA hosts one of the most significant collections in the world. A museum of international stature as well as a vital part of Southern California, LACMA shares its vast collections through exhibitions, public programs, and research facilities that attract over a million visitors annually, in addition to serving millions through digital initiatives, such as online collections, scholarly catalogues, and interactive engagement at lacma.org.” – lacma.org

One of LACMA’s public programs are school tours.  The tour we went on was about the Art of Many Cultures. On this tour, students discovered and compared art from many different cultures (Western and non-Western), identifying the unique qualities that relate a work of art to the historical time period and place of its origin.  Students also learned how culture and art influences each other.  We saw examples of Hindu, African, Pre-Colombian,  Egyptian, Assyrian, Dutch, and Roman art along with some contemporary American art.

Chris Burden Urban Light. 2008

Our other field trip was to The Broad, a new art museum in downtown Los Angeles.

“The Broad is a new contemporary art museum founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles which opened in September of 2015. The museum is designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler and offers free general admission. The museum is home to the 2,000 works of art in the Broad collection, which is among the most prominent holdings of postwar and contemporary art worldwide, and has launched an active program of rotating temporary exhibitions and innovative audience engagement.” the broad.org

“The Art+Rhyme program include materials and creative writing activities developed through The Broad’s partnership with 826LA, a nonprofit writing and tutoring organization. The Broad invited 826LA to develop creative writing exercises about select artworks on view at the museum that invite students and their teachers to explore the artists’ creative process by engaging the same questions artists ask themselves when creating an artwork. These activities and materials offer students and their teachers the opportunity to discover the Broad collection while developing critical and visual thinking skills through narrative, opinion, and informational writing prompts.” – the broad.org

The first work we viewed and discussed was “Flag” by Jasper Johns.

Jasper Johns Flag 1967 encaustic and collage on canvas (three panels) 33 1/2 x 56 1/4 in. (85.09 x 142.88 cm)

Students were asked to write a poem about the American flag, and the meaning it holds as a symbol of the country they live in, and the events that make up America today. Below are some of their poems:

“Votes were not all counted, Death, Families separated, Disaster.”

“America Today- So virtuous and free. Had to fight for it’s values in order to succeed. The fight still continues even to this day. But the flag hangs higher, glows brighter.”

“America with its many hidden secrets sweep its dirt under the rug. But we know, MyPeople, de mi tierra, We know cause we’re the ones who get swept. It’s not a secret.”

“Freedom

Liberty

America

Gratitude”

“The flag holds many secrets, while some think it’s amazing the flag doesn’t represent all of us, they want us to stand up and praise this flag, but when I.C.E. is taking my people everyone is sitting.”

“No justice, No peace, let our people speak.”

“Freedom which can be called

Liberty, which is given to

All but is always taken for

Granted in today’s America”

“Red like the blood we shed, Blue like our battered skin, White Like our innocence. This flag represents struggle and determination.”

“America, land of the free. Yet still people look like they are being oppressed. America, land of the free. Yet still men seem to matter more than me. America, land of the free. Yet still I have to look over my shoulder while walking. America. still feel free?”

“American flag why do you make me sad? You’ve hurt my people. You’ve come with slavery, oppression, and police brutality. I can’t wait until my people are free…. oh when will that be??”

“War, wage on

But don’t involve US

Do we even have a choice?”

“Flag that is red, white, & blue. Stories that are beneath you, that show the pride. But, on the side, many people died.”

The second piece we viewed and discussed was “Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground)” by Barbara Kruger.

Barbara Kruger Untitled (Your body is a battleground) 1989 photographic silkscreen on vinyl 112 x 112 in. (284.48 x 284.48 cm)

Students were asked to write a response to “Your body is a battleground” in poem form. Below are some of their responses:

“Based on stereotypes given by

Our society in this

Dark, corrupt reality

Yearning for acceptance, we forget to value our bodies.”

“The body, everyone adores it only when the waist is small.  Society tells us to love ourselves but when we have confidence they shut it down.”

“My body and my mind are mine and MINE only.  I am beautiful, I am strong, I am me. If to live happily means to upset you so be it.  I am mine and MINE only.  I don’t live for you.”

“My body is a battleground.  The war of mind where soldiers keep coming and I am on my last leg.  But my body is a battleground and I keep fighting to live.”

“I fight my inner self.  I fight when I’m down.  I fight the world about my meaning.  I’m just a girl and I have to fight for no reason.”

“My body is beautiful, My body is powerful, My body is strong, My body is worthy, My body should be respected.”

“Beautiful

Ours

Dignified

Youthful”

“My body is not a material, I am beautiful, I am strong, We must stand for what is right, without a fight. #Woman unite.”

“My body is a battleground.  I choose what to do with it.  Nobody has a say in it but me.  you can’t control me.  I won’t let your words affect me.  You mean nothing to me.”

We’re very grateful to live in a city with so many artistic opportunities and access to educational resources outside of the classroom.  Thank you to both museums for providing these fantastic programs for students.