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SEMINARS

2011 Seminars

1. The Art of Paying Attention – Carrie McGee (The Museum of Modern Art)

2. Life Drawing – Ephraim Rubenstein (Studio Class)

3. Why Works of Art Matter – Rika Burnham (The Frick Collection)

4. The Professional Eye – Anna Willieme (The Metropolitain Museum of Art)

1. The Art of Paying Attention - Carrie McGee  (The Museum of Modern Art)

Description: Modern and contemporary works of art demand attention; they reward by encouraging examination of the parameters (and boundaries) of sight, analysis and even the definition of art itself. How do we understand such works? What do they tell us about our own mechanisms of seeing/listening/understanding? In this course we will pay attention to works of art in MoMA's collection and to each other. In doing so we will investigate what it means to “see” an image or object, and explore the benefits of multiple modes of engagement and observation. Through close looking and group discussion, students will enhance their observation, critical thinking and communication skills.

Students will be required to actively participate in group discussions and activities. No prior knowledge of art is necessary.

About the Instructor: Carrie McGee is the Associate Educator for Community and Access Programs in the Department of Education at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. She and her colleagues have won international respect for MoMA's unique efforts to make the Museum's extensive resources, collection, and programs accessible to all. Carrie is responsible for developing programming for visitors with disabilities and in collaboration with community-based organizations. She also teaches gallery and studio programs and trains museum educators. In 2009, she co-authored Meet Me: Making Art Accessible to People with Dementia. Carrie also serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare.

2. Life Drawing - Ephraim Rubenstein (Studio Class)

Description: The practice of drawing the nude figure gives us an unparalleled encounter with the human body. We have never really looked at anything until we have tried to draw it. Drawing an object calls on the viewer to visually take it apart, analyze its components, put it back together, and understand something of how it functions.

Both intimate and detached, the practice of life drawing calls upon the entire spectrum of human response; it utilizes our analytic skills in order to measure and compare parts, our emotional side in empathizing with the human being before us, and our spiritual sense as we confront the beauty and wonder of the body.

This Elective will teach you the rudiments of proportion; of measurement (sighting); of volume (trying to create the illusion of form on a flat surface); and a basic understanding of movement.

No experience with drawing is necessary.

About the Instructor: Ephraim Rubenstein is an artist, writer and teacher. He has had over ten one-person exhibitions in New York City- at Tibor de Nagy Gallery, Tatistcheff & Co., and most recently, at George Billis Gallery in Chelsea . His work is included in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York . Mr. Rubenstein has been on the faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design, the Maryland Institute College of Art, and the University of Richmond . He is currently on the faculty of the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design.

3. Why Works of Art Matter - Rika Burnham (The Frick Collection)

Description: In Why Works of Art Matter, we propose that the relationship between art and medicine is rich and multifaceted. Students engage in dialogues about masterpieces of The Frick Collection, opening up a complex array of subtexts and interpretive possibilities. Discussing one masterpiece at a time, participants develop appreciation for works of art and contemplate how we understand them. As a class we think broadly and deeply about experiences of works of art, why they matter, and their relevance within the study and practice of medicine.

About the Instructor: Rika Burnham is Head of Education at The Frick Collection in New York City . Previously she was a museum educator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she worked from 1985 to 2008. Ms. Burnham was recognized by the National Art Education Association for sustained achievement in teaching in 2001, appointed a Getty Museum Scholar in 2002, and received the James D. Burke Prize for achievement in the arts in 2003, the first museum educator to receive this award. She received the Charles Robertson Memorial Award from the School Art League in 2005, and in 2006 was an Attingham Trust Scholar in The Royal Collection Studies Programme in London . She has been a guest lecturer and conducted workshops at art museums across the United States since 1989. She has been a visiting museum educator of the Summer Institute of Contemporary Art (TICA) and project director of the Teaching Institute for Museum Educators (TIME), both at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; an adjunct professor of Art and Art Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her publications include several essays on museum education, as well as a catalogue essay in Pierre Bonnard: The Late Still Lifes and Interiors (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009), edited by Dita Amory. Her first book, Teaching in the Art Museum: Interpretation as Experience, co-authored with Elliott Kai-Kee, was published in spring 2011.

4. The Professional Eye - Anna Willieme (The Metropolitain Museum of Art)

Description: This five-session course, based at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, utilizes observation and description of art as a means of enhancing visual diagnostic and communication skills. The foundation of the course will be student-centered discussions of art works, which will be combined with related observational, writing and drawing exercises designed to reinforce the process of looking.

As students are faced with a wide range of works including painting and sculpture, both figurative and abstract, they will learn a variety of approaches to heighten attention as well as explore, describe and expand their perceptions with the goal of applying these same skills to the practice of medicine.

Art experience welcome but not necessary

About the Instructor: Anna Willieme is the creator and director of ArtMed inSight which explores connections between art and medicine and currently focuses on the development of educational programs using art to enhance the perceptual, self-awareness and communication skills of medical students, physicians and healthcare professionals. ArtMed inSight has been collaborating with Massachusetts General Hospital since 2007 where it has been providing training programs for residents using art to sharpen visual perception and communication skills. In addition, since 2005, Willieme has been teaching “The Professional Eye,” a course for medical students at Columbia University 's College of Physicians and Surgeons designed to increase visual observational skills. Willieme is also a lecturer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a participating artist in numerous group and solo exhibitions in both Europe and the United States . Working in a variety of media including photography, printing, painting, and installation, her works are in private collections in France , Belgium , Italy , Austria , Germany , and the US . In addition, she is the recipient of grants from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and the Foundation for Art and Healing.