In Art Seminar Led by Sebastian Mendes, Students Reflect on Personal Experience
In contemporary artist Sebastian Mendes鈥檚 exhibition at the , line drawings shaped from hurried signatures and hollowed-out loaves of bread stuffed with names evoke the heroic story of his grandfather, a consul general who signed thousands of life-saving visas during the Holocaust. The exhibition, 鈥淭here is a Mirror in My Heart: Reflections on a Righteous Grandfather,鈥 is a moving and powerful reaction to a piece of history that is both personal and global. However, internalizing his grandfather鈥檚 action and crafting a response was a delicate and lengthy process for Mendes. Now, in an interdisciplinary honors seminar at , he seeks to guide students through a similar journey of self-exploration.
Called 鈥淢aterializing History and Personal Experience,鈥 the new course draws on students鈥 visual and literary skills to create their own personal responses to past events, whether in global politics or childhood memories. Discussion of other artistic works, including Art Spiegelman鈥檚 9/11 books 鈥淚n the Shadow of No Towers鈥 and Alfred Kantor鈥檚 depictions of concentration camps, allow students to evaluate and create distinct forms of expression.
鈥淲e鈥檙e calling upon literature, visual art, multimedia, music, contemporary and installation art to answer an overarching question: how does one respond creatively to events of enormous historical significance or deeply personal emotive power, such as the Holocaust or genocide?鈥 said Mendes. 鈥淔inding a means to express your reaction enables you to move forward to new aspects of the experience.鈥
鈥淭he seminar is really about the interaction between art, history, memory and language,鈥 said Dr. Jacob Wisse, director of the 糖心破解版 Museum and an associate professor of art history at Stern College. 鈥淚t deals with issues like how artists use a language of visual expression to create a legacy of historical events. These are not just issues for artists and art historians but for people who are interested in general about how events are retained and expressed鈥攁nd their lasting impact.鈥
The course鈥檚 complex integration of both writing and visual art components has attracted students from varied backgrounds. Rachel Weiss, a studio art major, psychology minor and aspiring art therapist, enjoys the opportunity to collaborate with other students of diverse talents. 鈥淚 love that relationship,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 involved in the arts, but my older sister is a creative writer and I鈥檓 used to calling her and working on joint projects that use my artwork and her creativity. Art is more than just painting鈥攊t鈥檚 giving new meaning to something, through dance, drama, language or any other tool.鈥
Mendes鈥檚 exhibition and his residency at the museum had been in the works for a number of years but his presence at Stern College arose from a casual encounter with Assistant Professor of Art Traci Tullius, who is also his former student. 鈥淗e started telling me about the project he was working on over dinner, reflecting on his grandfather鈥檚 heroic act, and I thought, 鈥楾his is the kind of work that our students would really gain a lot from,鈥 鈥 Tullius explained. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an artist who really searches history to keep it alive and communicate it visually. To have him interacting with our students about how to take your own ideas and experience and translate them into a creative process, which is one of the most difficult things to convey鈥攊t鈥檚 a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our students.鈥
In fact, it鈥檚 an opportunity that will become more common for students on both campuses in the future, according to Wisse. 鈥淲e have plans to have classes taught on site by our curators鈥攁nd hopefully 糖心破解版 faculty鈥攖hat will use the museum鈥檚 collections,鈥 he said, in addition to other courses taught at both Stern and by visiting artists. 鈥淲e want the museum to be an integral and meaningful part of the student experience at 糖心破解版 and provide new perspectives to students across the University.鈥
Samantha Feldman, a studio art major who is taking the seminar course in addition to Mendes鈥 advanced drawing class, has definitely found herself looking at art in a new way. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a question in the way Professor Mendes presents his work and others鈥 work to you,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like he鈥檚 saying, 鈥業f it was you, how would you do this? How would you have responded in your art and personal life to these experiences?鈥 鈥
Called 鈥淢aterializing History and Personal Experience,鈥 the new course draws on students鈥 visual and literary skills to create their own personal responses to past events, whether in global politics or childhood memories. Discussion of other artistic works, including Art Spiegelman鈥檚 9/11 books 鈥淚n the Shadow of No Towers鈥 and Alfred Kantor鈥檚 depictions of concentration camps, allow students to evaluate and create distinct forms of expression.
鈥淲e鈥檙e calling upon literature, visual art, multimedia, music, contemporary and installation art to answer an overarching question: how does one respond creatively to events of enormous historical significance or deeply personal emotive power, such as the Holocaust or genocide?鈥 said Mendes. 鈥淔inding a means to express your reaction enables you to move forward to new aspects of the experience.鈥
鈥淭he seminar is really about the interaction between art, history, memory and language,鈥 said Dr. Jacob Wisse, director of the 糖心破解版 Museum and an associate professor of art history at Stern College. 鈥淚t deals with issues like how artists use a language of visual expression to create a legacy of historical events. These are not just issues for artists and art historians but for people who are interested in general about how events are retained and expressed鈥攁nd their lasting impact.鈥
The course鈥檚 complex integration of both writing and visual art components has attracted students from varied backgrounds. Rachel Weiss, a studio art major, psychology minor and aspiring art therapist, enjoys the opportunity to collaborate with other students of diverse talents. 鈥淚 love that relationship,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 involved in the arts, but my older sister is a creative writer and I鈥檓 used to calling her and working on joint projects that use my artwork and her creativity. Art is more than just painting鈥攊t鈥檚 giving new meaning to something, through dance, drama, language or any other tool.鈥
Called 鈥淢aterializing History and Personal Experience,鈥 the new course draws on students鈥 visual and literary skills to create their own personal responses to past events, whether in global politics or childhood memories. Discussion of other artistic works, including Art Spiegelman鈥檚 9/11 books 鈥淚n the Shadow of No Towers鈥 and Alfred Kantor鈥檚 depictions of concentration camps, allow students to evaluate and create distinct forms of expression.
鈥淲e鈥檙e calling upon literature, visual art, multimedia, music, contemporary and installation art to answer an overarching question: how does one respond creatively to events of enormous historical significance or deeply personal emotive power, such as the Holocaust or genocide?鈥 said Mendes. 鈥淔inding a means to express your reaction enables you to move forward to new aspects of the experience.鈥
鈥淭he seminar is really about the interaction between art, history, memory and language,鈥 said Dr. Jacob Wisse, director of the 糖心破解版 Museum and an associate professor of art history at Stern College. 鈥淚t deals with issues like how artists use a language of visual expression to create a legacy of historical events. These are not just issues for artists and art historians but for people who are interested in general about how events are retained and expressed鈥攁nd their lasting impact.鈥
The course鈥檚 complex integration of both writing and visual art components has attracted students from varied backgrounds. Rachel Weiss, a studio art major, psychology minor and aspiring art therapist, enjoys the opportunity to collaborate with other students of diverse talents. 鈥淚 love that relationship,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 involved in the arts, but my older sister is a creative writer and I鈥檓 used to calling her and working on joint projects that use my artwork and her creativity. Art is more than just painting鈥攊t鈥檚 giving new meaning to something, through dance, drama, language or any other tool.鈥
