Inspired by the Masters

Warhol, Banksy, Close, Kandinksy, Basquiat and Lichtenstein were a few of the masters of modern art who inspired our eighth graders' Arco projects this year.

For the final major project in their humanities class, the boys are challenged to create an original piece of work in the spirit of a famous artist.

Under the guidance of their teacher and Art Historian, Nancy Iannicelli, boys research the artist, and write a brief biography as well as a reflection on their process in creating the work which includes challenges that they faced from conception to realization.

Last week, the boys presented their artwork and the rationale behind it, without divulging the identity of the artist they were inspired by, to teachers and art professionals who served as judges. Later that

The boys' works were exceptional and thematically wide ranging. Some referenced the school they will soon be graduated from; others spoke to social or geopolitical issues; while still others focused on personal philosophy and aesthetics.

This is the first class to have engaged in our partnership with the Guggenheim as seventh graders in "Learning to See through Art"-- an intensive observational drawing unit conducted in the Thannhauser Gallery of the museum. The unit builds the boys' confidence as artists, as they master drawing skills and techniques while closely studying the works of modern masters. This positive effect was most certainly on display last week in this seminal experience that interweaves art, art history, rhetoric and analysis.

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OLIVER!

This morning our fifth graders continued a great year-end tradition at Saint David's, The Fifth Grade Musical. The boys performed Oliver! and they were fantastic, providing impressive performances and demonstrating great vocal ability. They have been mastering the dialogue and musical numbers for weeks, and clearly gave it their all. Congratulations to the cast on a job well done, and to their Producers/Teachers James Hubbard and Jamie MacNeille, Director Phyllis Clark, Musical Conductor Jeff Moore, and the Parent Committee of Cynthia Chapman, Susan Kissane, Tara Neumann, Joyce Restituto, and Ann Roberts. Musical theater is alive and well at Saint David's!

Sixth Graders Meet with Dr. Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at the American Museum of Natural History

Dr. Carter Emmart with Saint David's Sixth Graders This past Friday, as part of our unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History, sixth graders had the great honor to attend a private lecture given by Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at AMNH. Dr. Emmart told the boys about his passion for science along with an overview of the history of the Hayden Planetarium. He also gave the boys advice on how to take scientific information about the universe and compile it into an interesting and captivating show for an audience. The boys were able to see Dr. Emmart's original sketches, which helped create the Uniview program they are using to develop their presentations. The session provided our boys with an opportunity to learn how art and science come together in the planetarium, and to obtain expert advice on developing their own space shows from one of the creators of Uniview . You can learn more about Dr. Emmart's work and Univie...

Tales of a Good Man

"Sometime in the midst of all this, we became friends. And his story, and all its vast world passed into mine." --From the Introduction of Blood & Oil by Roxane Farmanfarmaian. "Stories are so important; they become traditions that tell about the good that often comes out of bad experiences..." So began Roxane Farmanfarmaian's fascinating talk Monday night at Saint David's Seventh Grade Father-Son Dinner. Dr. Farmanfarmaian, Affiliated Lecturer of Modern Middle East Studies at the Political and International Studies Department at Cambridge University, was introduced by her nephew, Saint David's seventh grader Cyrus '17. She spoke to the seventh grade boys and their fathers about what makes a "Good Man" through the prism of her book Blood & Oil : A Prince's Memoir of Iran from the Shah to the Ayatollah (Random House 2005), which she co-authored with her late father, Prince Manucher Farmanfarmaian. The memoir i...

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