TESSERACT SCHOOL STUDENTS’ “COWBOY ART SHOW” ON DISPLAY AT THE PHOENIX ART MUSEUM’S WOLFSWINKEL EDUCATION CENTER
PARADISE VALLEY, ARIZONA –November 2, 2010–Students at Tesseract School have captured the spirit of the American cowboy in their new exhibit, “Cowboy Art Show.” Chosen for display at the Phoenix Art Museum’s Children’s Gallery, an artists’ reception will kick off the month-long exhibit on November 10 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Special guest, cowgirl singer and poet, Gail Starr, will accompany the students’ work at the reception with music and songs of the Old West. The students’ exhibit coincides with the Museum’s 45th Annual Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) Exhibition and Sale.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the students, and it is a special honor. Only twelve schools from the Valley per year are selected to hold an exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum,” said Barbara Neuske-Perez, Tesseract School’s visual literacy and arts educator.
The “Cowboy Art Show” exhibit is an element of Tesseract’s Arizona history and art curriculum, which was recently written by Neuske-Perez and Teresa Copeland, Tesseract School’s librarian. The two were awarded an Innovative Teaching grant sponsored by the Tesseract Parents’ Association, which enabled them to research and write the curriculum.
In all grade levels at Tesseract, students explore the arts, one of the school’s signature programs, and learn to understand the cultural and historical significance of art through art history, discussion, observation, literature, song, drama and the production of artwork. For this year’s exhibit, Tesseract students were encouraged to express their studies of Arizona’s history, the past and the present, through their artwork.
In preparation for the exhibit, students in kindergarten through high school focused on the life of the cowboy and the history of Arizona. Tesseract’s kindergarten through third-grade students explored the roles of cowboys and cowgirls, as well as symbols that are associated with them, and then created works of art that reflect themselves as cowboys and cowgirls, while the fourth- graders focused on the Western environment and created landscapes reflective of either desert landscapes or a town from the Old West. Tesseract’s middle school students utilized the school’s iPads to research and study Southwestern artists and to gather ideas for their compositions, and Tesseract’s high school students examined Arizona history and the current landscape of Arizona, combining aspects of the old and the new for their compositions.
"Arizona has such a rich visual past. As we continue to develop our state we have the traditional monuments created in stone intermingled and adjoining modern day architecture and culture,” noted Neuske-Perez. “We are able to enjoy and appreciate the best of both worlds as we move through the 21st Century, which the students were able to capture through their artwork.”
The “Cowboy Art Show” exhibit will be at the Phoenix Art Museum’s Wolfswinkel Education Center (Administration Building) Student Gallery through the month of November; the gallery’s viewing hours are Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Phoenix Art Museum is located at 1625 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix.
About Tesseract: A leader in education in the Valley, Tesseract School prepares students to excel in college and beyond, lead lives of purpose, and become ethical and compassionate citizens with a global perspective. Tesseract’s innovative educational approach engages students in learning, enabling them to master the basics and become critical thinkers. As a non-profit, independent private school for students in preschool through grade 12, resources are directed to recruit and retain outstanding educators and continually enhance the school’s two campuses in Phoenix and Paradise Valley. For information visit www.tesseractschool.org or call 480.991.1770.
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