TESSERACT SCHOOL STUDENTS’ “COWBOY ART” SELECTED FOR PHOENIX ART MUSEUM EXHIBIT
PARADISE VALLEY, ARIZONA –September 29, 2009– Tales of cowboys and life in the Old West have long held a fascination for children and adults alike. Students at Tesseract School have channeled their interests, capturing the spirit of the American cowboy through artistic expression in their new exhibit, “Cowboy Art.” Chosen for display at the Phoenix Art Museum’s Children’s Gallery, an artists’ reception will kick off the month-long exhibit, which coincides with the Museum’s 44th Annual Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) Exhibition & Sale, on October 7 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.
A special honor, only twelve schools from the Valley per year are selected to hold an exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum. “Professional presentation is the final step of the creative process,” commented Barbara Perez, Tesseract School’s art educator. “The public response and reaction is the framing of the work. The opportunity for students to experience a public gallery showing of their artwork is vital to any program that hopes to excel in the visual arts.”
Perez has been working with Tesseract’s kindergarten through fourth-grade students, and seventh and eighth-grade students on projects that celebrate the life of the American cowboy.
“We wanted the students to really understand the life of a cowboy—that it was a good life, but a hard life,” Perez stated.
The “Cowboy Art” exhibit is an element of Tesseract’s new Arizona history and art curriculum written last year by Perez and Teresa Copeland, Tesseract School’s librarian, who were awarded an Innovative Teaching grant sponsored by the Tesseract Parents’ Association.
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, the focus was on the fun aspects of Western culture. Students created a variety of pieces for the show—including life-size line-dancers in cowboy attire and a wall mural of Monument Valley—utilizing pencil and pastel techniques to create themes that depict a cowboy’s life.
“We are very proud of all the work Barbara and the students’ have put into preparing for this exhibit,” commented Nigel Taplin, head of Tesseract School. “Tesseract’s commitment to the arts and creative expression will truly be represented in this show.
The “Cowboy Art” exhibit will be at the Phoenix Art Museum’s Wolfswinkel Education Center (Administration Building) Student Gallery from October 2 through October 30; 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.
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