Fall 2015
Classroom Teacher: Josh Kleiman
Teaching-Artist: Beth Pulcinella
Josh Kleiman’s class of 9th grade students at The U School in North Philadelphia worked with Teaching-Artist Beth Pulcinella to create three-color reductive block prints based on the theme “art inspired by history.” After looking at work by artists who explored this theme from various perspectives, each student was asked to decide how they wanted to respond to the theme. The various approaches reflected the diverse relationships individuals have to history. One student chose the history of an online avatar, another the history of a sport they felt passionate about, while others chose the history of a personal dream, a significant moment, or a memory from childhood. The group decided to make a class print portfolio and explored the ways a collection of images from multiple artists can come together to tell a specific story. Students developed original compositions, enlarged their images, conducted color studies and color separating, transferred images to 8” x 10” blocks and then tackled the complex process of planning and printing a reduction print. The project provided both conceptual and technical challenges. Together the final portfolio is a revealing portrait of the group and becomes its own historical document.