There seems to be a lot going on at the Frye Art Museum these days. The 25-year retrospective of David C. Kane entitled "Fiat Mambo" and the exhibit "Anxious Objects: Willie Cole's Favorite Brands" are visual feasts which both delight and enlighten a wide range of viewers.
A lesser-known activity of the Frye is its art education program. It is through outreach that all museums try and snag the next generation of potential visitors, and at the Frye they are trying harder to attract the attention of the most technology literate generation the planet has ever seen: teenagers.
Set off in a quiet wing, the studio sits high above most of the Frye Museum. The floor is festooned with strewn bits of brightly colored paper, bent wire and cups of tempera paint. An electric pulse of high energy shoots through the room as students grab materials, play with lights, paint, paste and play.
All of this seems pretty normal for an art studio. The first hint of something special is what is against one wall. There lined up in a row side by side are six Intel iMac computers running Apple's latest operating system. Welcome to the "Metaphors in Material Language" class taught by Seattle artist Susie J. Lee.
The course description reads: "This class is an intensive exploration of materials. Active transformation, such as burning, ripping, and melting, takes advantage of the inherent properties in materials. Add a material's symbolic and historical meaning, and suddenly a potent metaphorical language emerges. Students create artworks through the development of their own personal material language, expressing emotions and stories in powerful and engaging ways. As part of the class, students will study the work of exhibiting artist Willie Cole, who will give a personal tour of his exhibition. Playfulness, curiosity, experimentation, and a willingness to get dirty are strongly encouraged."
Instructor Lee graduated from Yale with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and later earned her master's in education from Columbia University Teachers College. She has taught science to high school and middle school students in New York City and Milford, Conn. After moving to Seattle, Lee began taking ceramics classes at the Kirkland Arts Center, completed a post-baccalaureate program in ceramics at the University of Washington, and, in 2006, received her M.F.A. She is a current member of the SOIL artist cooperative and is represented by the Lawrimore Project.
Lee seems to be everywhere at once in the classroom. At one moment she is showing a student how to capture video onto the computer using i-movie software, and in the next instant is talking to another about complementary colors in painting. What is striking and even unusual is in the focused intensity that the students bring to each experimental try at making something.
The students adapt to the video element like the beloved ducks to water in the gallery below. One student works on an image of drops of ink expanding in water, wondering if she should make the image sepia. Lee advises her to do what she wants but she has to have a reason for making the color change. Trying instead of telling seems to be the philosophy in this classroom. This approach has roots from the Austrian scientist and thinker Rudolf Steiner, who believed in learning by doing. The best examples of his approach can be found in any of the 800 Waldorf schools in over 40 countries across the globe.
The age range of the students is 15 to 19, all of whom have decided to give up a summer of Saturday afternoons to be working in Studio B at the Frye. It seems fashionable to relegate the stereotypical American teenager to the food court at the mall or parked in front of the video game consol. There is none of that here. These young people have a lot to accomplish this summer for the end goal is coming this fall when an exhibition of sculptural works made by students in the "Metaphors in Material Language" class will be showcased at the Museum. The artworks will be made in a wide range of media and should give the students an opportunity to fully work through the creative process to completion. The exhibition is scheduled to run at the Frye from Sept. 1 to Nov. 11.
"Metaphors in Material Language" is being taught at the Frye in partnership with ArtWorks, a local non-profit that works with youth to give them professional art opportunities. The exhibitions "Anxious Objects: Willie Cole's Favorite Brands" runs until Sept. 3, and "David C. Kane: Fiat Mambo" runs until Oct. 7.
The Frye Art Museum is located at 704 Terry Ave. Museum hours: Tuesday- Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday: noon to 5 p.m., Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information call (206) 622-9250. Admission at the Frye Art Museum is always free. More information is available at www.fryemuseum.org.
Steven Vroom writes about visual art monthly for the Capitol Hill Times. Reach him at editor@capitol hilltimes.com.
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