Katonah Elementary’s fourth graders had time to slow down, look closely, and pay attention to their thoughts and feelings through a private visit to the Katonah Museum of Art.
The museum visit was part of a unique program that nurtures students' abilities to observe art, communicate ideas through poetry and present their work to others.
The visit began with students immersing themselves in Ali Banisadr’s complex paintings—first, in small groups with a museum docent, followed by time alone in front of the piece of their choice. They noted elements the artist included in his pantings. A wooden bear. A dragon. Wolves. The Statue of Liberty!
Artist-in-residence Pam Hart gathered them together to connect the art to their own experiences. “Imagine you are stepping into the painting. What do you hear?” Whistling. A breeze. A bell. The sea.
“What does the painting remind you of?" she asked the students. Stargazing with my mother and sisters. Visits to a beach nearby. Beeping horns in New York City. The Hudson River.
The fourth graders will use these connections in the coming days to write poems with Hart, using their rich reflections on Banisadr’s paintings as inspiration.