THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602090168
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Education
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
ONE STUDENT CUT up a surf board. Another invested in a pair of new crutches.
One even shredded money.
It was all in the name of art and career education.
In conjunction with the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, 50 student artists from several schools recently embarked on a unique career research project. They picked a job, interviewed someone in the field and created drawings, paintings and sculptures reflecting what they learned.
The young Picassos are currently reaping the benefits of their months of work. Their conclusions are being featured in a special student version of ``The Art of Work: The Work of Art,'' the latest exhibition to hit the galleries of the Center for the Arts.
The conceptual side of ``The Art of Work'' is what persuaded the center's education department to include students - a move that hasn't been made in at least five years.
``The project emphasized career education, art and language arts,'' said Betsy DiJulio, the art center's director of education. ``We're always looking to merge those.''
With roots in Washington, D.C., the original exhibition paired artists with non-arts professionals to explore each other's working lives and create portraits of one another. The idea was to bridge the gaps between the two worlds.
The chosen adult subjects interviewed each other about their personal and working lives and then began their interpretations based on what they learned.
When they embarked on the creation stage, the artists used whatever style suited them - from mixed-media sculpture to painting, while the non-arts professionals implemented the tools of their trades. For example, a police officer incorporated a ``most wanted'' poster, and a banker created a credit report.
Written statements served as captions, narrating the experiences.
The Center for the Arts is featuring the original exhibit, as well as a local version. In October, 16 area artists and business folks kicked off ``The Art of Work'' Virginia Beach-style - following in the footsteps of their D.C. proteges.
The student participants jumped on the bandwagon in November, when DiJulio invited Cooke Elementary, Great Neck Middle, Old Donation Center for the Gifted and Talented and Ocean Lakes High School to participate. After picking a career they were interested in and pairing up with someone in that field, the young artists were required to follow similar guidelines of the adult projects.
``We didn't want just drawings of their partners - we wanted them to be very conceptual,'' DiJulio said. ``We wanted the students to experiment with incorporating new materials into their art work, which would open a whole new world of possibilities.''
The children used their imaginations. For example, the broken surfboard was used in a rendition of a person who works on surfboards, the shredded money was used as hair for a depiction of a banker (coins were used for his eyes) and the crutches were added to a three-dimensional display representing an orthopedic surgeon.
The students interviewed their partners at their places of work, using questions designed by the three original curators. Then, they used their findings to create either two- or three-dimensional art work and to write statements summarizing their chosen field and interview, and described how the information shaped their individual pieces.
``We stressed the importance of working with theme, concepts and ideas,'' DiJulio added.
The only difference between the adult projects and the student project was that the students' partners did not have to create portraits of them.
``We thought that would be too much,'' DiJulio said.
Results were dropped off at the center and have been displayed with the rest of ``The Art of Work'' since its Jan. 19 opening. Students selected a wide range of jobs - from chef to financial analyst.
DiJulio views the outreach program as a success and plans to create something similar soon - possibly as soon as the spring when the ``It's Only Rock `n' Roll'' exhibit will open.
She added, ``This was very educational, very positive and a lot of fun.'' MEMO: ``The Art of Work: The Work of Art'' will run through March 3. The
Virginia Beach Center for the Arts is at 2200 Parks Ave. Gallery hours
are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4
p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by HOLLY WESTER
These student pieces are in ``The Art of Work: The Work of Art'' at
the Center for the Arts. With school and chosen career, they are,
from left: Kim Stultz, Cooke Elementary, oceanographer; Xan
McLaughlin, Old Donation Center for the Gifted and Talented,
orthopedic surgeon; and Danny Sumerlin, Great Neck Middle, postman.
Betsy DiJulio, director of education for the Virginia Beach Center
for the Arts, is in charge of the exhibit. She stands next to an
adult photographer's - Brenda Wright's - portrait of Sydney Meers,
chef at The Dumbwaiter.
by CNB