Discovery & Engagement Discovery & Engagement

LIBERAL ARTS MAGAZINE Spring 2004
16
DISCOVERY & ENGAGEMENT in the School of Liberal Arts
Finding the
Artist
BY SIMONE HALL
“ Don’t talk. Don’t touch. Don’t linger. Just don’t.”
These are the memories Craig Martin, director of
the Purdue University Galleries, has of his boyhood
trips to art museums. “I want to make art a more
accessible experience,” says Martin of his latest event,
“Light, Sight, Scene,” which brought art to 3,000 K–12
students this past fall.
Craig Martin, director of the Purdue University Galleries,
talks about art with a group of local school children.
Within
Students who attended the event joined with such
muses as Rembrandt to produce their own artistic pieces,
which were then hung beside the show’s masterpieces.
“Art museums tend to be stuffy and prevent interaction,”
says Martin. “I want students to value their artistic creations.
Connecting one’s creations to renowned masters is
a powerful experience.”
A trip through Purdue’s private art collection began
the experience. Graduate students led the younger students
through the masterpieces. Lingering at their own
pace, students chose art most inspiring to them before
regrouping a few steps away to develop their own artwork.
“With this kind of event, the students are transported
to a new world that makes them feel like artists for
a day. College students, parents, and grandparents enthusiastically
peek over their shoulders and make comments,”
says Sue Perry, a Golden Apple award-winning art teacher
at Mayflower Mill Elementary in Lafayette.
Because Perry writes all of her lessons to state standards,
she appreciates having a valuable activity that fits
right into the “careers and community” requirement.
Beyond these direct benefits, Perry’s students’ self-esteem
and love for art are enhanced.
For Martin, this latest event is a start of what he hopes
will be a long line of experiential activities that enable
people to connect with artwork personally. Initial success
with this concept while at Wright State University in
Dayton, Ohio, prompted him to introduce this concept to
Purdue, and art teachers like Perry are reaping the benefits.
“I’d love for all students to have this kind of opportunity,
but it’s almost like I’d like to keep it secret from
other schools so that my students will always get to go,”
says Perry. “It’s quite a change from the hands-off events
of the past. You’re part of the show. It’s invaluable.”