“I would describe my work as expressionist. The expressionist point of view is stressing your own feelings about something.”

— Jacob Lawrence

We see what we see. Or do we?

source: http://i.imgur.com/hBA5N.jpg

Yesterday, my wife and I taught back-to-back Art Literacy classes to a couple groups of seventh graders. The artist in focus was Jacob Lawrence, an artist of considerable fame and talent that brought African American history to the canvas, and to the light.

His paintings depicted social realism, and within each painting his abstract-leaning characters showed people with exaggerated features. The distortion emphasized what was important to that person. Large hands, manual laborer. Long legs, athlete.

source: http://www.thecityreview.com/jacob1aa.gif

As you take a look at some samples of his work, try to reflect on how you view people, co-workers, family, friends, strangers. What do you really see? Try to be honest.

My hunch is that we don’t see what we see.

We see what we feel.

Yesterdays gift of time … My wife, Melissa, and I taught Art Literacy at Conestoga Middle School for two classes of 7th graders.

source: http://daddytypes.com/archive/jacob_lawrence_philips.JPG

source: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzjz0cpooO1qio4j1.jpg

source: http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/1552/flashcards/763411/jpg/jacob-lawrence-harlem-series,-1942-43_–you-can-buy-bootleg-whiskey-for-twenty-five-cents-a-quart;-gouache-on-paper_jpg.jpg