Whitney Educators and Teachers Visit Dawn Clements’s Solo Show and Studio
May 4, 2010
Whitney educators and teachers in the Museum's year-long Teacher Exchange program recently visited Biennial artist Dawn Clements in Brooklyn.
Teachers and Whitney educators visit Boiler, Pierogi, April 2010. Photograph by Liz Gillroy.
Teachers and Whitney educators look at Dawn Clements's Boiler, April 2010. Photograph by Liz Gillroy.
The day began at Boiler, Pierogi, a gallery in Williamsburg which in its former life served as a factory. With its expansive forty-foot ceilings, the space was perfectly suited for Clements's large-scale sumi ink drawing, Boiler, which was inspired by Pierogi's huge boiler room. Teachers and museum educators were wowed by the immense size and meticulous detail of the ink drawing which was displayed opposite the boiler itself.
Afterwards, everyone visited Clements's studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In an animated conversation between the artist and educators, Clements shared her methods, process, and the ideas behind her work. Teachers were particularly interested in Clements's college teaching experience, and together they discussed various methods of bringing art into the classroom.
Dawn Clements, Mrs. Jessica Drummond’s (‘My Reputation,’ 1945), 2010. Pen with ink on paper, 87.5 × 240 in. (222.3 × 609.6 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Pierogi, New York
Clements also spoke about her work in the Biennial, Mrs. Jessica Drummonds ('My Reputation,' 1945), and demonstrated for the teachers how she freezes film scenes on her television in order to draw her multi-perspective, panoramic interiors. The studio itself was brimming with a variety of works in different stages of completion. Teachers got an up-close look at a selection of these life-size, detailed drawings, depicting everyday items such as shoes, aluminum cans, and a kitchen table.
By Sarah Meller, Education Assistant