From February 9 through 27, 2011, Queens Museum of Art, in conjunction with Queens College will hold Multiple Visions: An Expressive Relation Exhibition of Student and Teacher Art. The exhibition will begin at the Queens Museum. Twelve pieces will then be chosen to participate in the Queens College exhibition for a smaller display from April 2011 until March 2012. Student participants range from Pre-K through 12. This engaging and inspirational exhibit is grounded in giving the public an opportunity to step into the world of Queens’ art teachers and students showcasing the creative results that occurs when both work together creatively.
The concept of Multiple Visions was established in November 2009, after a conversation with Dean Peterman about displaying children's art on campus. The project evolved under the direction and guidance of Dr. Rikki Asher, Professor and Director of Art Education at Queens College. With a team of Queens Museum of Art educators, along with a graduate art education student, ideas and collections of art were presented to Asher throughout the year. The collaboration helped to create an exhibition that paired student and teacher cooperative artwork. In the catalogue statement for the Multiple Visions concept and creation, Asher writes: “This expressive relational exhibition of student and teacher art displays student and teacher artwork side-by-side so that viewers might better understand the learning–teaching process which informs and nurtures students in school art classrooms.”
Asher knows firsthand both the importance of creative development and the importance of mentors. At the tender age of five, she began melting crayons on the radiator. “ I just found it fascinating,” she exclaims. Raised by her grandmother and mentored by her aunt, she grew up around constant love and encouragement, which allowed her love of art to grow and mature. Buoyantly, she reflects on a piece by Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. “
The School of Athens has always inspired me.” Along with that particular piece she also looks to Mexican murals, frescoes on the Island of Crete and Egyptian murals, to name a few. All have artistic qualities that capture and influence her perception of artistic expression.
Asher holds this exhibition as an opportunity to represent another side of traditional art displays. Alone, it does not unmask the learning process children encounter when they are creating. “Traditional art display does not, by itself, reveal the process of learning in which children engage when they create art, nor does it provide the expression of relationships among the artistic intentions of teachers and students,” says Asher.
