Learning: Greenwich Country Day School
1999 | Greenwich, CT
PROJECT PARTNERS:
Eight students from the Greenwich Country Day School, grades pre-kindergarten through eight, were asked to contribute equally to the creation of this project. Each of the students were invited to participate in dialogue about learning. After recording their thoughts, Cook made photos of each participant and collaboratively chose a quotation from their interview.
The interviewees were then invited to the school gymnasium-turned-studio and further integrated into the art making process. The participants, their classmates, and some faculty sketched projections of the students from clear polyester drawings made from the photographs, illuminated on an overhead projector. Concurrent to small groups of students tracing the projections, each worked on play or worksheets to exercise their critical thinking skills and highlight the experience as a whole.
The final products of the process were eight paintings of the interviewees, each with a large quotation. The works were initially installed temporarily in the upper field at the Greenwich Country Day School, and after a short time, three of the works were installed permanently at the school. This project aimed to empower students by beautifying their school with artworks that featured images of themselves and their voices, and that they were directly involved in creating.