To the editor:
The contrasts in China surrounding my students are enormous. Surrounded by glittering high rises, 24-hour electricity, and a demand for new products, China is on the front line of the new 21st century world. At the same time this is happening, old traditions and stylings remain. There is the cultural tradition of a step that must be stepped over in a doorway; body language habits of the five-fingered handkerchief; and an impatience to wait for the crowd to move are common anecdotes.
Arts education is part of the Chinese curriculum. Students do get some arts training in their school programs. Within the rigid constraints of the society, students have some chance to see the basics of art and learn of its use in studying. Often I will have my students draw the results of the lesson rather than repeat the words that they have learned. This gives me lots of additional information about how the student is incorporating the classroom experience. Also makes for good stuff to hang on the wall.
It was with pleasure that I followed the Art Mobile work at the Wintergreen Art Center. Ms. Gilman-Zubrick had taken a second rate program and inspired it with vision and direction. Getting art into the schools. Taking art to the schools so that schools could supplement their programs.
From the pictures posted on Facebook it looked so cool! That old ambulance, repurposed and recycled into a mobile arts laboratory that could reach students who might otherwise not have any exposure to his cultural heritage. Supporting this initiative with innovative workshops and programs allowed Presque Isle and The County to engage with the community on a different level.
My students are surrounded by 5,000 years of art. Much of it is now machined from silk and stone just like the cast apartment blocks that make a modern city. When I would show off those pictures of what other students were doing and how we had a mobile arts machine that would visit a school students were surprised. They loved the truck!
Arts education is a lot like farming. Till the soil, plant the seed and then leave it, little knowing what tomorrow will bring. If luck comes through then a few short months produce food that we can eat.
Ms. Gilman-Zubrick has brought focus, direction, and joy to a program that easily becomes moribund in petty disagreements and fear of tomorrow. Her departure leaves a large open space that will be hard to fill. Thankfully, some of her work helped in places that were unexpected.
Art is always unexpected because it shows us the beauty of learning something new. It is our protection against mediocrity and narrowness. Thanks for the pictures.
Orpheus Allison
Guangzhou, China
orpheusallison@mac.com
