The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College presents a series of ten Family Saturday programs to accompany the work in our fall exhibitions Give a damn. and 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980.
Held on Saturdays from September 29 through December 8 (except November 24), the programs include a brief tour followed by a hands-on art activity, with all materials provided.
The programs run from 2:00 – 3:30 PM (except where noted on Oct. 20), and are free and open to the public. Suitable for children age 5 and up along with their adult companions, the Family Saturday programs are fun and educational. Be prepared to get messy and have fun. And dress accordingly!
Reservations are required and may be made one week in advance of each program. For additional information and reservations, call the Tang’s Visitor Service Desk at 518-580-8080.
Share your Family Saturday photos on social media by including #tangfamsat.
September 29: Future World
Inspired by the work in the Give a damn. exhibition, we will discuss a wide range of issues that the artists raise, challenging us to think about what we care about. Using a variety of colored and printed paper, markers, pom-poms and other embellishments, we will imagine and create a future world based on what we care about!
October 6: Wacky and Funky Creatures
After looking at the fun works by the Chicago Imagists in the exhibition 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980, we will create our own wacky creatures using paper bags, felt, googly eyes, popsicle sticks and more! Let’s see how funky we can get!
October 13: The Exquisite Imagist Corpse
After looking work in the exhibition 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980, we will work in small groups to create an Exquisite Imagist Corpse! Based off the popular activity called the Exquisite Corpse, we will take turns creating our own life-sized figures. Working with cut out paper, markers, fabric and embellishments, each group will present a corpse of their own imagination for all to see!
October 20: Family Saturday Celebration Weekend
Join us for a drop-in activity during Family Celebration Weekend on Saturday, October 20, any time between noon and 1:30 pm. We will be making be creating our own wacky creatures—inspired by figures in 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980—using a variety of materials that will let your creativity run wild.
October 27: Spooky Masks
Just in time for Halloween, we will create our own masks inspired by the masks featured in 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980. We will collage tissue paper and magazine images, and decorate with markers, pom-poms, and paints.
November 3: Puppets on the Move
We will look at the elaborate puppets by artist Karl Wirsum in 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980, and then create our own moving puppets using paper cut outs, fasteners, fabric, markers, buttons, and various embellishments.
November 10: Build a Skyscraper
After looking at the Roger Brown sculpture Twin Towers, 1977, in 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980, we will talk about images of the city and the enormous skyscrapers that inhabit it. What happens in those tall buildings and what might you see in the windows? Come and create your own skyscraper, outfitted with windows, designs, and patterns using materials such as paper, skinny colored tapes and markers.
November 17: 16th Make-a-Turkey-Out-of-a-Potato Festival
Join us for the 16th Annual Make-a-Turkey-Out-of-a-Potato Festival! We will make holiday centerpieces out of potatoes, pipe-cleaners, feathers, and beads. Create a fantastic bird sculpture to decorate your table!
You can register for this one anytime. No limit, but advance registration is encouraged.
November 24: No program
December 1: Treasure Chest
After looking at H.C. Westermann’s sculpture Memorial to the Idea of Man if He Was an Idea in 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980, we will create our own treasure chests filled with all kinds of objects and images from our imagination. What kinds of things would you want to keep in your treasure chest? Materials include cardboard boxes, felt, paper, markers, buttons, and other materials!
December 8: What’s on TV?
After looking at Ed Flood’s plexiglass sculptures in the exhibition 3-D Doings: The Imagist Object in Chicago Art, 1964-1980, we will create our own TV monitors using sheets of clear acetate, paint pens and paper. What kinds of images would you find on your TV screen?
About the Tang Teaching Museum
The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the institution’s approach has become a model for university art museums across the country—with exhibition programs and series that bring together the visual and performing arts with fields of study as disparate as history, astronomy, and physics. The Tang Teaching Museum’s building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of ideas and exchange the institution catalyzes. The Tang is open Tuesday through Sunday, from noon to 5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm on Thursday. More information at http://tang.skidmore.edu.
