February 12, 2005

Kids Can Make Collages at MASS MoCA on Saturday, March 12

(North Adams, Mass.)-- As a follow-up to its Projections Film Forum with Working Films which took place March 3 - 6, MASS MoCA is offering a collage workshop for kids on Saturday, March 12, at 11 A.M. in association with Kidspace. Just as the focus of the Film Forum was on using film to affect social change, the focus of this children's workshop will be on making posters about issues using collage techniques. The workshop will be held in MASS MoCA's Rehearsal Hall on the second floor.

Collage artist Karen Arp-Sandel will lead the workshop which will explore ways of using found materials to make posters about issues that resonate with the participants. Arp-Sandel and Kidspace will supply magazines and other found objects for kids to use as materials.

The art of collage was initiated in 1912 when Picasso pasted a section of commercially printed oilcloth to his cubist painting, Still Life with Chair Caning. This technique of cutting and pasting natural or manufactured materials to a painted or unpainted surface grew in popularity through the years and collage elements appear in works by Gris, Braque, Malevich, Dove, and the futurist artists. A basic means of Dada and surrealist art, collage was used by Arp, Schwitters, and Ernst. Collage is related to the newer art of assemblage, in which the traditional painted canvas has been abandoned in favor of the assembling of bits of material, which are sometimes additionally painted or carved.

Karen Arp-Sandel is an artist-educator who loves sharing the spirit of experiential art education with kids of all ages. A former elementary school teacher, she is the Project Manager for Art Shop for Kidspace and enjoys guiding children in their unique self-expression with open-ended, "process" oriented projects. In her own art Arp-Sandel produces watercolor works, monotype prints, and collages of all shapes and sizes.

The Collage Workshop is sponsored by Banknorth and co-presented with Kidspace.

Admittance to the Collage Workshop is free with museum admission. Museum admission is $10 for adults, $4 for kids between six and sixteen, and free for children under six. Admission is free for members. Space is limited, so advance reservations are recommended (even for members). Reservations can be made through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesdays). Reservations can also be made over the phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org