Louis Armstrong Jazz Collage Jam Interdisciplinary workshop inspired by Flushing Town Hall’s exhibit: The Collage Aesthetic of Louis Armstrong: In the Cause of Happiness Exhibition Dates: October 14, 2011 -- 2013 Tina Seligman, Teaching Artist Student Sample

Student Sample

Following a lively interactive discussion about Louis Armstrong’s exhibit and collage inspired by jazz, students will create individual projects, and contribute to a collaborative “jazz collage jam” to experience how jazz musicians improvise and “converse” with each other. The art concepts of Collage and Sound Art will be analyzed through examples by Louis Armstrong, Pablo Picasso, David Hockney, and Christian Marclay. Students will articulate perspectives on the qualities shared by all artists, and on the connections between sound and visual storytelling, rhythms, colors, shapes, patterns, use of text (including onomatopoeia), and compositional elements. After a brief demonstration of techniques, students will create “jazz” collages with a variety of papers and pieces of audiotape while listening to a CD of music by jazz artist, Louis Armstrong, a.k.a. Satchmo. Can be adapted to all grade levels. For more information or to schedule a workshop, please contact JiYoung Kim, Education Coordinator, 718-463-7700 x241.

Supports New York State Learning Standards for: English Language Arts [ELA] - (Language for: Information and Understanding, Literary Response and Expression, Critical Analysis and Evaluation, Social Interaction) Social Studies [SS] - (History of US & NY, Traditions and Practices, Historical Narrative) Arts [A] – (Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts, Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources, Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art, Understanding the Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of the Arts

Supports NYC Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Arts Standards for: Visual Arts: Art Making; Developing Arts Literacy; Making Connections; Working with Community and Cultural Resources; Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning

Mixed media visual artist, composer, curator and writer, Tina Seligman has been a teaching Artist-in-Residence at Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts since 2000. Her workshops for visiting classes and families integrate hands-on projects with academic curriculum, art history, and related music to offer a multi-sensory experience. Tina has created and facilitated art programs for CASA, Parents as Art Partners, and NYSCA Artist-in-Residence Mentor grants, as well as for in-school residencies. In 2004, she was invited to serve as a panelist for the Arts in the Schools Grant Program through Queens Council on the Arts. Represented by Cheryl McGinnis Gallery in Manhattan since 2006, Tina’s artwork resides in corporate and private collections and her music composition September Etude was used for George Zhaozhi Xiong’s 2011 video Heaven, Earth, Circle, Square. As an art journalist, she has written for Art of the Times magazine, and her poetry has been published by P.S. 1 Contemporary Museum website, The Moon as Text, and Cicada Haiku Quarterly, among other periodicals. Website: www.tinaseligman.com

Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts at Flushing Town Hall 37-35 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, New York 11354 Ellen Kodadek, Executive and Artistic Director Gabrielle M. Hamilton, Director of Education and Public Programs JiYoung Kim, Education Coordinator

718-463-7700

www.flushingtownhall.org x225 [email protected] x239 [email protected] x241 [email protected]

The Collage Aesthetic of LOUIS ARMSTRONG: In the Cause of Happiness In addition to being a brilliant, creative jazz artist, as well as a beloved actor and personality, this exhibit reveals that Louis Armstrong (nicknamed “Satchmo” and “Pops”) was also a passionate collage artist. Although he never formally studied art, his powerful work illustrates many of the connections between jazz music and visual art, such as composition, rhythm, color, shape, storytelling, and improvisation. Artists and musicians use their respective mediums to communicate and heighten awareness. As you look at the exhibit, notice how he creates rhythms and patterns/motifs, the way he draws lines with tape, and how he uses text as a design element. His use of color ranges from bold and bright to gentle and quiet. While listening to his songs on the installed player piano, think about how his approach to music relates to his visual style. Long before the notion of “recycling” to help the environment became commonplace, Louis Armstrong, who lived from 1901 to 1971, was collecting everyday found and discarded materials to use for his collages. Experimental and extremely personal, the exhibited images are actually enlarged reproductions of the original collages, which were glued onto the numerous reel-to-reel tape boxes that housed his recordings (before audio cassettes, CDs, and digital MP3 files). Unlike record albums of the time, which had decorative covers about the music or performers, the reel-to-reel tape boxes were most often plain with a simple company logo. Armstrong transformed these boxes into vibrant journal entries about his life. One example is a collaged trumpet made from cut pieces of a Christmas card. Several works include newspaper clippings and photos related to his performances with celebrities, his friends, and his love for wife, Lucille. Others, filled with his impish sense of humor, are devoted to his favorite herbal “cleansing” beverage, Swiss Kriss, which he made his entire band drink. He also has a series (exhibited in the niche area) inspired by his audience with Pope. He was so compelled to produce these vibrant visual stories, that when he was on the road, he would purchase more scissors if he forgot to bring a pair from his home. After his death, a box was discovered containing over 20 scissors that he had collected throughout his travels. What adds to the fascination of these collages is that he had never thought to exhibit them. They were completely for his personal enjoyment and entertainment. Through this exhibit, we are also reminded that everyone can do artwork. To learn more about Satchmo’s life, you can visit the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens.