"Meet & Greet"

Welcome, my name is Zena Kirby and I live in central New Jersey close to New York City. I am a mother, wife, daughter and art educator. I have two wonderful children, Andrew who just turned four and Cora who is one! They are my enjoyment, everyday is something new and they teach me so much. My best friend, my husband, Luke and I are high school sweethearts. We have been through everything together from high school, the Marine Corps, college, the loss of my Father and us raising two children. I am very close with my family, since my father passed away in 2013 of cancer; my mother and sister both live very close to me. I have been an art educator for grades 9-12 for the past eight years, mostly teaching 12th graders in advanced placement art history and photography. Ironically, I teach at where my husband and I met, our alma mater, North Hunterdon High School. I love educating the youth in art, it is simply put the best occupation in the world. Who would not want to talk about art all day, get their hands dirty in some clay and darkroom chemicals? Being an art educator is therapeutic, it allows my soul to feel peaceful and I take pleasure in seeing the many students ignite with the brightest light when they are introduced to a new medium or new information on the background of that art and or artist.

Public pedagogy allows education to be exposed in public spaces, including popular culture, art and political issues; public art is abrupt and confronts the viewer at a twist or turn. Mentioned in the article on public pedagogy dealing with art being made on signs, by Mckay and Keifer-Boyd, “In fact the random surprise of the signs is precisely one of their most intriguing aspects. In driving around the city, you are encouraged to drive a different path to see a new sign.” (Wilson McKay, 2004) It’s exhilarating to stumble upon art in an environment you most likely wouldn’t see art. Graffiti is just that, it surprises the viewer and attractions them.

The combination of politics and art is most famously created by, American born artist, Shepherd Fairey. A muralist, graphic designer, street artist and activist, Fairey pushes boundaries similar to graffiti artist Banksy. Fairey was born in 1970 and attended two art schools, Idyllwild Arts Academy in California and the Rhode Island School of Design. He is best known for his very vivid stark images of political figures, his OBEY clothing company, his skateboard company and the very famous, president Obama’s HOPE image that he created in 2009. The Obama HOPE image I most important to me, I can remember traveling into New York City and getting off of the subway and being confronted with that image. It will forever be something I remember, I was drawn in and literally stopped in journey and observed it as if I was in a museum. That was the very first time I had seen it, however defintely not the last. It seems after my first encounter with that piece by Fairey, I was seeing it everywhere. I was immediately fond of Fairey’s work because of the intense lines and bold contrast in the image, very stencil-like I was a fan! I then decided to research more about him after viewing that image and have always loved everything there after he created. Recently he created images during the Trump campaign of three different women of race. These images were seen at the Women’s March in Washington D.C. and once again put up on sides of buildings allowing women’s voices to be heard. He very simply creates art and politics and cohesively it works well, when asked in an interview by Gambino from the Smithsonian Museum, “What do you believe is the artist’s role when it comes to politics? I think that art has the ability to capture people’s imaginations and make them think that more is possible. My idea about the role of artists is to get people to look at things in a way that’s different than the way they normally would if they are being told how to think, what to do. I think when people receive information through art they are more open-minded” (Gambino, 2009)

Public pedagogy is just that, getting the viewer to look at art in a different way than most people normally would. Seeing the image of Obama in New York City made me feel something of a political level I had never felt before. Normally during a presidential campaign, bumper stickers and yard signs are what we view. Having seen a actual piece of art created by an artist and plastered by wheat paste in various areas, stick with me more. That image will forever be embedded in my head, I was fortunate enough to travel to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. where this political portrait is part of the permanent collection and view with my children. I was able to explain to my son why this piece of artwork meant so much to me. This piece is very positive for me and it all happened with my encounter of public street art. Public art is wonderful, it leaves an impact on the viewer in a way one cannot explain and pushes boundaries.

References:

Gambino, M. (2009, January 14). Shepard Fairey: The Artist Behind the Obama Portrait. Retrieved from Smithsonian.com: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/shepard-fairey-the-artist-behind-the-obama-portrait-45936012/

Wilson McKay, S., & Keifer-Boyd, K. (2004). Steal this sign: A semiotic expedition into Dynamite Museum’s public pedagogy. D. Smith-Shank (Ed.), Semiotics and art education: Sights, signs, and significance (p. 27). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.