RE LOG Fall 2017

FALL 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 39 Receiving a Bowden Fellowship allowed me to take a course on acute observation at the Harvard Summer School. The class focused on the design and structure of the American environment in relation to the changing fabric of American society. I was able to learn about a variety of things, from the history of the color chartreuse, to the etymology of the word landscape, to the specifics of gas station design. The topics were largely unrelated subjects with one point: details matter. The female focus of Renoir’s Dance in the Country , for example, is painted in light and warm colors, in stark contrast to the blues and greens of the background and the male focus. Similarly, an advertisement with a wooden rowboat instead of a fiberglass one in the background is an intentional choice; wooden boats take time and maintenance. Whether in paintings or architecture or communities, the small details play important roles. Knowing and recognizing details like this allow us to be more aware and mindful of how we perceive the world around us. I hope that sharing essays and artwork from this summer with the Ransom Everglades community will encourage others to enjoy and pay attention more to their surroundings. In doing so, people might learn unexpected things or find new hobbies and passions. “Fins up!” For three weeks in June, that was the phrase I said the most when trying to capture the attention of elementary school students in the Achieve Miami Summer Program Art Track. Whether it was lining the kids up after lunch or trying to get them to clean up after their daily art projects, “Fins up” was always needed. But when local Haitian artist JaFleu walked into the room one afternoon and started placing his original paintings on the whiteboard, the students quickly became quiet and paid rapt attention to their special guest. JaFleu was one of three artists that I arranged to come meet with the Art Track students at the Achieve Miami Summer Program, which allows students who wouldn’t be able to attend traditional summer camp engage in meaningful learning with high school students. My Bowden Fellowship allowed me to enhance the program by bringing in local artists that children could relate to culturally and socially, and having the artists speak and work with the kids. The three artists, JaFleu, Adler Gurreir, and Kandy Lopez, made the program a success by creating projects, working closely with the students and inspiring many of them. One nine-year-old student told JaFleu that he “was way cooler than any rapper ever and the paintings were better than any music a rapper could make.” That single heartfelt statement strengthened my desire to make artists more accessible to young children. I would love to include my peers in my project by coordinating artists’ visits and art shows that include the whole Ransom Everglades community. Megan Zou ’18 : Art at Harvard Gabrielle Jadotte ’18 : Exposing Miami ’ s youth to art