The CHS Art Club took a field trip to two different art museums in St Louis on Friday, May 2. The first museum was The Contemporary Art Museum, and the second museum was SLUMA.
The students who went on the field trip were Grace Kirkpatrick, Kendall Nanney, Ivanovich Duran, Lydia Smith, Summer Vallory, Nico DeGuzman, Ashley Garcia, Neveah Armbruster, Lilyana O’Connel, Angelynna Carmora, Kylie Eggemeyer, Brooklyn McLain, Aubrey Andrews, Mackenzie Diamond, Toby Gercis, Emily Gruenewald, and Elizabeth Wilson.
I asked three different people about their thoughts on the trip. I first started with Mrs. Appel, because she is the adult sponsor of the art club. The second person I asked questions to is Grace Kirkpatrick, because she is the president of art club. The third and last person I interviewed was Elizabeth Wilson, because she is not actually in the club, but was invited due to her helping out when the club needed it. I also wanted to see her point of view. The first question I asked was, “What was your favorite painting you saw?” Elizabeth responded by saying, “My favorite painting was the cloth sheets that were at the first museum. They all had very different artistic choices and were very colorful and interesting to look at.” I then asked her what she would change about how things went. Elizabeth responded with, “I wouldn’t change a thing! I loved every part of it and almost wished that it was longer, despite us going past school hours! I had a great time and enjoyed myself.” Grace was also asked that question and she responded by saying, “I would’ve loved to be able to go to one more museum, just to be able to see some more paintings!” After that I asked if they enjoyed themselves on this trip. Elizabeth answered by stating, “I did indeed enjoy myself. I had so much fun with all of my friends. I loved being able to see what other people consider art and seeing their personal style.” Grace also answered this by saying, “I had such a good time! It really was an amazing experience to be able to just take the time to look over these art pieces again, and again.” The last question I asked was if they disliked any of the paintings. Elizabeth responded with, “I didn’t exactly dislike any paintings. I think the ones I least enjoyed were the more modern paintings that just didn’t have a lot going on.” Grace responded by saying, “I wouldn’t say I disliked any, some of the paintings just stood out to me more than others.”
I asked Mrs. Appel different questions, the first being “Did you enjoy going to the art museums?” She responded with, “I did enjoy the museums. Both presented different approaches to art for us to appreciate. CAM shows minimal and modern art, where SLUMA gives a mix of modern and historical pieces. I wish we had more time at each to appreciate the art a little more deeply.” The second question that was asked was what is one thing that stood out to you the most? Mrs. Appel answered with, “What stood out to me the most was watching the art club members get to experience an extension to learning. Since we do not have much in the way of art classes, it was great to see sparks of imagination and recognition in a field they feel comfortable in. From what I could tell we had an opportunity for our club to grow their relationship, and everyone had an enjoyable time.” The third question I asked was: “Was there anything that you would like to change about how the field trip went and why?” The answer I received was, “We really could have used more time. And there are many more museums to explore in the St Louis area. Possibly next time it would be nice to see a featured exhibit or go on a guided tour.” And the last question I asked Mrs Appel was what was her favorite part of the trip. Mrs. Appel responded with, “Spending time with next generation artists; that was personally very inspiring. If you would ask me, I really enjoyed this field trip because I got to see other people’s art and it was powerful to see and how other people see things.”
Once the club finished at the museums, they walked themselves to the St. Louis Foundry, which is a giant food hall with many different types of restraints for students to choose from. Then they started the long bus drive back to CHS. Every student had a great time, and they wish to be able to experience this trip again sometime soon.
