Motions of the Mind Project

December 2008. Scarsdale High School, AT Art Class; collaborating teacher: Nadine Gordon.

One of the best projects in my residency! Nadine invited me to come to her classroom to give a presentation about Indonesian shadow puppet. 

Students learned the history of the shadow puppet tradition in Indonesia, some famous characters, its symbolisms, and how it has been adapted from time to time. They particularly enjoyed the videos when the puppets, as traditional as they may look like, performed a rock song.

So, they learned that shadow puppets can be cool too.

After my presentation, Nadine asked her students to create a puppet reflecting thoughts they had in their minds towards the end of their high school. Nadine named the project, "Motions of the Mind." Students created amazing puppets, very original, and very attractive. Even the special ed. class took part in making the puppets. Amazing! Here are some pictures of them: