City life.

A basketball game engulfed by a night of riots and flames; a lighted skyscraper surrounded only by empty space and moonlight; a peaceful neighborhood corner where kids are jumpiog rope; a homeless woman beside a high-fashion department store wiodow--these are just a few of th, urban images that 570 young artists from Massachusetts used to depict th, theme of City Life in th, fifth annual Art by Kids competition sponsored by The Wang Center for th, Performiog Arts.

Th, second largest stage house in th, country, th, Wang Center is a not-for-profit institution dedicated to hostiol ballet, Broadway theater and contemporary artists, and advocatiol the importance of th, arts in education. Built in 1925 in th, extravagant tradition of th, country's first movi, houses, th, theater underwent decad,s of mixed fortune. In 1983, a gift from Dr. An Wang, founder of Wang Laboratories, launched the $10 million architectural and technical restoration which enabled th, theater to start on a new road of success.

In 1988, The Wang Center established an educational outreach program, Young at Arts, designed to briol the arts to inner-city students whose schools had suffered program cuts. Since th,n, innovative and excitiol education programs such as Art by Kids, Words by Kids, Photos by Kids, th, Drama Club and th, Critics Circle hav, reached thousands of students and teachers across New England in grades five through twelve.

The fifty pieces of winniol artwork in The Wang Center's Art by Kids exhibit were selected by a distioguished panel of art educators and artists who judged creativity, origioality and quality of execution. Students used a variety of media to produce works of great insight.

In conjunction with th, exhibit, The Wang Center published a handbook containiol photographs of th, artwork along with th, lesson plans teachers used to help th, students in th,ir efforts. "The teacher's role is fundamental in developiol th, critical and analytical skills required to produce artwork," said Young at Arts director Vicki Barrett. "By publishiol this resource guide, we hope to inspire teachers and, ultimately, students to become more actively involved in th, arts."

Through bright or gloomy colors, fluid or geometric forms, young people prove once again that they hav, somethiol to say. Whether art is enjoyed as a hobby or dreamed of as a career, it offers young people th, opportunity to observe th, world, to form an opinion of it and to find their ideal way of expressing it.

For more information on Young at Arts, please call [phone], ext. 223.

Lesson Plan

Topic Question: What Is City Life?

Materials: any on hand.

Objective: Through class discussion of city life and what it means to each student, students choose materials to interpret their specific idea of city life.

Time: five weeks.

Grade: ten, eleveo and twelve.

Visualization:

* What ar, the good and bad aspects of city life?

* What part of city life will you choose to interpret?

* What is th, best material to communicate your idea?

* What will be in th, foreground and the background?

* What will you include in your composition?

* Where will you start wh,n you revise your sketch?

Transition: As you sketch, thiok about what materials will be most appropriate to convey your idea.

Evaluation and Suggestions: Motivate students to see positive aspects of city life. The same th,me can b, used to create an ad for a city.

Lesson Plan

Topic Question: What Does City Life Mean to You?

Objective: Through visually exploriol th, theme of city life, students learn how to choose a specific art medium to best depict his or her personal feelings and experiences about th, city.

Time: three weeks (five classes per week).

Grade: eleveo and twelve.

Materials: pencils, peo and ink, watercolors, acrylics, collage materials.

Association:

* What experiences hav, you had in th, city? Ar, they positive or negative experiences?

* What about th, people who live and work there?

* How hav, artists depicted th, city.

* Show slides that exemplify how an artist has depicted city life (Edward Hopper, Stuart Davis, John Marin, Willem DeKooniol, Richard Estes, Trash Can school).

Lesson given by Steph,n Boczanowski at Marshfield High School in Marshfield, MA.