National Museum of Mexican Art - Citlalli Alaniz, Week 2

 Week 2 (July 8 - July 12)

Photography + Color Factory Field Trip 

My second week at the National Museum of Mexican Art's ImaginARTE Bilingual Summer Camp began with a tour of the museum's Arte Diseño Xicágo II which showcases works of art by Mexican and Chicago artists who participated in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and present-day Mexican artists working in the Chicagoland area. The tour gave the children a perspective of the first world fair, the first women painters exhibited there, and a trip back in history to a time were Moctezuma II and Xochitl were prominent figures. This exhibit really displayed a new view of how individuals back then first experienced an introduction to new civilizations that took place before them in the world fairs. This experience helped the campers incorporate the importance facial expressions, symbolism, and emotion that they were to use within their photographs and cyanotypes for the week.

This week's theme was making photography and creating cyanotype prints on fabric. Cyanotype is the “original” sun-printing process, one of the earliest photographic techniques. Cyanotype was popular well into the 20th century as an inexpensive method for reproducing photographs, documents, maps and plans and famously, for making impressions of biological specimens (“photograms”). In camp, we used cyanotypes to print on paper and printed on canvas tote bags, which were portraits of each camper that they each designed and decorated. 

On Thursday, the campers and I went on a field trip to the Color Factory in Chicago which has rooms designed by artists, have sensory activities, and fun colorful snacks. The campers were given their own polaroids to take pictures that display the senses and of things that they love. They overall loved their experience and they were able to try macaroons, salt water taffy, melon ice cream, and multi-flavored jelly beans. They were also able to experience a ball pit, a mirror maze, a sound room, taste pop-rocks with images, and walk through a ribbon room, and throw confetti in the confetti room. Overall, they were able to experiences all 6 senses which each room and were able to have so much fun as well. 

My long week turned out to be exhausting, but it was great to see the campers have fun. I not only had fun with them but also learned so much about photography, organization within activities, and ways to print. It was a great week and an especially fun one because of the field trip. See you guys next week!