Julie Mehretu: Celebrating Black History (in the making!)

Post & Lesson Contributed by Ally Bernstein, Teacher Assistant

Today, we introduced the work of Julie Mehretu, an outstanding and ambitious contemporary artist from Ethiopia. Born in 1970, Julia Mehretu grew up in both Ethiopia and Michigan, and spent time studying art in Senegal. Her art is a whirlwind of shape and color that both creates space and breaks the illusion of depth. Her work, which is investigative and exploratory, reflects her experience of the cross-cultural urban landscape.  She currently lives and works in New York City.  

Jessica

We began by viewing paintings in Julie Mehretu’s Stadia series. Students zoomed in on different parts in these enormous works and identified specific elements. We saw marks that looked like flags, fluffy animals, motorcycle tracks, rain, airplanes, and many other different objects. Some students likened the entire composition to a city. We also watched a short Art 21 video in which Mehretu described her process of creating a visual language. The video also showed Mehretu adding paint to a huge drawing – she had to stand on a ladder to work on it!

Jordan

For our own project, we borrowed the idea of creating a visual representation for events and history. We first created maps of the Beye School playground, an area that we all knew well enough to recall it from memory. These maps were colorfully collaged, with shapes representing familiar structures. We then used stickers and markers on top of the collage as a specific reference to something about the time that we had spent on the playground. For example, some students represented places where they had made new friends, and others showed where they had played games. 

Norah

Students were encouraged to be expressive with the marks, and the results were impressive. Come view these beautiful Mehretu-inspired maps of the playground, on display outside the main office!

Theo

Jadan

Jadon

Shlok

Shlok

Joey

Joey

Norah

Emily