After our visit to Noah Purifoy’sТ Junk Dada, artist-in-residence Bryan Moss paid our class a visit to debrief. We discussed some of our favorite pieces, talked about objects that seemed to feature prominently in Purifoy’s work, and recapped the visit, overall.

But much like our visit to the gallery, students were eager to move beyondТ the discussion and begin to trulyТ explore. In this visit, to explore meant, in fact, to create. Students were given construction paper, and were asked to begin simply ripping it up, to begin playing with the provided materials. They passed around magazines, glue, yarn, and other items, choosing whatever they felt went together. Students were excited to find the next perfect item to add to their own assemblage/work.

And while the students’ artwork may not have the political undertones that Purifoy’s work holds, they were able to experience (on a very small scale) some of the underlying processes in his work. Some students told a story through their work, as this student did in a work entitled “Alone in a Crowd”:

AnotherТ student was inspired to incorporate an umbrella, after seeing this object recur throughout Purifoy’s work:

Overall, students truly enjoyed the exhibit and were genuinely inspired to create their own work. Whether the works were simplistic, intricate, or truly meaningful, students were able to connect with Purifoy’s work on a deeper levelТ by making their own creative assemblage. This was a phenomenal final visit from the Pages team, and we’re all looking forward to continuing to build upon everything we’ve learned throughout the rest of this year!

A collage of selectedТ students’ work: