DECEMBER 8, 2023

In late November, Class V continued their journey along NYC’s Museum Mile and visited the Guggenheim to view Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge of Visibility, which according to their website “presents works of art that feature partially obscured or hidden figures, thus positioning them at the ‘edge of visibility.’ In this art context, the common phrase going dark is understood as a tactic whereby artists visually conceal the body to explore a key tension in contemporary society: the desire to be seen and the desire to be hidden from sight.” With their “Journey Journals” in tow, fifth graders split into groups to explore the exhibit and the permanent collection, switching places halfway through the field trip to view both sections.

In the Guggenheim’s permanent collection, students had the opportunity to stroll with their buddies and find a work that relates to the theme of journeys. Each pair sat in front of a work of their choice and used their journal to write down the title of the work, year it was created, artist name, and then sketch the work. Students then wrote a paragraph explaining the connection between the work and the idea of a journey.

Before departing, a few students presented about their selected work. In front of the Lyle Ashton Harris set of photographic portraits, Spriha G. ’31 shared: "This is the artist's community and we're all on a journey to build community, that's how we become who we are."