ACE recently visited the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, located in Ridgefield, Connecticut, on November 12th for an art class field trip filled with unique and abstract artwork. While the Aldrich Museum is one of many museums in Connecticut, what sets it apart from other museums is that the “artwork is more relevant to our current time and social issues, and materials are more contemporary and accessible,” says Alyssa Voytek
The Aldrich Museum shows dedication to contemporary art and was first opened by Larry Aldrich in 1964, and is now one of the oldest contemporary art museums in the U.S, contemporary art being known as the art of the 2nd half of the 20th century to now, the present.
The Museum is 17,000 square feet for its indoor exhibition and also includes outdoor galleries, the outdoor galleries include sculptures. Alyssa mentioned “metal bushes and a palm tree, though students mutually agreed not to explore the outdoor area due to the cold weather conditions.
The Aldrich Museum features 12 different gallery stations all showcasing different complementary art and 3 exhibitions, Zak Prekop’s exhibition called “Durations,” Nikola Pottingers sculptural artwork exhibition called “fos born” and Estefania Puerta “Laughing Death Drive.”
16 students went on this trip along with Diana Dinardo, social worker, and Sue Summerlin, the school nurse. The 45-minute tour began at 10:00 a.m. and then transitioned to the studio, which was the more engaging part of the trip, where students learn and create.
During the visit, students explored Uman’s gallery station, which featured a light pole set against a wall covered in spotted dots. They were asked what object describes them, and everyone drew something different that represented themselves as a connection to Uman’s representation of self-identity and self-expression in his artwork.
Alyssa Voytek, art teacher at ACE, mentioned, “A rubber duck because it’s playful and fun, but also has variety like a Firefighter duck, but deep inside it’s still a rubber duck, fun and playful.”
The Aldrich Museum field trip gave students a big opportunity to explore and view different perspectives on art. Students came back from the Aldrich museum with a more inspired perspective on their artwork, and art teacher Alyssa’s fire for artwork was reignited.
