Grade one students at St. Cecilia painted up a storm by creating a powerful thunderstorm roadscape with a bolt of lightning. We were inspired by Walter de Maria who created The Lightning Field in 1977. Walter De Maria made viewer-interactive pieces that were inspired by the Dada art movement and explored three-dimensional land art movements with the concept of minimalism on a grand scale. The Lightning Field located in a remote desert in New Mexico opens each year from May through October and is meant to be walked in as well as viewed.
Each student created their own painting to capture a moment in a flash of time when lightning strikes. Using watercolours and oil pastel resists techniques students learned about vanishing points and one-point perspective.
Walter De Maria’s Lightning Field was commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation, which is to this day responsible for maintaining the installation, which can still be found at its original location in an obscure desert close to Quemado in Catron County, New Mexico. Open each year from May through October, this work includes 400 polished stainless steel poles measuring approximately 20 feet and 7 ½ inches in height that are spaced 220 feet apart. A sculpture to be walked in as well as viewed, The Lighting Field is intended to be experienced over an extended period of time…with the hopes of viewing this spectacular sight!
Take a look at all the Grade One’s spectacular sights! Amazing work St. Cecilia … I can’t wait to visit again soon.
