Abstract shapes convey many different narratives.
Julie Mehretu makes performative paintings. Her paintings, she describes, as growing and evolving with the viewer as the viewer moves around the space, her painting occupies. In Walkers with the Dawn and Morning, the lines and strokes she made demonstrate a 3 dimensional space, even though her canvas is flat. If the top of the painting is north, every image that exposed itself to me, is facing west. At first glance, this painting looks like a photo of the Earth shot from outer space. The presence of mountains, rivers and pathways are prevalent at first. As I looked at it closely, more organic shapes emerged, just like reading tea leaves. A Samurai appeared to me on the top right and a dragon appeared in the top third on the left side. One of the most interesting things about this painting to me is that once more images appeared to me the previous images dissipated.
Art Lore 
I find abstract art being the most fascinating in terms of how to teach others to engage and interpret abstract art. In terms of art that evokes the viewers engagement though performance it reminds me of a gallery tour I followed with 6-7 year olds and their families to look at Jackson Pollock’s work. The gallery educator at the time used some very effective teaching methods/techniques in the galleries with these young families. They started by giving descriptive words about the painting such as this painting makes me think of something “messy”, “crazy”, “loud” and then it was followed by doing movement with the body on how to express “messy, crazy, loud” After that conversation, the instructor did a role playing activity in which everyone pretended that a new painting (blank canvas) was on the ground and everyone had to make the painting as Pollock would have done. Thus, I ask you, for works that don’t have an immediate entry points for interpretation, how would you engage young people to engage and interpret this type of work which you’ve found fascinating. Are there any opportunities that technology might be used to help support the interpretive experience?
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