Feingold Gallery: Back to School

Another of my favorite images. Again, not sure why. A space to fit into, despite its shortcomings?

evolving and rebirth, joyful

Losing oneself? I'm not sure if I see this image as positive or negative.

Again, the infinite abyss, but perhaps in a more positive way. (Certainly, I find it more comforting). Here, it is as if there is a place to fall -- a storefront window, our own self, perfect, if only perfect for each individual.

The crying baby a memory, there is something warmer about this image. Perhaps a comfort in the familiar and leaving behind other versions of one's self.

School and learning seem to contain many different emotions for the artist. The light in the classroom is very warm, inviting and happy, yet the crying baby represents just the opposite. Also, it is a baby we see in school, not a child of schooling age. Perhaps he always felt lost, child-like, due to his disabilities in school...

Is school solid and reassuring in this picture? A distorted vision, not perfect or even particularly positive, but a purposeful one nonetheless. Situated solidily in a seemingly vast and terrifying landscape. 

Discomfort again in the classroom--less powerlessness here (is the writing on the board punitive or productive?), but still isolation, cold surroundings...

Coming back to the prison of school after the freedom of summer break.  Reflects on the ineffectiveness of the educational system. 

Gives me a feeling of melancholy. A yearning for the past even if it was less than perfect. Painful memories feel dream-like and less discomforting.

Too much going on this just confuses me.

Showing a progression, a path.  To somewhere?  Away from somewhere?

Martin, my sentiments exactly! There's too much going on and it is cause for confusion (among other feelings). For students who do not fit the mold of how a person "is supposed to learn", what types of strengths they "should have" to succeed in school, and those who are not internally motivated to learn even if the instruction may not be best suited for their particular learning style, school can be very confusing for the student. A student can think that they either "get it" or they don't--and consequently (and mistakingly) they're either smart or they're not. What comes to mind is the student that gives his/her all, struggles daily to understand what is being taught, only to fail--while seeing others succeed, sometimes without much effort. The student who struggles fruitlessly wonders just what is going on--what is going on with their difficulty performing and inability to succeed in school, what is going on with their difficulty learning and picking up concepts, what is going on with their lack of academic abilities, low self-esteem, a defeatist attitude, and sometimes even resistance going to school. Indeed, there is too much (of the wrong things) going on. Martin--quite a perceptive comment!
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