The 1960s and Today: Social Commentary and Activism in Pop Art

After the more conservative 1950s, the 1960s saw a burst of social activism for Civil Rights, Feminism, and against the Vietnam War. Those and other major events were reflected in the arts, music, and fashion of the time. Blurring the distinction between commercial advertising and fine art, Andy Warhol's iconic Pop Art challenged perceptions of economic status, politics, celebrity, and individuality. Corita Kent, inspired by Warhol's use of bright flat color, text, and advertising, created the iconic "LOVE" stamp, and works that were often used as posters for protests and peace marches. Although we have progressed on many levels, we still face similar human rights issues and the current rise in bullying. Following an interactive exploration of the 1960s and how it relates to our lives today, students will create anti-bullying posters inspired by Pop Art. 1960s music will be played while the students are working. For all ages!

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  Mixed media visual artist, composer, curator and writer, Tina Seligman has been a teaching Artist-in-Residence at Flushing Town Hall since 2000 and has served as a FTH Education Representative since 2018. Passionate about integrating art forms, her workshops for visiting classes combine hands-on projects with academic curriculum, art history, and related music to offer a multi-sensory experience focused on critical thinking. She has created and facilitated art programs for CASA, Parents as Art Partners, and NYSCA Artist-in-Residence Mentor grants, as well as for in-school residencies including as a set designer for CASA productions. In 2004, she was invited to serve as a panelist for the Arts in the Schools Grant Program through Queens Council on the Arts.  
  
  In 2020, Tina had solo exhibits at the GAC Gallery in Bayside and in 2018 at Flushing Town Hall.  Her artwork has been exhibited in Manhattan, Queens, and Long Island and her work resides in corporate and private collections. Her video collaboration with Dan Rubin was included as an Experimental Short in the 2016 New York Independent Film Festival. Artist George Xiong used Tina’s composition September Etude for flute, recorded by Jo Brand, as an accompaniment to a video about his series of contemporary Chinese seal paintings. Tina has curated two exhibits at Flushing Town Hall and as an art journalist, she has contributed to Art of the Times magazine and an essay for Duoling Huang’s book The Cultural Landscape. Tina’s poetry has been published on P.S. 1 Contemporary Museum’s website, in The Moon as Text, and in Cicada Haiku Quarterly, among other periodicals. She earned a BA in Art at Queens College and attended the Art Students League.

  Tina Seligman