Yesterday, Jeff and I had the honor of judging the Second Annual High Line Design Competition at the Lab School in Chelsea.  The competition is the culmination of a multi-week geometry unit in two of Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. Whelan’s math and science classes that uses the High Line as a model for teaching the students about scale, ratio, and area.  All of the student’s designs for the High Line had to be to scale, incorporate native plants and grasses, and honor High Line planning principals.

More photos after the jump.

The two classes were split up into groups of four students each, and each group had to create their ideal block on the High Line.  Yesterday’s presentations were so much fun to watch– there were skits, songs, and great visuals illustrating the students’ plans for the High Line.  Great job, guys.

Tomorrow night at the Leo Kesting Gallery, we will fete the opening of Chalk Shoes to the High Line, a show documenting the April 16 performance led by artist Julia Mandle that featured 60 8th-graders from the Lab School in Chelsea.  The students donned shoes made from green chalk and scuffed lines along the sidewalks of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea, ending at future High Line access points.  The exhibition that opens tomorrow and runs through May 21 will feature rows of the used shoes, photographs taken by the kids, and a video of the performance by Matt Wolf.

Chalk Shoes to the High Line
Leo Kesting Gallery
812 Washington Street (near Gansevoort)
Opening: Thursday, May 15 6:00-8:00PM

Tomorrow’s opening party also kicks off Meatpacking District Design Week, happening Thursday through Sunday in venues around the Meatpacking District.  See you there!

This afternoon, sixty 8th-grade art students from the Lab School for Collaborative Studies donned tall, blocky shoes made of green chalk and scuffed West along the streets of Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, drawing chalk lines with their feet that ended at three future access points to the High Line.

The choreographed performance was Chalk Shoes to the High Line, a project we created with performance artist Julia Mandle, as part of our ongoing education program with the Lab School. (Today’s walk was the culmination of a unit on performance art, which we certainly never learned about in middle school!)

Hopefully you caught the performance on the street today or saw the bold green chalk lines it left behind.  If not, you can check out an exhibition of the chalk shoes, as well as photos and video of the performance, at the Leo Kesting Gallery starting May 15.

More photos after the jump.

[The group fanned out, creating patterns on the pavement of the new pedestrian plaza at Ninth Avenue and 14th Street.]

[The choreography of the walk created a long, unbroken arrow pointing West.]

[After the performance, students signed the work at three locations: Gansevoort Street, 14th Street and 18th Street.]

[Perfomers carried their worn-down shoes to be stored before they are displayed at Leo Kesting next month.]

Tomorrow, a group of eighth-grade students from the Lab School will be leading the way… in brightly-colored “chalk shoes.” Brooklyn-based artist Julia Mandle will lead student performers through the streets of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea, in a performance commissioned by Friends of the High Line. As the students shuffle through the neighborhood on their platform-height “chalk shoes,” they will leave a green path on the sidewalks that will lead to the High Line’s future access points.
The weather promises to be gorgeous, so stop by the neighborhood between 12:30 and 1:30 pm, and check out the performance. Or, come to the Leo Kesting Gallery, where the Chalk Shoes will be on display with a video of the performance. The exhibition will be on display from May 15th-21st, during Meatpacking District Design Week.

Update: Photos are here!

The kids, all 8th-grade art students, will be wearing chalk shoes during the performance, scuffing their feet along the sidewalks of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea.  In the end, they will create a giant urban chalk drawing ending at the future access points of the High Line.  The idea is to mark the future paths that people will take to the High Line, and generate excitement about the park’s opening later this year.  More details after the jump!
[Photo by Ronald Cowie (2008)]
 

The performance will take place on the streets of the Meatpacking District in Chelsea around lunchtime on Wednesday, April 16th.  Because the performance will be short, the chalk lines temporary, and the audience will be made up of whoever happens to be standing on the street, we’ll be holding an exhibition of the worn chalk shoes, along with video and still images of the performance, at the Leo Kesting Gallery from May 15-21.  Leo Kesting is located at the southern end of the High Line, at the corner of Gansevoort and Washington Streets.  The exhibition is timed to coincide with Meatpacking District Design Week.Watch our e-newsletter for more details.