Pictures: “Think Tank - Banksy 2003”
“The Annunciation - Henry Ossawa Tanner 1898”
Passage: 2 Samuel 11-12
We reached level two today, though I can take little credit. It turns out Conrad makes art with his dad and could recognize that we were looking at a Banksy painting. We had all guys today: Obi, Donnie, Charlie, Fern and Conrad. There was trouble focusing in general but this had more to do with comfort and familiarity than anything.
Like last time he was here, Conrad gave. Consistent stream of non-serious answers. Unlike his peers, these answers often had literally nothing to do with what we were looking at. His first answer to what’s going on was “he pulls more girls than me” (this was one of his more relevant comments). I asked him a few different versions of “what makes you say that?” before he explained that it was a man and a woman on a date. Before I could get him to explain what made him think they were on a date, the topic had shifted to the “black juice” they were drinking. Conrad also googled the piece on his phone (something no one had yet attempted). He showed me that there was a sequel piece in which the two divers got married. There was a debate about the nature of the diving helmets, a question of if the man was wearing a full diving suit, and interest in the fact that the lady had a ponytail coming out of her helmet. Still, the most interesting part of the conversation occurred when I prompted Conrad to explain how he recognized that this was Banksi (something he had said when he first saw the painting but hadn’t brought up again. This was one of the few times he gave a serious response. Conrad explained that Banksy is a street artist, that he usually uses black and white pictures with a little bit of color, that they’re usually humorous. He referenced the “Girl with Balloon” and “Panda with Guns.” I mentioned the fact that we don’t know who he really is.
Talking about the artist prompted a question from Charlie about his skill with spray paint. The image we were looking at contained prominent drips. Banksy, a master, could have been more careful and avoided drips like that, he must have chosen to have it look drippy. This was not articulated so well at first and Conrad was quickly defensive of Banksi and spray paint - “it naturally drips like that!” Charlie clarified and we saw a bit of a back and forth as the two boys discussed the nature of the paint. Could a careful artist avoid drips or not? Obi suggested that the drips gave it a sense of authenticity.
I then asked a more direct question again. “Conrad, Banksy is usually trying to say something with his wok, right? What do you guys think he might be trying to say here?” I forget who said it, but someone suggested that “true beauty is on the inside.” These divers couldn’t see each other’s faces. I asked if anyone else had any other ideas? Nobody did.
Our second discussion began with Christopher telling us that the girl in the picture was alone because she was ugly. I decided to ignore this comment and let someone else start the conversation. Charlie identified the figure as a woman sitting in bed. Donnie as a joke said he shouldn’t assume she’s a woman. “Ok,” I said, “what makes you say that that’s a woman?” “Facial structure,” answered Charlie, “her clothes seem to fit in a way that seems like a woman.” It then occurred to him that she could be a girl, not a woman. He couldn’t see how tall she was beneath the covers of the bed. “Look, you can see how tall she is,” said Obi, “there are her toes.” Sure enough, there were toes sticking out from the covers. “I bet she’s single!” declared Conrad. “What makes you say that?” “Because,” he said, “She uses they/them pronouns.” “Makes you say that?” I asked. Nothing, he just said it.
Obi also noted that, between the woven afghan rug and the cobblestone floor, this picture probably was not a modern one. “Or it’s in the Middle East,” suggested Charlie. He cited the plaster walls, an earthenware pitcher, and the floor and rug again to justify this. The he stood up and gesturing to it said, “is anyone going to acknowledge this random beam of light here? - Wait a minute?!” He had made the connection to Mary. He seemed for a minute to be want to sit on this discovery (his old pattern of not revealing what was obvious to him in order to let others discover), but then explained what he had noticed. The girl alone at home was Mary and the angel appearing to her was represented by the vertical beam of light. This did not seem to shut down the conversation but the conversation did not move towards interpreting the story either.
“California” said Conrad, “It could be California.” “What makes you say it could be California?” “Nothing.” “Something in the piece made you think California.” “It just made me think of California.” “Something about it made you think of California, what made you think of California.” “Nothing, I just thought of California.” “But something in the piece caused that, what in the piece feels like Florida.” “No, I was thinking about California so I said that about the painting.” I think that Conrad is deeply uncomfortable when he is not in control. Humor, and especially disruptive humor, is a means of regaining control of the conversation.
“What’s that thing behind her?” asked Obi. “What does it look like?” I asked. “It looks like a flag.” “She’s French,” said Conrad, “There’s red, white, and blue. Or American.” “Or Chinese,” suggested Obi, “Red and yellow.” I think this is the first time any of the kids have tried to draw any non-literal meaning from color choice. “Ok,” I said, “You just pointed out red, blue, yellow. How are those colors related” “Primary colors?” suggested Obi. I had guided the conversation and now it could go nowhere unless one of the kids could draw some significance from the idea of primary colors. Apparently not.
I decided to ask a more open question and try to guide us into underlying meaning wile leaving the ball in the kids’ court. “Assuming this is a picture of Mary, what is the artist trying to tell us about this story?” Nothing. Perhaps if I had said “Mary” and not “the story,” perhaps I should have let it unfold naturally and not meddled. Who knows?
Switching gears to talk about the Bible story went smoothly. There was no recording for 2 Samuel so I read it aloud. In the future, I think I might stick to reading it and not play recordings. It allows it to feel more connected to the thoughts and reactions they are having in real time. The words from the last three weeks were up on the board and as we read the story they watched for connections. Sure enough: wife, king, kill, die, stole, and s. relations all came up. Halfway through the story both Conrad and Donnie went to the bathroom. When they got back I asked Obi to summarize - he couldn’t. Lately I’ve been feeling a lack of retention when it comes to the stories and readings. I don’t know how to make it better (perhaps having the kids read?). The story was David and Bathsheba and when Conrad revealed that he hadn’t been listening, Charlie responded “Really, I thought you would really like this story.” “Why?” asked Conrad. “Are you kidding? It’s about an affair and a murder coverup?!” I summarized the story for everyone emphasizing the candle and drama of it all. This is the second week in a row I’ve summarized and it seems like a worthwhile part of the process. We discussed a few new words: looked out and war. We spent a good amount of time considering the fact that the spring was the time of year when the kings go to war. It was a yearly thing. Conrad kept asking questions about Vietnam and other American wars.
In the end, the conversation seemed to lack direction and when Charlie discovered that Veggietales had adapted the story, we decided to watch that instead of playing a game. I’m feeling less confident in Biblical meditation as a means of teaching a student-led Sunday school class than ever. The words that seem to stand out are the scandalous ones. If my hope is that the kids will discern for themselves what the Bible’s all about, then these violent concepts may leave a false impression that these are the main thrust of the Bible.