Kindergarten Students Explore Personal Identity and "The Embrace" Sculpture
By: Janet Rosen
In Social Studies this year, Kindergarten students engaged in multiple artist studies that built upon their knowledge of identity, justice, and community. This included the completion of their interdisciplinary project—The Shape of Me: Wire Self-Portraits—which was influenced by the work of Alexander Calder. After several drafts using various mediums, each child created a wire self-portrait sculpture that was displayed in a gallery during the Lower School Celebration of Learning.
The students’ interest in sculpture then led to an exploration of the work of Hank Willis Thomas with a specific focus on his local sculpture, “The Embrace.” Visiting and learning about this meaningful work of art elevated the children’s understanding of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King’s fight for equality and encouraged them to examine ways that they too can strive for racial justice.
As students described in the narration of a video they made about the project,
“We took a bus to Boston Common to see The Embrace sculpture by Hank Willis Thomas. He was inspired by a photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. They are hugging because they love each other and are so proud of each other. They are supporting each other and the sculpture is a celebration of their love.”
“To embrace means to hug someone, but it also means to fill your hearts with joy, because you accept each other. We drew in our notebooks and explored The Embrace. We drew it from different angles and different perspectives. When we went inside of the sculpture, it felt like we were in the heart of the hug. We felt some of their love.”
“We noticed all the details in the sculpture…. It is made of metal, just like our wire sculptures. We read the words of Coretta Scott King; they felt very important. She said, ‘Love is such a powerful force. It’s there for everyone to embrace—that kind of unconditional love for all humankind. That is the kind of love that impels people to go into the community and try to change conditions for others, to take risks for what they believe in.’
“Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King, thank you, Coretta Scott King, and thank you, Hank Willis Thomas.”
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