The Story of the Two Damiens

Ok. So here's the story:
The class started like this: "Class, please get out your recent work and photograph it for your digital portfolios. Remember that I will be asking you to let us know which of the 100 Artistic Behaviors you used while making, planning or reflecting on this piece."

Damien realized he didn't have a piece to photograph. But he did see a half-eaten bagel sitting there on the sculpture table...
The rest, as they say, is history. 
Art history that is. 
Because when Damien presented his piece, it reminded me of how artists sometimes employ ephemeral, real-world objects, and "elevate" them to capital-A Art. I asked Damien if he planned to display his work. He seemed surprised but jumped at the proposition. "It will mold!" someone warned. "Gross" offered another. 

Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991)© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved. DACS 2011. . Photo: Photographed by Prudence Cuming Associates Retrieved 1-8-19 from: art382001 https://www.culture24.org.uk/art/art382001 

I pulled up some of Damien Hirst's work to show Damien, and the crowd starting to form around the bagel sculpture. "Weird that his name is Damien too," observed Damien, something I am embarrassed to admit that I hadn't put together yet). Yes, weird. 

(Update: I just checked the display case, and Damien's Bagel Boi is currently mold-free. But some of Hirst's work is starting to decompose, I hear.)

FAQ about TAB

By "E", Grade 7 Colored Pencil and Watercolor wash. 

I am excited to report that my article: FAQ for TAB appears in Arts and Activities magazine this month. Which reminds me, there is a wealth of articles and essays about Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), Choice-Based practice and learner-directed art education available on the TAB website. 
Art teachers contribute to the Choice-Based Art column in Arts and Activities every other month, and the collected resources there are invaluable. Go take a look!