Thursday was pretty crazy, seeing the Cyrus Cylinder was very cool. In all honesty, I wasn't quite sure what it was, until Thursday night, but I'm glad I know now. Walking through the different rooms, and being able to piece together events and facts about the Cyrus Cylinder was startlingly impressive. When we reached the room with Ala Ebtekar's work, I was shocked. Being there was very ethereal and quite frankly, spooky, the room was dark, and the only light seemed to be coming out of the glowing display of iPads and other electronics. At first, everyone seemed to be gathered in bunches next to the walls, no one wanted to come closer, but it was amazing to watch as the audience slowly began to approach the electronics. I think we were all a little unnerved/amazed at the same time. My favorite part was listening to the storytellers, tell us the history of the Cylinder. It's much more interesting than being in a history class for some reason, as we were able to really go deep inside of the story, rather than just skimming through some facts.
Anyway, cylinder.us is a nice website, but a little empty. I wish there were more interviews with the students. One thing I liked was being able to click on the top right symbol and finding more information about the Cyrus Cylinder and Ala Ebtekar. The site is well-organized and simple, which is definitely something I can appreciate compared to other websites I've been to which are absolutely packed full of stuff. It's easy to understand, which I think is the most important.
The Artists Drawing Club is something that I don't think is universally appealing for teens, yet could be in the future. One thing, is that a lot of students have a busy schedule, and some are not even interested in art. However, I do believe if a chunk of teenagers get involved, they will be able to slowly persuade other teens to join. One thing I've noticed about teens in general, is that they often like to copy other teens. What I guess I'm saying is, if someone is really enjoying themselves here, the word will definitely spread. Eventually kids who aren't even interested in art in the first place, will join.
I would definitely invite other kids I know to come join me, mostly because I enjoy sharing things I love with my friends. I'm not sure if my friends would join originally, but I definitely think they would come if I asked them.
Lastly, teens love free stuff. They love the idea of saving money as well as getting something in return. Now, I don't mean giving out free iPads or anything like that, but free food is always a good idea. Also, The Artists Drawing Club, should be promoted to teens as a way to relax and enjoy themselves. Kinda like seeing a movie.
Yes, I only got the reflection of the Cyrus Cylinder. That was a complete accident. I'm not very good at taking photos. :(