THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE

The right hemisphere is the part of our brain responsible for managing emotions.

The Right Hemisphere is a new way to explore the MACBA Collection. It is a dynamic educational activity that is not built from any prior knowledge of contemporary art, but through the emotional possibilities – whether of attraction or rejection – that we experience through contact with current artistic practice.

The project is aimed at secondary school students and is structured through monographic audiovisual capsules. It is a system for approaching certain artists and attitudes on the contemporary art scene that gives rise to discussions and activities designed to be developed directly in the classroom, culminating with a special visit to the Museum.

The proposal is conceived as a resource across the whole school curriculum, and takes the artistic experience as a tool for reflecting on one of the most important pedagogical principles: ‘To know and appreciate the reality of the contemporary world.’ In this case, The Right Hemisphere invites us to do so not only in art but through a tutorial plan. The implementation of the project in the context of tutorials encourages students’ intellectual, emotional and reflective development, while using the skills of active participation in the context of collective learning.

The Right Hemisphere works in two phases: the first takes place in the classroom, with the support of material specially designed for teachers to stimulate dialogue around the proposed activities. The second phase consists of a visit to the Museum, where students will have the opportunity to come into direct contact with the works of the MACBA Collection.

The Right Hemisphere is structured around monographic audiovisual ‘capsules’. The project currently offers two capsules:

Capsule 1_Gordon Matta-Clark
This first capsule looks at the concepts of architecture, space, the body and ruins through the work of Gordon Matta-Clark. A self-described 'anarchitect’, Matta-Clark carried out interventions in existing buildings, dividing them, removing pieces, and cutting geometric shapes into them to modify their structure. The practical side of the capsule is intended to offer a rigorous introduction to Matta-Clark's artistic processes through a group activity designed to physically intervene in the classroom space.

Capsule 2_Esther Ferrer
This new capsule focuses on the work of Esther Ferrer, one of the key artists working with the notion of performance, body work, and the emotional relationship between individual and place. The practical activity in this capsule uses the body and impersonal classroom furniture as a springboard from which to generate first-person performances that allow us to explore our relationships with others. It encourages collaboration and reflection and generates moments of maximum intensity, where we will be able to freely express what we are so as to share it with others.

Capsule 3_Brossa

The Right Hemisphere is a project for MACBA created by independent curator David Armengol and artist Jordi Ferreiro.