Constitution Day

Kindergarten students celebrated Constitution Day on September 17th of this year. In class, students learned about and discussed the constitution and its importance to the United States of America. They also discussed the artwork, We the People, by Nari Ward and created a classroom version of this masterwork. 

Images on a PowerPoint helped students get to know the artwork.


Click to expand and see more!

In the classroom, students discussed the artwork and how the artist, Nari Ward, uses shoe laces instead of paint to write the three words, "we the people." 

A little about the artwork

Ward often selects words or phrases that he feels are forgotten. He wants individuals that see his artwork to spend time thinking about the first three words of the preamble of the United States constitution. What do those words mean, and why might he use different colors, sizes, and textures of shoe laces in the artwork? 

Ward hopes that his artwork will inspire a conversation about the American people drawing out the ways that we are different (race, religion, background, where we live, how we dress, and more) but also how we are the same (all human, all Americans protected under the same constitution).  He also encourages viewers to think about whether these freedoms are available to all Americans (today and historically). 

Why shoe laces? 

Nari Ward feels that most people have had shoe laces on a pair of shoes at one point in their life. He considers the act of learning to tie shoe laces as most people's first experience with art (he sees artistry in learning to tie a knot and make bow). 

Students install the shoe laces in their version of We the People. Click HERE to read a blog that explores how the artwork was installed at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. 

The students version of We the People is partially completed. Students are hand coloring more shoe laces and those will be installed very soon!