Reproductions of paintings, including Picasso, to be on display at CHS

Giant reproductions of works by four Hispanic artists, including Pablo Picasso, will be on display at Cairo High School beginning Monday.
The Teacher’s Discovery Traveling Exhibits will feature the works of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. The artists’ exhibits will be displayed for two weeks each in the high school’s main hallway.
Students are not the only ones who can enjoy the showpieces, the high school will remain open during specific hours to allow the public to see the displays.
“These life-size paintings and murals, several of which are printed on 17-foot long satin panels, cannot help but attract the attention and interest of our students. Not to mention, the historical information found in these paintings will help to increase academic achievement in many classes on our campus,” states Meghan Ridenour, world languages department chair at C.H.S. According to Ridenour, images of important events such as the Mexican Revolution, World War II, and the Spanish Civil War, as well as movements inspired by these events such as Communism, Surrealism, and Cubism are depicted in this traveling art exhibit.
Murals by Diego Rivera are first on the schedule, and will be put on display Aug. 10-21. Rivera is considered a national treasure of Mexico. The collection will include “Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park,” a scene from a mural painted in the University of Chapingo in Mexico in 1926, and “The Flower Vendor” from a series that featured calla lilies and native Mexicans. The exhibit is said to celebrate art, Spanish language, Mexican culture and history.
The public is invited to view the display on Monday, Aug. 10, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. and again on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The next exhibit will feature the Mexican paintings of Frida Kahlo, who was married to Diego Rivera but won acclaim for her own paintings, including many self-portraits. This collection will include reproductions of her works and life size photos of Frida.
The public is invited to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit on Monday, Aug. 24, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 1, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The Pablo Picasso exhibit will be set up on Sept. 14 for two weeks. Picasso is regarded as the father of the art movement called Cubism. The students and staff will enjoy the giant reproductions, including one of the most famous of his paintings, Guernica, through Sept. 25.
The public may enjoy the Picasso display on Monday, Sept. 14, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. and on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The final exhibit will feature the paintings of Salvador Dalí, “the father of surrealism.”  Included in the display will be a reproduction of “Galatea of the Spheres.”
The public may see the exhibit on Monday, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. and on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
These Teacher’s Discovery Traveling Exhibits are coming to CHS thanks to a grant awarded to Mrs. Ridenour by the Community Foundation of South Georgia from the Richard and Teresa VanLandingham Maxi-Grant Fund. Mrs. Ridenour teaches Spanish at CHS. She says, “If we can’t take all of our students to an art museum to see these amazing paintings, then we will bring the paintings to them.”
Elementary, middle and high school students from Grady County as well as surrounding systems are invited to come visit the displays. Teachers and parents can download free information about the paintings and artists, as well as standards-based lesson plans to use with their students from the website www.travelingexhibits.org. Ridenour contends this exhibit will benefit students of any age in a variety of content area classes including ESOL, literature, art, history and world languages.