By Valerie Ricordi, MOCA

Campers in MOCA’s Creative Arts Summer Program created their own music video last week as part of the two-week session “Art and Rock and Roll”.  Set to the popular song ‘Peanut Butter Jelly Time’  by the Buckwheat Boyz, 30 children ages 6 to 12  danced to the song  dressed in costumes and used props of peanut butter, jelly and bread.  South Florida artist and MOCA Educator Crystal Pearl Molinary  used her own Canon 7D SLR to shoot the performers  one afternoon using her I Pod as the background soundtrack.  She edited the  footage with the help of guest artist Alex Sanchez  using Adobe Premiere Pro and iMovie software on her home computer.  “I chose Peanut Butter Jelly Time because all kids know it and identify with it, the lyrics are simple enough for them to mime and it really got the kids energized. Plus it is fun. “

Crystal Pearl Molinary answered some questioned about “Art of Rock and Roll” and the kids production of ‘ Peanut Butter Jelly Time.’

VR: How did the content evolve – i.e. the props, the choreography, the costumes? CPM: I was working on this project with my guest artist, Alex Sanchez who I had made a video with  in Hawaii a couple of years ago.   I knew I wanted high-energy shots of the kids reacting to the song and having fun at MOCA, so we used peanut-butter lipstick and bread as accessories.  The costumes are wardrobe on hand from our ‘Rock Star’  photo shoot the previous week .  It’s easier to get kids comfortable in front of the camera if they have a power-accessory.

VR: How long did it take to shoot  and edit? CPM: It took me about 3 hours to shoot and about 10 hours to edit.

VR: What were some of the other projects the children did as part of “Art of Rock and Roll” in MOCA’s Creative Arts Summer Program. CPM: We made collages inspired by Christian Marclay, Lorraine O’Grady and Cynthia Cruz; Sculptures inspired by the film  Yellow Submarine; Rock-star Portraits where they created an alter-ego and dressed into character; we decorated masks and t-shirts in the spacey style of visiting artist Otto Von Schirach made imaginary album covers in the style of Mingering Mike;  yarn-painted album covers inspired by Alice Wagner, we designed guitars, and we karaoke our hearts out and we spent a lot of time in the current exhibition at MOCA Ragnar Kjartansson: Song.

MOCA Creative Arts Summer Program is a full day camp with weekly sessions for 6-12 year olds, over half of whom attend on scholarships.  This summer’s sessions are “Creating a Circus,  June 11-15, June 18-22; “Design and Architecture” July 9-13, July 16-20; “Upcycle – Green Artmaking” July 23-27, July 30-August 3’ and “Super Sculpture”, August 6-10, August 13-17.  For more information or to register, contact Lark Keeler, MOCA Education Curator at 305 893 6211 or [email protected].

MOCA Education programs are  funded in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the National Endowment of the Arts, with additional support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, the Irma Braman Creative Arts Scholarship Fund, Micky and Madeline Arison Family Foundation and The Children’s Trust.  The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.  Education programs at MOCA are also made possible Jan and Dan Lewis, the Arnold S. Katz Endowment, City of North Miami, Bank of America,  Ethel & W. George Kennedy Family Foundation, Peacock Foundation, the Columbine Foundation , The Fine and Greenwald Foundation, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s.  MOCA Art Institute is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.  The Museum of Contemporary Art is accredited by the American Association of Museums.