Daskal Natan Os40Valecture
Artists In Residence

Natan Daskal

02/12/19

Please join us for a lecture with artist Natan Daskal

Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2019  7:00 — 8:30 PM
Location: The CIA at Copia Theater, 500 First Street, Napa, CA

Artist Biography

When does Life become Art? Natan's interest lies in the performance of everyday life and how the artist mind and creative experience can aid us in living better lives. Primarily an educator, Natan is Teacher-As-Artist, approaching the classroom/studio as a laboratory of living, co-creating experiences with students that aim to deepen awareness and to open new possibilities for personal and worldwide change. A student of dance pioneer Anna Halprin's, he has been shaped by her approach to performance that merges the science of the moving body with felt experience, psychology, the natural environment, community, ritual, and the aesthetics of everyday activity. 

Natan is on faculty at the Tamalpa Institute, an internationally recognized training program in movement-based expressive arts; teaches creative movement classes to children; and has taught movement workshops in a variety of settings. Natan studied ballet at the Joffrey School in New York City, received his BFA in Communication Design at Parsons the New School for Design, and received an MA in Education from Goddard College where he studied the intersection of somatics, creativity, and education.

Artistically, I learned a lot of new techniques and mediums while here. I had access to much more than before and I made the most of it. I tried everything I could and always talked to my teachers and peers about new ways I could make art. Every so often, I completely stepped out of my comfort zone. Experimenting with technique and testing my artistic boundaries has helped me realize how many paths I have to choose from in the art world and that makes me excited for the future.

— Macy Manning, Fall 2023

Oxbow was, without a doubt, the best part of my high school experience. A year after leaving, and I still feel as though it were yesterday that I was sitting on the lawn, eating in the dining hall, and laughing with my friends in the studios.

— Julia Weir, Fall 2015

The art that goes on in most high schools is usually relatively skill-based. At Oxbow, there is more emphasis on looking and seeing and more critical thinking about what you are doing, the human connection, that personal element. Through art you can begin to understand yourself better. That may be the biggest eye-opener for students. It is almost a preview of college. Get out of the mechanical factory high school education and get into something open, new, and invigorating in a small environment.

— Bill Barrett, Former Oxbow Board Member, Former Executive Director of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD)

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