GUILDERLAND — How do words become art"

The children at Westmere Elementary School know how.
Hundreds of them worked individually to create a collective work of art. Each student made a poster that answered the question, "How do you show good manners""
"If people drop, pick them up," says one.
"Never bite," says another.
"Don’t fake," says a third.
"Raise you hand," says a fourth.
"Do not spread rumors," says a fifth.
"Flush the toilet," says a sixth.
"Obviously, he didn’t edit the responses," said art teacher MaryK Weeks.
Graphic designer Nick Acemoglu supervised the project. Weeks saw the work he did for his bachelor’s degree in fine arts, "The Good Manners Coalition," and thought it would be a perfect fit with Guilderland’s anti-bullying campaign.
"It was all about treating people with respect," Weeks said. "I talked to him and see if he would come work with us."

He did. The district’s bullying prevention program sponsored Acemoglu as an artist in residence.
"He made giant magnets of fonts to show the students how to use fonts and spacing for an impactful message," said Weeks.

The kids played with the shapes and spaces. Each selected a type font and Acemoglu printed out the letters from his laptop computer.

The fonts ranged in style from formal and Gothic to playful and funky.
The students then arranged their letters in ways that best expressed their message. The individual posters — all with black letters on a white ground — were copied to form "The Good Manners Project."

The installation transformed a classroom.
"People say it looks like heaven," reported Weeks as she stood in the midst of the white wonderland of thoughtful advice.

The posters were strung from rows of string, all leading to a paper-draped desk at the far end. The effect was mesmerizing, with something to read at every level, from floor to ceiling.

Visitors to the exhibit, which ran from May 14 to 18, wrote their responses in a book, which was left just outside the door of the transformed classroom.
"Maybe these are ghosts," said Noah, a first-grader.
"This reminds me of a TV show called Dr. Who," said Katherine.
"I like how you put it up so tall people and small people can look," said Sierra.
"I think it looks like a snowy cave," wrote another Noah. "The black words are like part of the cave showing through."
"It looks like a masterpiece," wrote John.
"Outstanding! Outstanding! Outstanding! What an impressive display of thoughtful student work," wrote Gregory Aidala, the superintendent of schools.
"It was the best thing ever and soooooo cool and white," wrote student Ashlee Garcelon.
"It’s cool because it looks like a tunnel," wrote Kim.
"Kids are good artists," wrote Rachel.
"I had goose bumps! Some posters made me cry. Some made me laugh out loud. Some really made me think," wrote kindergarten teacher Dorine Phelan. "All made me so proud of the children and artists at Westmere. I was moved by the experience...really I was."
"My eyes nearly popped out....," wrote Aurora.

Westmere Principal Deborah Drumm summed it up for The Enterprise, saying, "This was so exciting for the kids."
She pointed out that the posters don’t have the individual student’s names on them. "It’s meant to be a collective statement," she said.

The visual inspiration to show respect for others really made an impression on the kids, she said.
When the door opened, revealing the artwork inside, said Weeks, the very kids who created it would say "awesome" or "amazing," or, she said, "They just gasped."
Although the show is now over and has been packed away, Weeks said, "We cannot throw this out....My gut feeling is there’s a next step to this. It needs to live on."