Photo Gallery: Sterling Morton's Talking Art Museum

Taylor McKinzie's face was painted white and framed so she could portray Andy Warhol's famous "Mickey Mouse" -- one of his pop art portraitures that blurred the line between high and low art -- Thursday afternoon at Sterling Morton Elementary School.

Taylor explained who she was to a group of curious kindergarteners and why Warhol, played by classmate Michael Futchi, created her.

"So what do you think? Am I a work of art?" Taylor concluded.

The kindergartners considered her question for a moment. Then, one replied, "You look like Mickey Mouse."

While not everyone grasped the messages of the fourth grade class's Talking Art Museum, the students who participated certainly learned a lot about art and had fun doing it.

The fourth graders recreated 16 classic works of art, including Grant Wood's "American Gothic," Jackson Pollock's "The Flame" and Auguste Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker"

For the past several weeks, the fourth graders worked in groups of three or four researching an artist, painting one of his or her better known works and writing an essay about him or her.

On the day of the art show, students from the group took turns dressing up as either the artist or the work of art.

Meanwhile, fellow students, teachers and family strolled strolled through the living museum and the pieces of art told them about the artists and art. They also made sure to answer any questions from the crowd.

Other students added to the atmosphere by performing on their violins or flutes as people talked about (and to) the artwork.

The talking art museum is the brainchild of art teacher Jacqui Spetrino, who has organized the event for the last seven years.