12/05/2023
Are you a Whitney Museum member?
Murphy will be teaching Strings Figures at this week's Member Evening event
Wednesday December 6th, 7:30pm - 10pm
Please join us ... we'll bring the strings!
https://whitney.org/events/member-night-dec-2023
.com
Member Night
The Whitney is open late—just for members! Celebrate Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith with fellow supporters and enjoy everything the Museum has to offer. In addition to gallery access, the evening includes tours, live music, and more.
03/12/2022
In honor of the first day
of James R. Murphy's 85th year:
the "Murphy's String Figures" project
is now available for all the world to see!
Check it out:
www.MurphysStringFigures.com
Follow on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/murphysstringfigures
Follow on Instagram:
Follow on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/murphysstringfigures
We’ll be posting our story
as we release more features
and start rolling-out to schools
>> Spread the word
02/09/2020
. . . we're building something. . . something BIG!
-- Jim Murphy & Lisa Bowstead
murphysstringfigures.com
a revolution in education
09/02/2019
i would like to welcome memories any of you might wish to share about my string figure class especially, but any class you want to weigh in on. it is rare for a teacher to get much feedback for his or her students. it would be a rare treat for me to hear from you.
murphy bringing the flock in
09/01/2019
graceful hand's dance with a string
centers the self in a close focus
slows attention to the here and now
focuses an ease of acceptance
cooling thought from simmer boil
to deep still pool's reflection
murphy leading the flock to graze
09/01/2019
Posted by Lisa Bowstead, M&A '81:
I first met Jim Murphy when he was my honors Math teacher at the LaGuardia HS of Music ad Art, in NYC. He and I had kept in touch through my college years, but when I moved to Brooklyn, I fell out of touch.
In 2011, I googled his name. It is a common name, but I scrolled down and there he was: showing off his string figures!
We had lunch at a pub and exchanged so many stories. Among them, he told me about teaching string figures to over twenty years of young minds at LaGuardia high school: for a few moments. he transformed into the "Mr Murphy" that I once knew: animated and bigger than life, with a fire in his eyes that was sparked by the inspiration of young minds. Telling other stories, the gracefully aging man talked about his wife, his kids and his grandkids. He had been travelling and enjoying retirement.
I joked with him about how it was a shame that he couldn't teach strings forever, and in all schools across the city, and across the world! I imagined aloud about a PBS series, like Carl Sagan's Cosmos. We laughed at the limitations of space, time and mortality. . .
One year later, we returned to that pub. Jim placed a book in the middle of the table. He had written a book! After our conversation, he had collected all of his strings lessons into a book!!
And that was the beginning of our adventure. . .
why string figures: an educational revolution
why string figures: an educational revolution
a handbook for anyone to use while learning string figures
09/01/2019