Monday, 30 April 2012
Working Papers in Art and Design
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
"Transformations" Pupil work
REFERENCES:
1. Dorotic, I., 2010. Cocooned Structures. [online] Available at: <http://comeandcheck.it/design/cocooned-structures/> [Accessed April 2012].
2. Numen / For use, 2012. Numen. [online] Available at: <http://www.numen.eu/home/news/> [Accessed April 2012].
3. Sutton Lane, 2012. Camilla Low. [online] Available at: <http://www.suttonlane.com/artist.php?a=cl&p=home> [Accessed April 2012].
4. Modern Art, 2012. Karla Black. [online] Available at: <http://www.modernart.net/view.html?id=1,3,508> [Accessed April 2012].
5. Hamilton, A., 2012. Anthea Hamilton. [online] Available at: <http://antheahamilton.com/> [Accessed April 2012].
I took photogaphs of 'Dusasa' and 'I still use Brushes' while in the MOMA in NYC and the basic information noted above was copied whilst there. It can also be accessed online at http://www.moma.org/m#art_main by searching the collection with the painting title.
You can also access my blog posts about these works here:
http://jenga135.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/i-still-use-brushes.html
http://jenga135.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/dusasa.html
Monday, 23 April 2012
Phillips Exeter Academy
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
I still use brushes
I took photogaphs of the artwork while in the museum and the basic information noted above was copied whilst there. It can also be accessed online at http://www.moma.org/m#art_main by searching the collection with the painting title.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Mountains
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Blue reflections
It seemed very transitory and ephermeral to me and I felt it suggested an ethereal nature. It reminded me of a reflection in water that is so delicate and easily disturbed yet beautiful. I wanted to try to create this so I experimented it with some different effects. This was my favourite effect:
Monday, 9 April 2012
Outburst
It is by Judit Reigl (French (born Hungary) 1923) and was painted in 1956. It is oil on canvas. I love the power and energy contained within and transmitted through the brushstrokes. It strikes me as a form of action painting but perhaps a much more deliberate choice of actions (in terms of desired emotional result) than Pollock. It would be interesting to explore the motivation for this with pupils.
I took photogaphs of the artwork while in the museum and the basic information noted above was copied whilst there. It can also be accessed online at http://www.moma.org/m#art_main by searching the collection with the painting title.
Dusasa
El Anatsul, Ghanian, (b. 1944)
'Dusasa II’, 2007
Found aluminium, copper wire, and plastic disks.
El Anatsul, widely considered today's foremost African sculptor, assembles his wall hanging sculptures from found materials - thousands of aluminium caps and seals from liqueur bottles - that he flattens, shapes, perforated, and assembles with copper wire. While he considers himself a sculptor, he meticulously orchestrates his materials like a painter working with oil on canvas or the director of a tapestry workshop. His work is anchored in his traditional culture (Ghanian kente cloth); Western art (mosaic, tapestry, chain mail armour, the paintings of Gustave Klimt); and contemporary life (alcohol consumption, the detritus of consumerism). Dusasa may be translated as a 'communal patchwork made by a team of townspeople', like his assistants.
I took photogaphs of the artwork while in the museum and the basic information noted above was copied whilst there. It can also be accessed online at http://www.moma.org/m#art_main by searching the collection with the painting title.
Textured photos
Sunday, 1 April 2012
The Room 13 model
What was it about our seminar that either confirmed or contested the view that “Room 13 is the most important model for artistic teaching in schools that we have in the UK” [Nicholas Serota].
The Room 13 model for artistic teaching is undoubtedly a very significant one. In terms of whether this is what we want for our schools, it has caused me to ponder again exactly what we should be seeking to teach in art education - whether it is the technical skills or the development of creativity? However, perhaps before this can be answered, we should consider what kinds of skills one needs to be an effective worker in today’s world. Duncan-Andrade and Morrell, 2008, have also considered this question and conclude that “what we are seeing now is the need for workers who are creative, who are able to think for themselves, who are able to work with diverse teams to accomplish collective ends.” (p168)
Thus, in terms of adequate provision for life, the Room 13 model is indeed very important. It’s approach and practice clearly fit into the pedagogies of the ‘imagination’ or of the ‘possible’ strongly advocated by writers like Greene (Teacher College, Columbia University, 2008) and McLaren (2003, p92 -93).
In particular, on reflection of the seminar, the fact that the ownership and control of the learning process is given over to pupils is one of the most confirming aspects of Serota’s view: “‘What have I got to make it out of?’ he inquires. That he won’t be told, that he must decide for himself, is the first and fundamental lesson Room 13 teaches.” (Yarker, 2008, p. 372), “Users of Room 13 arrive when they choose and because they choose, to work in the ways they choose, on their own projects, by themselves or with friends, at their own pace” (Yarker, 2008, p. 368). In the Room 13 model, many of the traditional constraints are removed and pupils can direct their own learning. This engenders a strong sense of ownership and personal engagement in work that is undertaken out of a personal impulse: “Instead of external pressure, the mobilisation of intrinsic desire” (Yarker, 2008, p. 368).
This is perhaps the most significant result of the Room 13 model, that “it testifies, against the general stance of the mainstream, that the process of learning is not teacher-dependent, nor understood adequately when likened to meeting a quota or climbing a ladder. Less predictable in its course and motion, learning is a continuous innate power quickened by the felt and anticipated needs of the individual, by interest, opportunity, surroundings” (Yarker, 2008, p. 371). I feel that this realisation is desperately required by art educators today and that a more effective art education can only be implemented on this foundation.
REFERENCES:
Duncan-Andrade, J. M. R., and Morrell, E., 2008. The Art of Critical Pedagogy. New York: Springer Science + Business media B.V.
McLaren, P., 2003. Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts. In: Darder, A., Baltodano, M., Torres, R. D., eds., 2003. The Critical Pedagogy Reader. London: RoutledgeFalmer, pp.69-96
Teacher College, Columbia University, 2008. Maxine Greene: Towards Pedagogy of Thought & Imagination [educational lecture] 3rd November 2008. Available at: <http://blackboard.uws.ac.uk> [Accessed 26th March 2011]
Yarker, P., 2008. Lifting the Lid and Mucking about with Minds: the example and challenge of Room 13. Forum, 50 (3), [online] Available at: < http://www.wwwords.co.uk/pdf/validate.asp?j=forum&vol=50&issue=3&year=2008&article=15_Yarker_FORUM_50_3_web > [Accessed 25th March 2012].