OBJECTS AND INSTALLATION

SM1702 CREATIVE MEDIA STUDIO I

OBJECTS AND INSTALLATION L06 & L05

SCHEDULE PER WEEK1. How do objects tell stories pt.1. Found objects and storytelling

(25%).

2. How do objects tell stories pt.2. Making Chinese proverbs in clay (25%).

3. How do objects relate to space pt.1. Yarn bombing location hunt & knitting with chopsticks.

4. How do objects relate to space pt.2. Yarn bombing a Hong Kong location (25%).

5. How do objects relate to the body pt.1. Becoming a cyborg with papier mache and found objects.

6. How do objects relate to the body pt. 2: Final exhibition/performance of cyborg works and final critique (25%)

ASSESSMENTS

1. Found object stories (25%)

2. Working in clay (25%)

3. Working with yarn and space (25%)

4. Papier mache and found objects (25%)

Each student must submit a PDF portfolio of all the above works with captions and statements one week after the last lesson. (So record everything that you see, do and make so you can show your creative journey!)

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

Today we’re going to think about and experiment with the ways objects can tells stories.

Objects created by artists can represent all manner of narrative elements.

They might have a story painted onto them…

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

Instead of writing it down, many ancient cultures told stories about their history and culture across the surface of every day objects.

Wine jar, Athens circa 540-530 BC

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?‘Willow Pattern’ was a design inspired by imports of ceramic kitchen wear from China in the 1800s. It was created by Thomas Minton and based on a Chinese fable…or was it?

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

British artist Grayson Perry fuses traditional pottery-making with contemporary narrative by using the surface of a vase as a place to work through issues relating to his traumatic upbringing and transvestism.

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

A set of objects might represent a story…Ai Weiwei made scaled-down 3D models of his 2011 imprisonment to show what he went through…

Ai Weiwei S.A.C.R.E.D.

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

Peter Fischli & David Weiss (1981-1982) ‘Suddenly This Overview’

60 unfired clay sculptures made between 1981-1982 depicting historic and humorous scenes

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

The Russians Send the First Rocket into Space from Peter Fischli & David Weiss (1981-1982) ‘Suddenly This Overview’

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

Brunelleschi Invents Perspective from Peter Fischli & David Weiss (1981-1982) ‘Suddenly This Overview’

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

In today’s class we’re going to make sculptures using air-dry clay of Chinese proverbs, sayings or idioms. Just like this one…

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

Here’s an example:

A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.

Chinese Proverb

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

• How to make a hand with clay

• How to make a rose with clay

• How would you make scent with clay? What might scent or smell look like as an object? What other materials could you use if not clay?

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?

How to make a narrative scene:

1. Pick the saying, idiom or proverb you’d like to create.

2. Find pictures that will help you plan out how to represent each part.

3. Draw several quick sketches to work from.

4. Keep all your visual resources and examples to hand.

5. Plan how best to use your time – divide up the time available by the tasks you need to complete in order to create your work.

6. Prepare your work space by collecting your clay, tools, and a pot of water.

HOW DO OBJECTS TELL STORIES?Working with air-dry clay:

1. Knead the clay to make it soft.

2. If you are only using part of the clay, keep the rest in it’s packaging/a sealed bag to keep it from drying out.

3. Keep a pot of water handy to remoisten your hands, or the clay if it gets too dry while you are working with it.

4. Use tools to help you cut, shape and texture the clay.

5. Find a safe place to let the clay dry – this will take several hours.

6. Make sure you take at least one picture of your sculpture and its label clearly stating the proverb you created.

PREPARATION FOR THIRD WEEK

1. Watch one of the following movies:

Exit Through the Gift Shop

or

Waste Land

All course details are here:

http://objectsandinstallation.digitalcritic.org/