Daily Acts Of Art

 Sleep deprivation is not good. Balance is important.  

For years, I had been watching my senior students (IBDP Visual Artists) trying to balance all the pressures of studies (Internal Assessments & External Assessments, Extended Essays) and extra curricular commitments (Creativity, Action & Service ) and University applications.   I have witnessed so much stress and procrastination and have often seen the effects of sleepless nights because of the marathon sessions, finishing projects. The Daily Acts of Art project was introduced to address this problem and to encourage students to use class time effictively  to create art.  Importantly, Daily Acts of Art encourages students to embrace the contemporary and look at artists who produce time-based work (including performance, installation, film & video).

The Project:

Students are asked to create a studio work over an entire month, working on their art piece for 60 minutes each day.  They are asked to document the work regularly and research as they go, connecting their own art with the wider art world.  There are check-in points throughout the month to look at the research as it progresses. Students are given some time to come up with a proposal for this project before the 30-day project begins.  The purpose of the project should be clear.  Students need to know themselves and be able to explain to others: Why am I doing this piece?  How does it relate to my life?  How is this ART?  What connections can I make to other artists and the larger art world?

 Some of the artists that are discussed at the onset of the project include Tehching Hsieh (Taiwanese Time-Based Performance artist).  The legendary Tehching Hsieh completed several time-based works that lasted for one year from from the late 1970's. http://www.one-year-performance.com/   Another artist that will be looked at is Ellie Harrison, a contemporary Scottish artist who has built her art career around time-based work. http://www.ellieharrison.com/

The Magic

Over the month of the project, students are engaged, independently,  all over the school and art room, creating work.  From blind-folded basketball playing, captured on film, to a student skipping with paint to a student throwing balloons full of paint onto a Chinese Qipao dress, representing her childhood, Daily Acts of Art projects have been known to be lively and innovative. Ideally, students are all engaged in the “joy of art making” as opposed to cramming for deadlines.

The results of this project have been exciting!

In 2010, student Bora Yoo created a time-based portrait using wool and knitting for one hour every day.

Student, Felix Tournier built walls daily on the school ground and throughout the city of Shanghai, making a statement about personal and political space in China. (2009)

Connie Huang (2010) relived a childhood memory with her daily act, throwing paint balloons at an adult Qi Pao (representing her mother) and a child's outfit (representing herself).