Darkroom Magic In The Digital Age

Bringing a little analogue magic to students in 2014......

The teacher held up a roll of  35mm film in the air. 

"How many of you have seen film before?" 

A few hands went up.  

"How many of you have used a film camera before?"   

Most hands went down.

And this is how the magical journey into analogue photography began for my students this winter.

It wasn't that long ago that I taught photography to multiple classes with the aid of a large darkroom.  Students were introduced to cameras with dials that they would turn and crank.  They learned that they could control light through adjusting aperture and shutter speed, following the advise of a light meter. The process was slow and methodical.  With the old cameras, photographs weren't taken one directly after another because a dial needed to be cranked to advance the film after every shot.  Students needed to learn how to load film into the camera before starting to shoot and how to unwind it when it was done.  Most importantly, they needed to learn to slow down and compose every image carefully.  There was a small number of images on a roll of film and so careful compositional choices needed to be made. Starting a roll of film was a commitment.

"This is so complicated," exclaimed a student.

Each year, the processes seem farther and farther removed from the students.

"OK, so where is the LCD screen?" 

"How do I know that my photos worked out? I can't see them!"

Analogue photography is full of surprises.

Film was developed in the classroom, the old school way, measuring chemicals precisely and pouring them into light-tight tanks. Following this,  some Saturdays and evenings  were spent in a local darkroom where students learned about the monochromatic magic. (In our case the darkroom was in the Tin Hau neighbourhood in Hong Kong, run and operated by a man called Keeping Lee.)  It doesn't matter how old the student is, when they watch their images appear on photo paper in the developing bath for the first time, you will often see their eyes light up and  hear "Ahhh!" That visual chemical reaction where art meets science never ceases to amaze.

Darkroom photography is a methodical process and it takes time to perfect the craft.  It is a physical activity, compared to enhancing images through photoshop where one normally sits down in front of the computer, working to recraft images.  This had been the previous experience of most of my students. The analogue process can provide a refreshingly honest and untouched-up version of the world. And yet one can dodge, burn, distort, solarise and compile images together to create distorted realities. Many students move quickly towards surrealism and the altered reality approach to photography.

And at the end of the magic, I look forward to the part where students share their work and tell their stories, gathered around the critique table. 

No, the magic has not been lost.

Biennale di Venezia 2013

The Venice Biennale is one of the most anticipated international art shows in the world. Attending the 2013 Biennale was a dream-come-true for me.  Reading articles about the Biennale and viewing documentary images from the show can't come close to the  experience of actually attending this event where top contemporary artists from across the globe have come together to educate, provoke, entertain and inspire.

As an Art Teacher,  this infusion of contemporary art feeds my soul.  I expect my students to be constantly involved in the creative process and engaging with art works in galleries and museums.  It is important for me as an educator to do the same and to embrace the contemporary.  As I view art, I am always drawing parallels between the art I see and the work my students have done/ are working on. The artwork that I saw will continue to be referenced in my discussions with students.

The three-days of gallery viewing  was truly inspiring.  Below, are a few of the most memorable highlights from Biennale di Venezia 2013.

Housed in the "French Pavilion" was the German contribution to the show. The German's bold statement about "nationalism" was exciting.  As well as being housed in another nation's pavilion, among the four artists featured, none were German. The pavilion required the viewer to think about their own perceptions of classification and nationalism.  The collection of artists included the controversial figure, Ai Wei Wei from China, French Film Director, Romuald Karmakar, South African artist,  Santu Mofokeng and photographic artist, Dayanita Singh, from India.

 Ai Wei Wei's installation called Bang was housed in the main atrium.  The hanging stools created a  maze for the audience to walk through, under and around. As always, his message is provocative and involves a village in the production.

What a triumph for Ai Wei Wei to be celebrated in Venice, given the circumstances for him at home in Beijing. Germany's statement was a bold and impressive one.

Dayanita Singh's piece: Mona and Myself and Sea Of Files.

The United States Pavilion was another favourite venue for me.  The artist Sarah Sze created a magical world with her sculptural installations.  The works consisted of masterfully arranged found-objects. Sze's complex towering pieces completely transformed the spaces.

 Sarah Sze's  installations spilled outside of the pavilion, enticing viewers to come in and explore further.  The following four shots show details of her multiple installations. The inventiveness and playfulness of this work is inspiring.

Sarah Sze's work is alive and dynamic. She transformed the space into visual poetry.  Inter connected, every-day objects danced in light and shadow.   

Another favourite pavilion was the Israeli Pavilion, featuring the work of Gilad Ratman.  The art featured was titled The Workshop and comprised of video, sound, sculpture and performance. Ratman documented a passage of a community of people from Venice to Israel.  The piece had a high level of theatre, humour and collaboration.

                                  Gilad Ratman - Israeli Pavilion- Venice Biennale 2013

Netherland artist, Erik van Lieshout set up a Drive-In Movie Theatre, complete with a car for viewing his film called Healing.  This site specific installation transformed the space outside the Encyclopedic Palace.

Erik van Lieshout Healing 2013

Another extraordinary body of work displayed in the Encyclopedia Palace was a series of ceramics by Shinichi Sawada.  Sawada is a gifted young artist from Japan who created spectacular ceramics monsters in minute detail.  Reading about this artist, I discovered that he is autistic and had spent most of his life in institutions.  In 2001, he discovered ceramics and the course of his life was changed forever. (Oh, the power of the arts to transform lives.)

Two works by Shinichi Sawada

Art meets life and reality TV in the work of US artist, Ryan Trecartin. The artist set up installation scenarios for viewers so they could lie on couches or beds and view his larger-than-life video productions. This is an artist that will resonate with my students with all of his popular culture references and over-the-top theatrics.

An installation that I had been really looking forward to seeing was one by ( Chilean- born, US artist) Alfredo Jarr.  The initial response to the room was one of being under-whelmed.  A large pool of murky water filled the centre of the space.  Visitors walked in and out, initially looking quite puzzled.  Then suddenly, the water started to bubble and up came a city from the depths of the lagoon.

Once again, I was reminded that art is magical as the village appeared out of no-where.

The highlight of the show was a plaque in Alfredo Jarr's exhibit (below) that gave credit to his team. In bold letters, it read: US Coordinator : Capucine Gros. Cap just happens to be one of the most amazing secondary school art students I have ever taught. She recently graduated from art school earning a BFA and then spend the past year, assisting Jarr in New York.  I can't describe the pride that I felt, reading her name on the walls of this exhibit at the Venice Biennale.  This reminded me that for every exhibit and behind every great artist, there is an army of dedicated, talented people who support, nurture, assist, coordinate and build.

If you are interested in finding out more about any of the artists mentioned above, please check out their websites:

Ai Wei Wei:                http://aiweiwei.com/
Dayanita Singh:        http://www.dayanitasingh.com/
Sarah Sze:                    http://www.sarahsze.com/
Gilad Ratman             http://galleristny.com/2013/01/gilad-ratman-to-represent-israel-at-2013-venice-biennale/
Erik van Lieshout:     http://www.guidowbaudach.com/artists/Erik-van-Lieshout/works
Shinichi Sawada:      http://www.artbrut.ch/en/21004/1058/sawada--shinichi
Ryan Trecartin:          http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/ryan_trecartin.htm
Capucine Gros:           http://www.capucinegros.com/
Alfredo Jarr:                http://www.alfredojaar.net/

Ephemeral Art

The  idea of ephemeral art excites me.  Back in art school, I remember learning about the importance of archival processes in photography and painting.  Throughout history, artists have gone to great lengths to preserve work and ensure longevity.  Art historians, gallery owners and art collectors are particularly interested in the preservation of art work.  The idea of  art being ephemeral laughs in the face of the double fixative, fibre-based photo paper that I was instructed to use to make my images last forever in art school. (Digital photography killed all that too.)

This year, I have challenged all of my Grade Eleven students to create an Ephemeral work of art. (I shouldn't be surprised at how many of them want to blow things up or ignite their artwork, should I?  Students have responded with some exciting projects. I have been  impressed with the thoughtfulness, planning and the conceptual strength of these projects.  Because the students are completing the IB Diploma Programme, it is essential that their work be documented as they need a final digital record of all of their pieces.  If this wasn't an essential part of the course, I would ask students to decide independently if they wished to document the work or not.  There is of course an irony in the documentation of an ephemeral art piece and this was not lost on many of my students.

As the work progressed, students used twitter as a format to share the process.  Below, Rachel advertises her ephemeral performance that happened in the school.  Dealing with body image, she used make-up on flesh and srubbed it off during the performance.  This was a provocative piece  that resonated with members of the all-female audience.

In 2004, I was introduced to  the Experimental School of Visual Art in Havana, Cuba. I was accompanying a group of Art Education students from Simon Fraser University who had short teaching  practicums at the school.  The staff of the Experimental School opened the big wooden doors of the school and their hearts to us.  It was a wonderful experience for my students and myself and one that we will never forget.  I learned about an annual show that was organized by the school, The Havana Ephemeral Art Show (Festival Nacional De Escultura Fimer).  Artists from all over Cuba sent in proposals & created ephemeral art every July for a number of years . http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/17977


The event happened in a local park in Havana annually and the work was innovative.  Over the years, I have shared stories about the Ephemeral Art Show in Cuba and photos of the Experimental Art School with my students here in Asia.  The show was an inspiration.  Art materials were diverse and included the human body, fire, water and butter that melted quickly in the Cuban heat.  The fascinating thing about this ephemeral art show is that (because of government constraints on the internet in Cuba) I can't find any documentation of these wonderful pieces...truly ephemeral and living on only in memory and stories passed down to the students.

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).

Wind-Up Toys & Dialogue

Every group of students has their own special charm.  About six years ago in Shanghai there was a Year Twelve (IB Year One) Art class that were very quiet.  When it came time for the first critique, where students were asked to talk about their own work and the work of others in the class, it was painful.  No one wanted to jump in and talk about their month-long art process. No one was ready to speak about the work of classmates either. This was really unusual.  Sometimes groups are a little quiet during the start of the first critique but soon they get their footing and are ready to speak.  But not this group.  The students were producing some great work and really investing in the art-making process and they seemed to really like one another  and the vibe in the art room but they just didn't want to speak about art. The second critique was as painful as the first. 

What to do? The teacher (me) was becoming frustrated & feeling like a failure. 

She started questioning herself. 

Hadn't she fostered a safe environment? 

Hadn't the class successfully built a community together? 

What was the teacher doing wrong? 

Why couldn't she help make the dialogue happen?

Talking about one's own work is essential for students in the IB Visual Art class.  After all, the final assessment takes the shape of an interview where students speak about the work they have created for about forty minutes.  How would these students ever feel comfortable talking about their own work?  

How would they find their own voices?  

After the third month and third painful critique, it was time to take a new approach.  By the eve of the fourth critique, the teacher felt helpless, she had nothing...no great brain waves to focus this new approach. Then, while out shopping in a little toy store in the Shanghai neighbourhood (in Gubei) she stumbled across a wonderous object.  It was an old fashioned wind-up monkey made of tin.

The attendant in the store took the monkey out of a glass case and wound it up. And to the teacher's joy, when the monkey was wound up, he rode his bicycles around in circles.  Perfection.  The monkey was purchased and the next day at the start of class, a big space was cleared in the classroom and students were asked  to stand in a circle.  They were reluctant but somewhat curious.  When the circle was successfully created, the monkey appeared in the  centre.

Before the monkey was wound up the question was asked if anyone wanted to speak about their work . There was no reply and so: "If the  monkey stops at your feet, you are up first."  The students started to laugh and the monkey circled and circled until he ran out of power and landed at a student's feet.  Mr Monkey lightened the tension in the room.  Students were relieved to be chosen randomly by the monkey  rather than volunteering or being asked to speak by the teacher.  Mr Monkey became the class mascot and each month, he was brought  out and wound up to start the critique action.  The monkey was wound up, over and over, circling madly  until the last student was chosen.

It would be exaggerating to say that the wind-up monkey magically transformed a quiet class into an outgoing group but somehow for this particular class the sound of the wind-up key and the sight of the tin monkey helped to curb anxiety.  The monkey isn't required to get the discussion going  in most classes these days, but he can be used to break up the routine.  

Thanks to some thoughtful students and colleagues who have gifted wind-up toys over the years, the monkey now has tin friends that circle, spin, roll and pace forward and back.  The menagerie of wind up toys sit waiting, at the ready to help bring voice to another really quiet class.

The Metal Object Art Project

Several years ago, while navigating the roads of Shanghai in a taxi, we came across a road called Beijing Dong Lu. We were looking for some simple building materials as the graduation class were hanging the IB Visual Arts show.  Travelling with one of the senior students, Francesca, (now a fashion designer in Italy) we stumbled upon this street with our taxi driver.   There were blocks and blocks of shops selling building materials.  Specifically, there were several blocks of shops that sold nothing but obscure (to me) metal hardware pieces.  Knowing very little about the function of many of these little metal objects, I was enamoured by the "objects de arte" and their beauty.

Quickly, I started buying up these wonderful little objects.  As I didn't have any idea what these objects were for, I based my purchases completely on form. The shop keeper was very amused by my purchases and my ignorance of the function of any of the items purchased. Back to the gallery we went, carrying the objects and excited to show them to the student-artists.  We admired the shapes and textures of the objects for a short while, then got back to work, hanging the show.  Over the next months, I surrounded myself with over a dozen of these pieces, knowing that somehow, someday, these works would inspire art-making.  I didn't know how and didn't know when.  It took about a year before I decided that I would need to share these objects with my IB art students.

And so, in 2007, the Metal Object Project was born.  Rather than placing the objects on a table and asking the students to "choose one, " I decided that I would wrap the objects separately in wrapping paper and have every student in the class choose a wrapped gift.  The introduction of the project has become quite ritualistic. Recently when introducing the project at school, I placed yoga matts in a circle and had every student come into the room and chose a gift. As the metal objects are of various sizes, shapes and weights, I ask the students not to shake or  feel the wrapped packages  but to choose their package from a distance, based on the information they could read from brightly coloured packages.

One by one, we went around the circle and students were asked to open their object in front of the class.  It is interesting to watch the reaction, sometimes students are instantly excited about their metal piece, others are more reserved while others try to hide their disappointment, comparing their metal piece with their neighbour's.  Introducing the project in Shanghai was easier to coordinate thanks to the amazing little street that inspired me: Beijing Dong Lu.  In Hong Kong, shops are not centralised to the same degree and there is no mega hardware stores here like B&Q or Home Depot.  As a result, the metal object offerings were more eclectic.  I found some objects at a recycle depot by the shipyards.  There were some interesting rusty, oiled-up pieces there.  While other pieces were purchased at the local hardware stores.

         

                       

  

 The project brief was simple. Create a work of art in any medium that is inspired by this piece of metal. The metal object may or may not be included in the final work of art. Students were required to come up with three proposals in their workbooks.  The merits of each would be discussed in class before a decision was made by the student, allowing for class and teacher feedback.  Each student was also required to create a "technical challenge" for themselves in the media chosen and at the end they would be able to talk about their technical growth as well as the conceptual elements of the project.

This project has been one of the most exciting ones introduced over the years.  An object can be a great starting point for a project if all the elements are right and it is introduced at the right stage for the students.  From time-based performance pieces to installations to detailed drawings, these metal pieces have inspired some innovative art works.  Students are given a  list of contemporary artists to research for inspiration.  Artists who work with non-traditional materials are included on this list.  Students may draw inspiration from Arthur Ganson's kinetic sculpture.

Cloud by Arthur Ganson http://www.arthurganson.com/  

or Janine Antoni's performative work http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/features/janine-antoni/   or Cai Guo Qiang's explosive works http://www.caiguoqiang.com/ to name a few.

http://dailyserving.com/2010/08/cai-guo-qiang/02-cai-guo-qiang-head-on-vortex/

The direction students take with this unit is often fascinating.  A metal piece with a hinge that opens and closes can resemble a heart beat for one student, leading her on a path of research and exploration. While the complexity of another metal piece can remind another student of the inner workings of the human brain.  Often very personal connections are made instantly with this project.   It is amazing how a cold, metal object can inspire the personal memories and bring out students' humanity.

So, later this month is the inaugural show of our school art gallery at CDNIS.  The first show that is schedules is: The Metal Object Show.  A number of Grade Eleven students will be installing their metal pieces.  For many students this was the most successful and exciting piece they have created thus far in the course so the show should be an interesting one.

Stay tuned for more photos and a review of the show.