Umbrella Installation

Quite recently our grade 8 students began working on what has come to be refer to as ‘the umbrella project’. This involved the purchase of some 120 umbrellas to be decorated and collectively hung as a collaborative installation. It would be possibly our most ambitious collaborative project when complete and would fill our schools normally grey entrance area (genkan) with an amazing sense of colour and pattern.

We began the project by looking closely at positive and negative shapes before undertaking a series of exploratory exercises with particular focus on the use of symmetry in cultural designs. The class was also inspired to a degree by the Christo and Jean-Claude Umbrellas project that was undertaken in both Japan and the United States between 1984 and 1991. While our project would be very different and considerably smaller, there was something to be learnt by using umbrellas as the basis for a large-scale installation.

After careful planning and after the production of a full-scale template to trace around, the students each began painting their own umbrella, using commercially available house paint rather than normal classroom acrylics. House paint seemed to apply well to the water resistant surface of the umbrellas and certainly reduced flaking when the paint was dry. The students clearly enjoyed the scale of the project, although fitting all of the umbrellas into the classroom when fully open was at times sometimes difficult as was their storage as he paint was drying. In choosing black combined with only one colour it provided each design with a bold colour scheme.

Each of the participating classes had each chosen a different colour providing six distinct shades in addition to the common element of black. Once complete and hung on mass, the impact was immediate and the reaction of the school community was very positive. ‘The Umbrella Project’ had been quite a lot of work, but the end result certainly emphasized the power of collaboration in producing strong installation projects.

Astro Boy Wall Murals

When considering collaborative projects the Grade 8 students might undertake this year, our attention began to drift toward iconic contemporary images of Japan that may be relevant to our students. Here in Osaka, one of the most iconic artists is Osamu Tezuka who created the animated character of ‘Astro Boy’ during the 1950’s. This popular series introduced Japanese anime to the world and in doing so effectively opened the floodgates to the overwhelming range of manga-style characters that continue to emerge today.

With five class groups undertaking this particular collaborative project, it was decided that each team would work on a different classic Astro Boy pose by following a standard grid system to enlarge the selected illustration to an oversized format. Each student was responsible for two of the enlarged grids and begun by firstly outlining the line work with black paint. For a suitable decorative element, we began to investigate the more recent works of Chuck Close and were inspired to develop interesting coloured patterns that would completely fill the image.

The use of bright pastels allowed for some interesting colour combinations. By using cool colours for the outside and warm for the character itself, the students were able to achieve a striking impact through the use of contrast. As these five pieces were to be placed in the vast area of the largely grey Genkan (the entrance foyer to the school), it would eventually prove to be a wise decision. The completed final pieces were placed on their own separate wall, providing a bold introduction to the school and its visual art program, which effectively demonstrated the collaborative artistic efforts of our talented Grade 8 students with this project.

Sculptural Illusions

My grade 10 sculpture class were recently investigating the visual illusions that can be achieved by artists who effectively use the element scale. We were looking at the works of sculptors such as Ron Mueck, Antony Gormley, Jeff Koons and Claes Oldenburg who have often used scale to great effect. In the process we also looked at media and noted how its selection can also provide its own sense of illusion…lightweight materials can be used that give the illusion of weight, while familiar forms that appear lightweight can sometimes be made of quite heavy material.

The project we chose to represent this notion was inspired by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade where hot air balloons are led through the streets of New York. The students carved from compressed foam then painted it. This would in turn represent a lightweight balloon. The sense of scale of the object was derived from the human form (constructed of wire and tissue paper) that was holding the balloon. With both the balloon and the figure constructed, the students used fine wire to link the two objects in such a way as to create the illusion that the carved form was floating like a balloon.

The students had to consider balance and the length of the wire that could effectively support the wire object. This was an interesting exercise, with the students realizing that the longer the wire the less stable the sculpture would become. It was a fun project, which involved quite a bit of problem solving. Since the pieces have been on display there have been many positive comments with viewers often smiling at the novelty of this visual illusion.