Lessons for Ecology and Art

The latest lesson plan that I am crafting will be focused on a few key ideas put forth by S. R. Walker including both materiality being part of the conceptual process and experimentation as a consistent approach to produce new ways of thinking through artmaking. The final vision of this project is not currently set in stone, as my run-through of this project will inform the project that I will explain to my students. The intent is to create a larger scale artwork that involves painting on wood panel with a theme of environmentalism. The artwork itself will either contain a functional aspect that can accommodate the needs of local plants and animals, or will incorporate recycled materials that create significant positive connections to sustainability practices. Some essential questions to this project will be how can artists bring awareness to human environmental impacts, and how can we be proactive in creating a better future. I intend to teach a lesson that relates to my current non-traditional media project with my advanced art studio course. In this project I ask my students to create an artwork in which we make a project along the theme of ecological awareness. We look at artists who deal with recycled or up-cycled media and a theme of sustainability and ecology, including Artur Bordalo II, Vik Muniz and his work in the documentary Wasteland, & Angela Hazeltine Pozzi with her Washed Ashore program. Typically this project is a smaller scale and involves more collage methods, with similarities to the work of Amina Robinson. This new assignment would be different than the current project in the respect that the final product will be made in a larger format with potential for a functional aspect that can accommodate local wildlife needs. If successful, I would like to utilize the new maker space in our high school facility to build future artworks. My current intention is to create either works on wood board that could become parts of a movable mural or a functional wildlife accommodation (bee hotel, bat box, etc.) that can be utilized in a public space in the community.

There are two main contemporary artists that I have researched recently for this project include Sarah Sze and Mary Mattingly. Both artists have a focus in their artwork on environmentalism and how artists can alter a space and change how we interact with it. Their work creates positive interactions between the people who enter into the space and the flora and fauna that exist there. Sarah Sze has served as inspiration through her functional sculptures on the New York High Line Park. She worked with the Cornell Ornithology Lab to create an artwork that both beautified the local space and provides food, water, and potential shelter for local birds. Sze encourages individuals to observe their environment closely, and for this reason many of her works are about or in unused spaces. Much of Mattingly’s work deals with structures and objects that would be functional in a perverse future where resources are scarce, though her invented world is somewhat too close for comfort. Her 2016 work Swale, (currently still ongoing) is a floating garden on a barge in New York that provides both information and fresh fruits and vegetables to visitors. The intent of her work is to demonstrate sustainable practices and small ways individuals in a city can improve one’s own living space. In Mattingly’s words, "Art can transform people's perceptions about value, and collective art forms can reframe predominant ideologies."

The current ecology art project that I teach encourages students to think conceptually about the material nature of their artwork. Students are asked to create an artwork that utilizes a natural or manufactured media option that has a material significance to the environmental concept that they are exploring. The finished artwork should include a clear use of the media, though other traditional medias are also allowed and encouraged to demonstrate technical skills learned throughout the course. The alteration to this project would still encourage a non-traditional media used. The new project will incorporate simple construction methods that will teach practical skills like basic carpentry and using power tools. We will more than likely work specifically with painting in this new version of the project as it will be the 2D media that is most durable when exposed to outdoor elements if this is to be displayed in an exterior environment.

My belief for this new project would be that the students will enjoy the process for this project. This will be conceptually challenging for them, though I do believe the prior lessons for the course will prepare them to succeed. The idea that their work will leave a legacy that changes a local space should be enticing to the students. From my years teaching in this current district, I have noticed that the students do want to improve things and are civically minded. Many of them also have strong beliefs and interests in the local environment and ecology. Learning how to use the different tools available in the new maker space for our school will be a new and exciting challenge for the class, but I believe they will rise to the challenge. Our school district has also just earned a grant to build a greenhouse for our middle school to begin an agricultural program which will eventually move into our high school. I believe that a recurring project that could relate to this new program would also be a welcome addition to our school district.

Title of Lesson: Ecology and Art Project

Grade Level: Advanced Students (Grade 11-12)

Class: Advanced Art Studio

Time Frame: 3-4 weeks

Ohio Visual Art HS Advanced Standards:

1PE Interpret social and cultural contexts to develop personal meaning in visual imagery.

2PE Interpret and evaluate the way a theme or meaning in an artwork expresses the social, political or cultural context.

6PE Apply self-direction, independence and a purposed approach when defining and solving a visual design problem.

1PR Demonstrate advanced technical skills and craftsmanship with various art media when creating images from observation, memory and imagination.

2PR Use criteria to revise works-in-progress and describe changes made and what was learned in the process.

3PR Contribute to a portfolio of works that demonstrates technical skill, a range of media and various original solutions to visual art problems.

1RE Apply art criticism methods and inquiry skills as viewer, critic and consumer of visual images produced by new media and media arts.

3RE Apply inquiry and analytic processes when viewing, judging and consuming visual content and images produced by new media and media arts.

6RE Engage in discourse and express a point of view about issues related to the public display of works of art.

Objectives:

1. Students will learn about contemporary artists and how they cultivate their ideas for artwork.

2. Students will explore a “big idea” as a method for creating meaning in their artwork.

3. Students will experiment with new and non-traditional materials to inform their artistic process in creating a finished painted multimedia project.

4. Students will demonstrate skills in observational artmaking.

5. Students will demonstrate skill with painting media.

6. Students will incorporate multimedia materials into a 3-dimensional artwork.

7. Students will be able to explain their concept for their artwork using the 4 steps of art criticism.

8. Students will be able to use appropriate artistic terminology including elements and principles when critiquing their work and that of their peers.

Materials:

Assortment of paper Assortment of natural materials (sticks, leaves, rocks, antler, seashells, etc.) Assortment of manmade materials (plastic bags, bottlecaps, cloth, books, etc.) Drawing tools (pencils, erasers, sharpeners, blending stumps) Acrylic Paint Paint brushes & palette knives Wood MDF board 2x4 pine boards Screws & nails Electric drill, saws, hammers

Vocabulary:

Ecology Traditional Non-traditional media Media Support/surface Materiality Installation art Recycling Upcycling

References: Art21. (2012, May 5). Sarah Sze in “Balance.” Art21. https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s6/sarah-sze-in-balance-segment/.

Bordalo II, A. (2021). https://www.bordaloii.com/.

Highline. (2012). Sarah Sze: Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat) . The High Line. https://www.thehighline.org/art/projects/sarahsze/.

Mattingly, Mary. (2021). Swale. https://marymattingly.com/html/MATTINGLYSwale.html.

PBS News Hour. (2011, Nov 7). 'Waste Land' Explores Artist's Use of Garbage to Transform Lives in Brazil [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=gInKde8FmH4&ab_channel=PBSNewsHour.

Walker, Lucy (Director). (2011). Waste Land [Film]. Almega Projects and O2 Cinema LTDA.