Art Installation by Advanced/Intermediate 3D Art class

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This is a class project from the Advanced/Intermediate 3D Art class at Arts Academy in the Woods. Rick Jacobi, art teacher; Jane McBride, student teacher.

Click on the individual images for a larger view. Photos by Rick Jacobi


The site.


Installation complete.


A few days earlier...


Ready to begin the installation.


The first two boards are placed.




The last boards are placed.


The boards are temporarily tied into position, and then fastened with screws.




Some of the boards are still tied; the ties will be removed after all the wood is screwed together.














Finished.

Recent student art: plaster figures, assemblage

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Alex Aniol


Lachelle Byars


Shannon Vorus


Chris Rudko


Alex Aniol


Emma Jeffrey


Tache Davis


Jazmine Hill


Madeline Toro


anonymous by request

Kayla Friess

Totem Pole project

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(click on images for a larger view)



Our 3D Art class just finished this totem pole project; we installed the poles yesterday after school. The installation was completed in about two hours. The posts are about eight feet high, with a little over two feet in the ground, encased in cement. I supervised and pitched in, but the kids did most of the work.





I would like to say that I came up with this idea by myself, but credit must go to art teacher extraordinaire Ken Vieth. The project came from his excellent book From Ordinary to Extraordinary. He has another book called Engaging the Adolescent Mind, which I also recommend>

I had the opportunity to take a seminar with Ken a couple weeks ago; it was kind of a coincidence that we were actually working on this project at the time of the seminar. By the way, Ken's seminar was really good-- if you are an art teacher and have an opportunity to take his seminar, go for it-- I highly recommend it.



The class really enjoyed this project-- many of them were using power tools for the first time, so this was a great learning experience for them not just in terms of creativity, but also for learning a number of new skills. The totems were cut out with jigsaws, primed and painted with exterior latex, and attached to the posts with wood glue, clamps, and screws. The screws were counter-sunk and covered with wood fill, and then touched up with paint.

As per Ken's recommendation in the book, I had the students collectively decide on a color scheme. I told them they could use two colors, plus black and white. Somewhat surprisingly, there was no arguing about the colors; the discussion was very orderly and most everyone seemed happy with the colors that were selected.



As you can see, the totem poles are situated alongside our school, close to the sidewalk and street. As we were doing the installation, several people drove by and stopped to take a closer look-- we got several compliments!



Here are a few closeups of some of the individual totems. They are "relief sculptures", and the students were required to add at least one additional layer of pieces to the base sheet of plywood.











This was a really fun project-- maybe someday we will have totem poles all around the school!

Assignment: Assemblage Sculpture

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Joseph Cornell


Earlier this year, we made abstract relief sculptures out of wood. In this project, we will be exploring and making some different types of assemblage sculptures.

We will begin by looking at some assemblages by Joseph Cornell. Cornell was one of the pioneers of assemblage, and remains one of the most influential artists for this type of art. We will also look at the work of several other artists-- some that are directly influenced by Cornell, and some others that are not.

After you look at the images below, read the questions at the bottom of this post, and answer the questions by posting a comment.

What we will be doing in class:
You will make an assemblage sculpture. It will take one of two forms:
1) in a wooden box, similar to the work of Joseph Cornell
2) freestanding / full round
Themes: you must choose one of the two themes for your sculpture:
1) symbolic self-portrait
2) good vs. evil

You will be receiving a handout with the specific details of this assignment.

(click on images below for a larger view)

Joseph Cornell


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Work by artists who have been influenced by Joseph Cornell


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Freestanding / Full Round Assemblage
(by various artists)


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Questions:

Answer these questions by making a "comment". Be sure to put your NAME on your comment!

1) What are some of the main features or characteristics of Cornell's assemblages (images 1-5)?

2) Consider the work of the artists influenced by Cornell, as shown above (images 6 through 15). Compare this work to Cornell's. What similarities do you see? What are some differences?

3) Select one of the Freestanding / Full Round Assemblage images that you like (17-27). Give the number of the piece, and then describe the piece and explain why you like it. Be specific-- a comment such as "I like it because it's really sweet" is not acceptable.

4) Off the top of your head, what kinds of things might you look for to use in your assemblage?

5) Where are some places you might look to find objects for this project?

6) Bonus question-- copy and paste links to a couple images of assemblages that you like, and explain what you like about them (they should be either similar to work by Joseph Cornell or freestanding / full round assemblages, as shown above).

Again, remember to put your NAME on your comment!