03-10-24

T4T

Discuss patience and it's importance to artists, viewers of art, as a subject of art? What happens with it, without it? What might it look like? Develop your own talking points. Try this but substituting another subject for visual arts.

 

02-10-24

Thought for Today

Distance

Putting some distance between yourself and a problem you need to solve can be an effective approach and it is one I have recently employed during my sojourn to Ho Chi Minh City. It can go wrong, of course, it can be a little risky to not look at an issue and trust yourself to be working on it in the background. The temptation is to tell yourself it will all be ok in time but actually not address the issue. Interestingly I found the solution by watching a TV program called ‘The Hotel Inspector’; this long-running series follows the efforts of a hospitality expert, Alex Polizzi to save failing hotels. The reason these programmes helped me solve my problem is that I could see the common denominator between all of those failing hotel owners was the they all at some point lost sight of the purpose of a hotel, which is to give guests a comfortable, pleasurable stay in a clean, safe and attractive environment (or something like that). Maybe I had been losing sight of the purpose of my consultancy and the Facebook page already? My purpose is to support students, teachers, departments and schools develop and build creative thinking behaviors in their visual arts programmes and delivery.

 

 

 

What I found was that the ‘Thought for the Day’ articles involved spending an inordinate amount of time and energy of writing new, original articles on a daily basis that aimed to stimulate discussion and drive interest in my business. Unfortunately, the ratio of time invested to the returns has not been impressive!

 

 

I saw this and immediately set to the task of working on a new format that allowed me to spend more time on building resources that would direct potential clients in my direction.

 

 

The result is the new video post today, T4T.

 

 

Please comment below and on the video to let me know what you think, especially on how you might use the idea and the first example. Is this replicable in another subject? Is discussion and exploration of ideas important in your subject (if you are a teacher)? I am also very interested to know if people outside of teaching use idea exploration formats such as this to stimulate discussion in their area of business.

 

 

 

 

 

T4T is designed to provoke conversation and discussion about Visual Art

 

 

Teachers can use as a conversation starter in art class, ToK, Philosophy 101, debating etc.

 

 

Delivered through exploration of nouns combined with visual art exemplars, the new T4T only exists to prompt, not to offer a position or an opinion.

 

 

Visual art classrooms are nothing if they are not places where young learners can explore how to use visual language to explore matters of importance.

 

 

The most important part of that process is asking an open-ended question and allowing exploration of possible answers.

 

 

This is where creativity is born, grows and matures into problem solving.

 

 

The first example shows how such a question can be introduced and explored.

 

 

Artedu can help you build units of work that use this kind of approach to build student/teacher engagement and buy-in.

 

23-09-24

Thought for Today:

Minimalism #10

I asked chatgpt to write a Haiku poem for the following artwork; Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit by Rembrandt

 

 

Rich in black and white,


elegance in every fold—


time halts for their gaze.

 

 

My thought is that chat clawed back some of it’s earlier glory here; I mean it’s a bit straight on but yes, the stillness of the scene is echoed in the very formal style adopted by the Master in this no-doubt highly lucrative commission. Here’s my effort

 

 

Opulence downplayed

Exalted skin, lace and gold

Privy gaze no more

 

Image Source https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/stories/10-things/story/10-things-about-marten-oopjen

 

 

 

 

20-09-24

Thought for Today:

Minimalism #9

 

I asked chatgpt to write a Haiku poem for the following artwork: Wasserschlangen II by Gustav Klimt

 

Gold serpents entwine,
lovers float in dreamlike streams—
kissed by endless light.

 

My thought is that again, chat got is avoiding anything of a sensitive nature. But this is an art site. Imagine if artists and art students were self-censoring to the extent that they could not mention sexuality or talk about it’s place in art. Crikey, that sounds like a dreadful place where we might say that we are not allowed to discuss genocides, drug epidemics or manufactured pandemics. Can you imagine? I know I can’t, it’s just too, too far from the real world where we are encouraged…..sorry, got a bit carried away. Here’s my version

 

Luxury and time

Embrace beyond rapprochement

Golden and sublime

 

 

Image source here https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-art-prints/Gustav-Klimt/16158/Water-Serpents-II-(girlfriends).html

19-09-24

Thought for Today:

Minimalism #8

 

I asked chatgpt to write a Haiku poem for the following artwork; No 6 (Violet, Green and Red) by Mark Rothko

 

Silent fields of breath,
colors hum like whispered thoughts—
depths unseen unfold.

 

My thought is that with Rothko being my favorite abstract painter by a large margin, chat was always going to come up short on this one, it would only be a case of how much it annoyed me.

Congrats for picking out ‘fields’, colours’ and ‘unseen’, chat, not bad. Whispered thoughts humming, though? Really? My guess would be that they would, erm, whisper. But maybe that’s just me. Rest easy Mr Rothko, I made a better one

 

Tragedy and doom

Ether speaks in haze and hue

We are here, inside

 

 

Image source here https://www.markrothko.org/no-6-violet-green-and-red/

18-09-24

Thought for Today: Minimalism #7

 

I asked chatgpt to write a Haiku poem for the following artwork: The Shot Marylins by Andy Warhol

 

Gunshot and bright hues,
fame fractured in pop echoes—
icons never fade.

 

My thought is that maybe chat got took a break after the Rembrandt because this is a bit better.

 

You know the story? A performance artist (called pranksters on YouTube these days) visited the Factory (Warhol’s studio hangout) and asked if she could shoot the new works.

Warhol, thinking she meant shoot with a camera said yes and ended up with four works with bullet holes in and a future money maker. He banned the woman with the gun.

My version

 

Bold, bright, cold and dead

Words put a price on her head

Factory girl is no more

 

 

Image source here https://news.masterworksfineart.com/2019/11/26/andy-warhols-shot-marilyns

 

17-09-24

Thought for Today:

Minimalism #6

 

 

I asked chatgpt to write a Haiku poem for the following artwork: The Standard Bearer by Rembrandt

 

 

Banner raised with pride,


light against a shadowed past—


a hero stands tall.

 

 

My thought is that chat gpt was getting tired and was wondering how it could annoy me for asking it to write ten Haiku poems.

 

 

Here’s my effort:

 

 

Painter of himself

 

 

Pomp and Pride and Arms for gold

 

 

Chiaroscuro

 

 

 

 

 

Image source here https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/12/10/who-will-buy-rembrandts-euro165m-standard-bearer

 

 

 

 

16-09-24

Thought for Today:

Minimalism #5

 

 

I asked chatgpt to write a Haiku poem for the following artwork: Number 17A by Jackson Pollock

 

 

Splattered dreams take flight,


lines like thunder in the void—


a dance of wild storms.

 

 

My thought is that this was always going to be one of the weakest and most obvious takes on offer. The language model needs to insert a new rule, if Pollock is mentioned DO NOT use the word splattered. I suggest they expand their thesaurus. Flung, flecked, ripped, shocked, plastered, plundered, even ‘puked’ would work better than splattered. Nothing says ‘my kid could do that’ better than saying ‘splattered’ in relation to a Pollock painting does. This is more like adolescent poetry. Shame!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image source here https://www.jackson-pollock.org/number-17a.jsp

 

 

 

 

12-09-24

Thought for Today:

Minimalism #3

I asked chatgpt to write a Haiku poem for the following artwork: The Card Players by Paul Cezanne

 

 

Hands hold still secrets,


silent wagers passed through gaze—


life dealt in small turns.

 

 

My thought is that: I really like this one, it has a real atmosphere of suspense, the almost tangible tension of a card game. That final line is killer, connecting chance, choices and our life’s journey.

 

 

 

 

Image source here https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435868

 

09-09-24

Thought for Today: Minimalism

I asked chatgpt to write a Haiku poem for each the following artworks; Salvator Mundi by Leonardo de Vinci, Interchange by Willem de Kooning, The Card Players by Paul Cezanne, Nafea Faa Ipoipo by Paul Gauguin, Number 17A by Jackson Pollock, The Standard Bearer by Rembrandt, The Shot Marylins by Andy Warhol, No 6 (Violet, Green and Red) by Mark Rothko, Wasserschlangen II by Gustav Klimt and Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit by Rembrandt

 

Here is number 1: Salvator Mundi by Leonardo de Vinci

 

In quiet fingers,

a world balanced in His grasp—

timeless mercy shines.

 

My thought is that this is actually pretty good. Not sure I am along for the ride about using the word 'grasp'. I think that as a minimalistic, poetic way of saying in words what cannot be said in words, I approve.

 

Tell me what you think in the comments.

 

History of the painting here

Image source here

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/haiku-or-hokku

08-09-24

Thought for Today: Time is not relative

 

 

During the last 6 days I have done so much that each day is becoming a bit of a blur.

 

 

On Monday I visited a local business consultant just to find out the ins/outs/pros/cons of registering my business in Cambodia (I am already registered in Hong Kong). I wanted to know the law, tax implications, paperwork and costs involved, that sort of thing. I walked out after 45 minutes having started the process of registration because it is easy, inexpensive and straight-forward. So now of course I need a physical location from which to operate my business. If I want to work with clients such as schools, teachers and students, if I want to help schools bring students to Cambodia for CAS/Arts trips here, a one bedroom apartment above a coffee shop will not cut the mustard as a meeting venue. So, yesterday I spent a good three hours cycling around Siem Reap looking for the kind of place an agent would never spot or think of. I will get there but it is time consuming and energy sapping. All of this led to me thinking, can I write a Thought for Today every single day? Including weekends? Should they really be as long as they are? Do people really have the time to read all of this? Am I accidentally putting them off by writing too many long articles? Maybe I should be a little more aware of the value of scarcity when posting. Ah, the powers of reflective practice.

 

 

So from now on Thought for Today will be weekdays only and they will be much shorter to preserve my sanity an hopefully get more views.

 

 

Have a great Sunday folks 🙂

 

07-09-24:

From the horses mouth: why primary source information is best

 

Art21 stands out as an exceptional resource for art educators due to its use of primary source interviews with contemporary artists. Through intimate and insightful conversations, teachers gain direct access to the artists' thought processes, creative practices, and experiences, which they can bring into the classroom to inspire students. These interviews provide a unique, first-hand perspective that goes beyond traditional textbook learning, helping students understand the complexities of artistic creation.

Art21’s documentary-style videos allow students to see artists in their studios, giving a genuine glimpse into the environment where art is made. This exposure not only enriches students' understanding of various art forms but also humanizes the artists, making their work more relatable and accessible. By showcasing a diverse range of voices and styles, Art21 encourages students to explore their own creativity while reflecting on the broader cultural and social contexts that influence art today.

For teachers, Art21 is more than just a collection of videos—it's a dynamic educational tool that brings contemporary art to life in a way that engages and inspires.

06-09-24

How plans go awry:

The Uncanny Valley Hits Back!

 

Once can get over-confident, we ll know this. So, I have a subscription to Canva a programme I hated lasted year when kids were ignoring my requests and submitting their presentations a Canva files: they loved the glitter and FX!). But now it is my best friend. It simply does so much under one roof, from docs, to photos, to specific social media post design; their secret weapon though is that they are buying up every little start up in the design/AI world and putting them all under the Canva hub. So, if I want to use an AI avatar to speak my words, I have both he visual and audio told to do it. You saw the first results yesterday. Actually pretty not bd, as the saying goes. So today you will see my first effort. I had the option to vainly use a photo of myself and have the AI magic nano-bots animate the photo so that I appear to be speaking my words. Funny? For me, yes. Too funny. Again, it’s all about the process before it’s about the result, right?

I hope you enjoy it and laugh with me.:-)

04-09-24

Tidying up Art: in the spirit of Yin Yang

 

If I can promote randomness and accidents (and I can, I did, yesterday) then I can also propose total organization where no accidents are allowed. It’s not an about-face, it’s certainly not post-modern (ick) and it’s absolutely a fab thought experiment to vacillate between these two approaches, mental gymnastics, if you will.

Ursus Wehrli presented at TED in 2006 and it’s still funny, informative and thought provoking. Get your students to watch it together. It’s an especially good workout for ESL/EAL students, possibly a great opportunity to work with an ESL/EAL professionals in your school, the reason being he speaks English very quickly and has a distinct Swiss German accent. I would advise accessing the transcript on YouTube and doing some prep with the kids first.

Essentially he takes some classic modern (and some not-so-modern) paintings and approaches them all as if what they really need is a good old tidying up. He is charmingly irreverent and points the stick of mockery at himself overly zealous organisers too, so fair’s fair. The Keith Haring Spare Parts Shop is a fabulous idea, I would shop there. It’s also a good litmus test for artists to find out if they are too precious about their heroes. If you think what he does to Vincent van Goh’s The Bedroom, (1888. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam) is taking it too far, you might need to take a personal mental health day.

https://archive.artic.edu/van-gogh-bedrooms/chair

https://www.ted.com/talks/ursus_wehrli_tidying_up_art?subtitle=en

03-09-24

Thought for Today

The Music of Chance: Randomness as a productivity tool

 

Paul Auster’s books are about as depressing as they come. The Music of Chance certainly wears that descriptive hat very well. I could read them when I was younger and thought that they fueled my existential angst in such a way as to help me change the world with my burned doll sculptures and minimalist punk rock guitar solos (true story). Then life happened and I certainly would not choose to read his books now, just too, too dark. Like trying to list to the Cure’s ‘Pornography’ album now. Not happening. I know it’s amazing, I just can’t listen to it anymore, I don’t need a young Robert Smith telling me just how dislocated everything is. I wonder if he listens to it? Huh. But chance is next to accident and I honestly still rate accidents as real doorways to ‘bringing something of value into existence’ as Edward de Bono has said many, many times. So how about you take Mr Bono’s challenge and use chance, randomness and accident as a way to kick Strat your next artistic outpouring? How? Easy, use random words. Go to https://randomwordgenerator.com/ and generate any number of words of any type with any constraints you like. I did and got the words nail, consultation and return. Nail Consultation Return. I mean, it’s clearly a modern progressive rock band waiting to happen, but it could also be the start of a doodle. An envelope with nail extensions in it. A nail extension with envelopes painted on. Use the words however you like, individually or in combination.Take photos of your nails, print them out and alter them by adding torn manila envelopes for texture. Ooooh, all that time I was thinking finger nails, now I am thinking of nailing some envelopes to a surface with the words ‘return to sender’ scratched on in blood red letters.

Most of what we think, imagine, scribble and entertain ends up doing nowhere, but imagine how little you will ever make that pushes your own boundaries if you never play? A dreadfully sobering thought.

So, it’s accidental playtime, methinks.

 

02-09-24

Thought for the Day: The Duality of Time

 

If you have seen Full Metal Jacket, I would lay odds that a scene that made you feel like laughing and crying at the same time is the ‘duality of man’ scene. A young Sergeant (Joker, played by Matthew Modine) in the US forces in Vietnam is asked by The Colonel (played by Bruce Boa) about the CND button badge he is wearing, how it relates to the ‘Born to Kill’ slogan on his helmet and whose side is he on. All through this short scene we can see the bodies of many Vietnamese in a large trench, observers cover the mouths and noses with handkerchieves. It’s a masterful piece of political, philosophical and ethical cinema. The conflict between the smart, fast paced exchange and the outrageously solemn backdrop is testament to Stanley Kubrick’s brilliance and humanity.

What on earth made me think of this whilst drinking my second coffee of the morning? Because today I had a little revelation about why teaching is so hard (and yes, I know it’s not fire-fighting, I’m not saying that, calm down); teaching is so hard because what you want to do/need to do/should be doing with your time is to make resources, read student’s journals, talk with them, prepare meaningful feedback and so on. There are only so many hours in a day, you also have a life, maybe a family, maybe, dare I suggest it, a hobby! I have been working at my computer all week building my consultancy yes, but part of that is building resources. I have the time. So that’s what I choose to do. Hopefully you will start to use artedu.info as a resource you can trust. Ive me feedback about how the site could help you. It has to pay, of course, so maybe I should look into subscription or membership for different levels of access? Either way, I have been commended by some wonderful people in my testimonials section for my resource building, amongst other things. By the way, I think that scene would be an amazing starting point for a conversation with older students about subject matter for art, whether that might be a really wide topic such as ‘war’ or a much narrower focus such as obedience. I could help you build a whole unit around that for MYP students and up. 

So please do spend a little time looking at what I spend all my time doing, it should be useful to you, if not, I am a mad dog barking up the wrong tree tree completely. Oh, and watch Full Metal Jacket. Happy Monday :-)

 

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/FullMetalJacket

01-09-24

Thought for today: what do you expect?

 

All class groups most likely have expectations se out at the beginning of a new school year but in a visual arts classroom these expectations are a little bit different. I'm not sure that should be the case, but at the moment in most schools, it is.

When we say to learners in secondary, for example that we want them to try hard, my expectation of myself as a teacher would be that I elaborate and help young people know 'how' they can try harder. Don't be abstract and absolute at the same time, it's meaningless. I have done that of course, and I always felt rubbish straight away, you know the kids are thinking 'what does that even mean?' So, in an art classroom, is the expectation that kids feel safe? Physically, yes. Intellectually and creatively? Nope. How about trusted? Yes, which means what, in return? Classroom expectations are two way streets and even though VA is an individualistic learning area, students are still part of a class. So if you want to be trusted, show trust. Being a risk-taker really should be going on in all classrooms (where appropriate): I remember with my middle school classes in Beijing I explained that by saying 'risk taking is trying a different red, not running out blindfold into the 4th ring road'. Got me some laughs and no-one tested the theory.

ARTedu has already amassed a ton of documentation and resources for all areas of VA teaching, assessment, curriculum planning and practical support; when your school hires me, you get access to all of that good stuff that I have ben developing over the years.

Have a great Sunday

28-08-24

Thought for Today 

Eat the Rich: Symbols, Context and the Language of Art

 

 

Whenever a new, unfamiliar version of something important comes along, it’s easy to get confused, to feel alienated and to reject it. The advent of rock and roll music in the 1950s (it will never catch on), the gradual disappearance of physical music products in favor of invisible, digital files. Think of the shift in focus of western literature from Romanticism to Realism in less than a century. And where have the libraries gone?

Everything in our lives seem to be changing faster and faster, so much so that it is tempting to imagine it’s not worth bothering to understand all of it anyway. 

In visual art it is just the same. 

Take for example, the move from realistic representation dominant in western art until around 1850 when JMW Turner was producing distinctly expressionistic seascapes (although it was not really a word used in art at that time) and Monet was looking through cataract ridden eyes to paint his incredible Japanese gardens. Journalist Louis Leroy was not being kind when he labelled the works of Renoir, Sisley, Monet, Pissarro, Degas and Morisot as ‘impressions’. So, it seems it is our natural state to reject the new, at least at first. Some will argue (quite logically, it seems to me) that this is right and proper form of conservatism needed to slow down unbridled change without thought and consideration.

When giving students guidelines in approaching ‘judgement’ of examples of new approaches to art, I rely always on an understanding of the language of art. An emotional reaction is fine and always should be the first thing that happens, James Elkins (referred to yesterday) spoke very well about the dangers of removing emotion from our experience of art.

So, react, fine, all good. But if you want to understand the work at a slightly deeper level, you have to understand the language the artist is using.

Thankfully, basic literacy in the language of visual arts demands an understanding of only 14 words. My challenge for you today is to look at these 14 words, then look at the two paintings above and below (both have the subject matter of ‘dining’) and consider the similarities and differences of the paintings in terms of the 14 words. Not all the words have to be as important as each other, that’s ok, just look, think and let me know in the comments. Tomorrow I will address the symbols, context and language in today’s sub-title.

 

Your 14 words

Colour, Form, Line, Shape, Space, Texture, Value

Balance, Emphasis, Movement, Pattern, Proportion, Unity, Variety

 

Your second painting is below the links

 

Luncheon of the Boating Party, Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1880-1881, Oil on Canvas

https://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/luncheon-boating-party

 

The Blind Man’s meal, Pablo Picasso, 1903, Oil on Canvas

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/488596