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| Introduction || Project
Outline || Digital Animations || Exhibition &
Celebration || Project Legacy |
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| Material Stories || Introduction |
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Material Stories took place
during autumn term 2002 with Snowsfields Primary School and
spring term 2003 with St. Joseph's Primary School. Each
project gave15 key-stage 2 pupils the opportunity to spend 10
weekly sessions
at Tate Modern to explore material properties, processes, uses
and potential meanings in modern and contemporary art in relation
to science.
Using as a starting point selected art works from Tate Modern's
collection the pupils took part in gallery discussions and activities
and made object-based work to develop their responses to materials
and creatively investigate their use in contemporary art practices.
They also used digital
technologies to create still-image animations that show their personal
interpretations of a material and how the meaning may
change dependent upon the use of the material itself and when different
materials are used together.
Moving on from previous projects (Magnificent Materials 1 and
2), there was a shift in emphasis towards materials and meaning
with a greater exploration of the associations of materials, their
histories and relevance to particular artists. Key artists included
Joseph Beuys with his interest in materials as autobiography, and
Cornelia
Parker who almost scientifically tests the limits of her materials,
creating parallels between one field of knowledge and another.
There was
particular emphasis on the personal, on the construction of narratives
and on exploring different registers of language.
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Exploring Tate Modern's collection displays.
Working in the gallery during the project's family session. |
Material Stories || Project Outline |
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The first two sessions were
dedicated to exploring Tate Modern's collection displays and identifying
materials used by artists in the Gallery. Pupils were allowed
to handle sample materials and explore their properties while
considering how an art work would change had different materials
been used.
I enjoyed looking at different art works by different
artists and I learned that sculptures
are not just
clay made into shapes
but can be
different
materials put together.
Dionne, St. Joseph's Primary School
Using Michael Craig-Martin's work, Knowing, 1996, as a focus,
we explored the ideas of how grouping objects
in different ways can create a shift in meaning. In the studio
several activities arranging and categorising materials according
to various parameters took place.
The following two sessions involved memory games and story-board
activities. The children were
asked to bring in their own personal
objects which were then photographed to make a suspended sculpture.
In the galleries pupils
were asked to take on the role of detectives, viewing artists materials as clues in a wider story. They were then asked in groups
to choose their
own materials, think about their particular associations, and make
a story-board in preparation
for their digital work.
Subsequently, these ideas were consolidated and amplified through
an examination of the work of Joseph Beuys and Miroslaw Balka,
both artists who work on the boundary between public and private
meanings of materials. Families and friends were invited to this session
and took part in the discussions and activities
while gaining a direct experience of thinking and working
creatively in response to the collection.
Old things can be turned into
good pieces
of art and using your
knowledge of materials
you can invent all sorts of things.
Dolapo, St. Joseph's Primary School
Weeks five and six saw visits to Tate Britain and to the Eva Hesse
Exhibition at Tate Modern. At Tate Britain pupils could look at
other suspended works and also
at the possibilities of wrapping and disguising objects with other
materials. The work of Eva Hesse provided us with an exceptional
opportunity to see an
artist developing her own vocabulary of materials and processes.
Pupils were asked to list process words in the gallery: these were
then used in the studio
to produce their own pieces using unconventional materials inspired
by Hesse. The pupils also began to take photographic stills of
their materials in preparation for their
digital pieces.
The following week the pupils met one of Tate's conservators
and were given the opportunity to ask questions about how art works
change over time
and what measures are taken to preserve them for the future.
Weeks eight and nine were dedicated to a more concentrated attempt to experiment
with the symbolic nature of materials, developing metaphors and similes in
the Memento Mori focus room. Through an examination of these and other works,
pupils were asked to think about the way titles function and to apply this
to their own object-based and digital work.
This was finally put to the test at the end of the project as
the pupils curated their own exhibition in the studio space and
presented the project to friends and family.
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Categorising objects according to their form, use and material properties.
Arranging the manipulated photographs of personal objects into a hanging sculpture.
Art Detective's notebook with notes and sketches collected during the investigation of Joseph Beuys work.
Dressed like a Tate Modern Conservator. |
Material Stories || Digital Animations |
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As part of the projects the
pupils were asked to respond creatively to discussions and activities
that had taken place by creating digital animations using only
materials.
As a general introduction to animation
techniques we discussed flip-books and cartoons which most of
the pupils were already familiar with. We then looked at Jan Svankmajer's
animation Dimensions of Dialogue, 1982 and discussed how it
had been made and how we could use the same technique to make our own
stories using materials
and objects as characters.
Working together in pairs or in small groups of three, each group
selected two materials that they found interesting.
They discussed their similarities
and
differences in form and use and interpreted their meaning before
considering the various possibilities for what stories the
materials could be made to
tell. To further
consider their ideas they proceeded to make a story-board
of drawings and texts as a sketch for the actual
animation.
Previous activities had already
introduced the use of digital cameras in
photographing and documenting personal objects, however the pupils
developed these skills further as they positioned, photographed
and re-positioned their materials again and again according to
the story-board . When all the photographs had been taken, the
images were uploaded onto computers
and the pupils were introduced to the use of animation
software for sequencing the animations, adding text and finally
titles.
I liked learning how to use the computers
for making animations.
Hanya, Snowsfields Primary School
The animations were presented to guests on the exhibition evening
and can also be seen on this website by clicking here on Snowsfields
School and St. Joseph's School or by using
the buttons above.
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Still image from Martina and Sardia's animation: Popcorn Crazy, 2003.
Showing the animations and story-boards to visitors at St. Joseph's
Primary School's Material Stories Exhibition. |
Material Stories || Exhibition & Celebration |
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Both projects concluded in
an exhibition of the art works curated by the pupils
themselves. Friends, families, teachers and funders were invited
to attend and were shown around the space and told about the works
by the pupils.
To view some of the works produced during the project and displayed
in the exhibition follow the links at the top of this page
or click here.
The whole project has been fun for the
children. The activities were excellent and
the results were fantastic!
Richard Arnell, Teacher, Snowsfields Primary School
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Snowsfields Primary School hanging their Material Stories exhibition. |
Material Stories || Project Legacy |
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Material Stories concludes the
3 year Primary Out of Hours Programme. To celebrate participants
from all of the eight schools were invited to a special celebratory
event and there was a display in the Clore Education Centre featuring
some of the children's art work.
The teachers involved in the projects also attended an InSET
session to support them in planning future visits to the Gallery
and to discuss ideas for future developments, including a teachers resource
to disseminate the project more
widely.
I will be able to look at art from many different
perspectives and
will be more confident when
discussing art with children.
Sara Zuzarte, Teacher, Snowsfields Primary School
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Pupils, teachers and visitors look around the Clore Education Centre
exhibition on on the night of the celebratory event. |
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Material Stories
is funded by
North Southwark Education Action Zone & The New Opportunities Fund |
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