Installation sculpture project.This sculpture project was inspired by Cows on Parade, a city-wide installation sculpture project held in Chicago, Illinois, during the summer of 1999. Cows on Parade was a cooperative effort of the business community and the Arts Council An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad. of Chicago. Artists ranging from professionals to elementary student groups submitted designs for the decoration of a life-size Fiberglas cow. Businesses interested in participating in the project selected an artist by the designs, and provided a stipend sti·pend n. A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance. [Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin st to offset the cost of creating the artistic cow. The finished cows were placed throughout the city of Chicago for all to enjoy. I took my advanced art classes on a walking tour of the cows of Michigan Avenue in Chicago. We discussed the materials used to decorate the cows, the message the artist tried to convey, and what the students liked or disliked about each sculpture we saw. Students that were not able to attend the field trip were able to view the cows on the Internet and look at the photographs we brought back. Creating Our Own Parade For our school-wide installation project, we decided to use Styrofoam wig heads instead of cows. Sculpture students were instructed to find sponsors for their sculptures. The sponsor was to be a teacher or other staff member of the school. The job of the sponsor was to provide a theme for the work and to display the finished sculpture in a classroom. Students interviewed their chosen sponsor and made a list of their likes, dislikes, hobbies, and subjects they taught. From this list, they designed their sculpture. When the sculptures were finished, they had to look somewhat like a head and had to have a base. Because these pieces were to be displayed in public, they needed to be sturdy. The sculptures were to be a symbolic representation of the staff member. I encouraged students to do more than collage pictures on the heads. Once students had a design, they cut the base out of foam board Foam board is a type of display board made primarily with foam. It generally consists of a foam core in between two sheets of thin, rigid paper; and is characterized by its light weight, and the ease with which it is scored. using a utility knife A utility knife (also called a box cutter, a Stanley knife, a razor blade knife, a carpet knife, or a stationery knife) is a common tool used in various trades and crafts for a variety of purposes. or single-edge razor blade ra·zor·blade also ra·zor blade n. A thin sharp-edged piece of steel that can be fitted into a razor. razor blade n → hoja de afeitar razor blade . Cutting the foam board was probably the most difficult part of the project. Some cut the heads with a saw, sanded with a wire brush wire brush n → brosse f métallique wire brush wire n → Drahtbürste f wire brush n → , trimmed with utility knives, and built parts with newspaper and tape. All of the parts were taped together and the entire sculpture was covered with paper towel and wheat paste to provide a consistent painting surface. When the paste was dry, acrylic paint was used to paint the sculptures. Some students did use collage with acrylic medium; some made hair out of paper, fiberfill fi·ber·fill n. Lightweight synthetic fiber used as filling or insulation, as in comforters, pillows, and outerwear. , or ribbon. Some students used modeling paste to create textured surfaces, and others cut words or figures out of construction paper. Students used the computer to find flags of other countries while others looked for pictures for their collages. Hot glue
Hot glue (or hot melt glue) is a form of thermoplastic adhesive that is commonly in solid sticks designed to be melted in a special gun. was used to attach computer parts and light bulbs. Evaluation and Installation When the sculptures were finished, we conducted a group evaluation. We looked at originality, how well the sponsor was represented, and the quality of construction. The sculptures were placed in the sponsor's classroom or office for a minimum of two weeks. I printed a list of the sculpture locations including title, sponsor's name, and artist and posted it in the faculty workroom work·room n. A room where work is done. Noun 1. workroom - room where work is done room - an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling; "the rooms were very small but they had a nice view" and in my classroom so everyone could view the sculptures in their environment. Some students learned more about a teacher through their research and some students learned more about the subject they were studying in a particular class. I think the teachers were more excited than the students! SAFETY NOTE Students should exercise extreme care when using utility knives or razors, cutting away from the body. NATIONAL STANDARD Students identify intentions of those creating artworks, explore the implications of various pruposes, and justify their analyses of purposes in particular works. Ann Lebryk is an art specialist at Lutheran High School Lutheran High School may refer to:
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