Joseph Cornell Boxes (projects)

These are the results from this project. Remember, they were supposed to apply the principles of design to create boxes whose interior contrasts with the exterior. As usual I am super pleased with the results, 10th graders rock! You can click on the images to make them larger.

This one speaks about juvenile delinquency

While this one is a critique to plastic surgery and our society´s obsession with "beauty"

 

 This one reflects the contrasting cultures of Asia, from very traditional to ubermodern

 

This one, like the next, says a little about how sometimes people can be very standoff-ish but are actually very sweet inside

This was an elementary school favorite! Seriously, I had to wrestle it away from 5th graders almost on a daily basis

10th grade assignment: Joseph Cornell Boxes

Welcome back! Now that we´ve gotten our creative groove back with the Impossible Product Design project, it´s time to sink our teeth into something more ambitious. The following project you will have 3 or 4 weeks to complete (NOTE: next friday´s teacher training was cancelled so we will be working next week).

This purpose of this assignment is to create a personal cabinet or box. Just as you can’t judge a book by its cover, or a person by their outward appearance the problem that you must solve in creating this cabinet is for the inside and outside of this cabinet to be different. An object of contrasts!

One of the most famous and noted artists who worked with boxes and the concept of placing images inside a shadow type box was Joseph Cornell. Before you delve further into this assignment, you will be viewing work by Cornell and other artists who use boxes and altars as a means of expression.

Design Considerations:

Doors. You will be using a jigsaw. Curved lines work well. Angular cuts are very difficult to do. As you design the door front, think about the size and shape of the doors - can you actually cut them?

Outside Design, Color, Pattern, etc. What your completed cabinet looks like on the outside must be different from the inside. You can paint, stencil, draw, stamp, carve, and wood burn the outside of the cabinet. Think about adding to/extending top of the box (to make a "shrine" or retablos)

You can add items to the surface of the cabinet on the sides, doors, and top- remember to consider the weight and balance and how added items will contribute to stability.

Inside: The inside of the box should be personal and meaningful to you. This is not just a useful box or cabinet, this is being created as a work of art. Use the inside of this box to make a personal, political or other such artistically intriguing message. Everyone will be expected to view the web sites listed on the back of this page. 

Legs or No Legs: This is a design decision you must make. You will need to decide this before you actually build the cabinet. If there are legs- what shape, and size? Think about stability.

You will be expected to design this box on paper before you begin.

EVERYONE will be expected to view the following sites for ideas:

• http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cornell/
• http://www.wa-digital.com/LeoKaplan/index.html
• http://www.norton.org/Exhibitions/Archive/JosephCornell/tabid/
• http://members.aol.com/mindwebart2/Cornellcover.htm
• http://www.the-artists.org/ArtistView.cfm
• http://www.udayton.edu/mary/gallery/exhibits/luckett.html
• http://www.artchive.com/artchive/C/cornell.html
• http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_works_32_0.html
• http://altpick.com/spot/binkley/index.php
• http://www.casacorazon.com/jesus_sosa_calvo2.html. Also see Jesus Sosa Calvo's Facebook page. You have to be his friend to view his art work.
• http://www.artisticrevolutions.com/AR_gallery_artboxes.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoih3hluorM&feature=related here you can get an idea of how to make the box

List some of the ideas you liked from the sites you visited. From these ideas, make another list of themes, messages, or personal statements that will be used inside your cabinet. 

Here is how you will proceed:

From today until next class (Jan. 27) you will gather your materials. Begin by getting your box (if you find nothing else, a shoebox will do but try to find a much nicer box). Also, start sketching the outside of your cabinet (the doors), how it will open and what design it will have. The first thing you will work on is the doors.

Then, you will bring all the materials and work in class. I also recommend you buy a small tube of UHU, i have some large ones but personal ones would be better to work with. I will sit with each of you to check your sketches, answer questions and monitor your progress. Afterwards, you will take what you have finished so far and finish it at home (if you haven´t in class).

On the final day (Feb. 3rd or 10th, depends how far along you are) you will present your boxes along with an Artist Statement.

Good Luck, Have Fun Creating!

Recycled Material Sculptures

It is with great, great pride that I finally post some of the sculptures 10th graders have made using recycled material. This project is from a unit on New Medium that I love teaching because the inspiration for it is one of my favorite artists, Vik Muñiz. Vik creates art using non-orthodox materials like cotton, wire, chocolate and even garbage, proving that art really is everywhere.

I start the unit by playing his Ted Speaks lecture and students oooh and aaah over his work (seriously, it´s amazing). We discuss how in postmodernism representational art is no longer limited to traditional medium or skills like drawing and painting, but creativity and originality are valued higher. Their assignment is to create sculptures using material they had never worked with before, except this year I gave it a twist—the material must be something which would have been thrown away, like old newspaper, plastic bottles, candy wrappers, etc. To make it even more challanging, the material must hold a relationship with the object they are representing (for example, last year a student made a doll out of newspaper, playing with the concept of a "paper doll"). And of course, applying the principles of design.

Oooh, and as if the project weren´t hard enough, I pushed them an extra mile by having them write an Artist´s Statement to accompany their work.

I´m trying to figure out how to upload them all without making the post too heavy, but in the meantime here are some of them. I am so thrilled and impressed with these kids, you can see why :-D


This one is called "Sweet Dreams" 

This one is "Haute couture rempli d´odures" and has a killer artist´s statement

This is a TP roll giraffe

A heart made of things that damage it

Another trash dress, this one made out of shopping bags and tags

This quirky piece is intended as "a funny critique to the daily invasion of all the junk published in newspaper"

This piece has got one of the best artist´s statements I have ever read, I´ll find a way to share it soon

"The hen that laid the rainbow eggs". Breathtaking!

This one is called "The Trash Fairy" and in her statement the artist explained it was inspired by her neat freak mom.

This one is deeply conceptual and is titled "The Americanization of the Dominican Republic". Brilliant!

This is the cutest self-portrait i´ve ever seen :-)

Cotton swans—soooo lovely

This one is the little kid´s favorite—Jack and Sally from Tim Burton´s The Nigthmare Before Christmas. Made from chocolate bar wrappers! These kids are too much :-D

The Trash Monster!

A magazine lamp. Started out as a basket but I asked her to push it further...it´s still not finished though, I suggested some alterations

*If some of the images don´t load, click on one too see them all

Principles of Design

Some high school students´ results from this assignment. Awesome!

Patchwork quilt

10th graders are studying colonialism in U.S. History, so in art class I proposed creating a patchwork quilt between all of them. They had to apply the principles of design to create a textile inspired by nature (although it could be an abstract motif). After everyone designed theirs we joined them together to create this beautiful paper "quilt".

I am so impressed with their individual designs that I am suggesting they create a patter with them and have them printed using this webpage. If they do (and i´m really hoping they will) I will ask for a square of fabric from each so we can create a real quilt :-)

*if you click on the image you can see an enlarged version of it

Principles of Design

Today´s assignment is to create examples of the Principles of Design. Check out this website to review what we´ve learned:

You have 15 minutes to review this. Afterwards, you will take the sheet of paper i gave you and divide into 6 squares (basically, do one vertical line and 2 parallel horizontal lines). Label each square as follows:

Balance
Rythem & Movement
Proportion
Variety
Emphasis
Contrast

Fill each square with a simple composition which defines these principles. Check out these examples but DO NOT copy them. This excercise must be finished TODAY and is worth 25 points. Coloring is optional, but preferred.

Get to work!