Interstitial S(paces) (2014)

2014, Video, Metal Installation and 2D Mixed Media, 4:3, 120x 250 cm, 100 x 200 cm

By AMY HART, Singapore International School, Hong Kong, Art Teacher & S3 Year Head,

DORATHY LYE, Singapore International School, Hong Kong, Art Teacher, Head of Department Art & Special Projects,

SHEILAH MURTHY, Singapore International School, Hong Kong, Art Teacher

This collaborative artwork stems from the common dialogue on art pedagogy: designing curriculum as an art process in and of itself. It is about the perennial challenge to get students to recognize their creative potential and value the art process. As educator-artists or vice versa, we often see the value of works even when they exist in infant stages, prior to them coming into full being. Picking through bits and pieces discarded by students for reasons we can sometimes only imagine – adolescent boredom, disorganization, parental pressure to drop the subject – we collaged, assembled and stitched the myriads of art-forms at our disposal to draw attention to the interstitial spaces in the meandering journey of teaching and learning through art.

Lesson Ideas for Interstitial S(paces) (2014) by Amy Hart, Dorathy Lye and Sheilah Murthy

This lesson is suitable for students in : Secondary 3 Express

Artwork title: Interstitial S(paces)

Name of artists: Amy Hart, Dorathy Lye, Sheilah Murthy

School: Singapore International School, Hong Kong

Possible Guiding Questions

1. What is the installation made of? Do you notice how it relates to its environment?

2. What materials do you think are ‘recycled’?

3. Why do you think recycling is important, in the context of your classroom, home, school or community?

4. Do you think a finished or unfinished work is more interesting? Explain your answer.

5. What do you think this says about what you value and what you do not value in your art making?

6. Do you think the artists have been successful in conveying their intended message? What makes you say that?

Possible Elegant Art Tasks

Starting point: Craft and Technology

In this lesson idea, students are acquainted with the idea of up-cycling (in design) or re-purposing artworks. The teacher could introduce the concept of an installation, and talk about how contemporary artists might use ready-mades or unusual materials in their installations or assemblages. The teacher could look at the works of Sarah Sze or Cornelia Parker to talk about the meaning conveyed by materials, in relation to the meaning we give everyday objects (in museums, in school, and at home).

A possible elegant art task could be:

You are a designer or artist, hoping to re-purpose an old piece of artwork. Breath new life into an old artwork by considering:

• Collecting 2D and 3D old artworks, sorting and organising your findings.
• Looking for similarities between the materials in terms of form and content.
• Dismantle, salvage what you need.
• Think about what processes you can subject your materials to, in order to change the way it looks.
• Create an installation by piecing together both 2D and 3D objects. Use lights to cast dramatic shadows.
• Think about what can or cannot be recycled after the work is taken down.

Extension: Create a stopmotion animation using elements in your installation to animate or invite other pirates to perform.