Alternative Display

1
Alternative Display

• The potential of unique surface choices in the
  exhibition of childrens art.
• George Fisher/VREC

2
My own ideas have been changed.

• In my own work, it is the act of creating art
  that is important, and after the piece of art has
  been made it ceases to have much relevance. Yes,
  the art-making process itself is cathartic. It
  brings relief in the form of en-masse release of
  pent-up creative impulses.
• But, I am also a teacher, so display methods for
  the students work have been pushed to the fore of
  my considerations.

3

• Ive long been weary of the black frame, white
  mat, centered at 60 inches, each work equidistant
  from the other way of hanging a show that I
  learned as an art student.
• Kids have the ability to think in new ways
  unrelated to our formal ideas about gallery
  display. Childrens ideas about display can be
  more fertile than established display norms.
  They generally look away from convention, and
  have outsiders unfettered perspectives on forms
  of display.

4
Dirty Car Art GalleryScott Wade,
2006http//www.dirtycarart.com/gallery/index.htm

5
More of Scott Wades workhttp//www.dirtycarart
.com/gallery/index.htm
6

• Student Involvement
• If the students have a hand in the mounting of
  and the display of work, they will take
  ownership of it. Even if there are limited
  possibilities for standard locations regarding
  displays outside the art room, it should be our
  duty to at least give students some choices.
  Their decisions can be arrived at democratically,
  by voting.

7

• Places of Display The kids want to have
  something on their doors, and most parents will
  let them decorate the door to their room. Will
  we? Perhaps we should consider decorated doors as
  door canvases, on which souvenirs from fast-food
  restaurants, family photos, and concert ticket
  stubs are playfully arrangedthe door is
  constantly worked on its messages to the family
  keep changing (Szekely, 2001, p. 21). The
  privilege of decorating the art room door should
  at times be awarded to the students.

8
Toronto TransitThis collection of drawings,
entitled ?Tricked Out TTC was created by
students from Oasis Alternative Secondary School
and West End Alternative Secondary School. An
exhibit featuring images of an advertising-free
TTC is on display from today until Sunday at
XPACE Gallery at 303 Augusta Ave. in Kensington
Market.A possible door displayhttp//transit.to
ronto.on.ca/archives/data/200601050100.shtml
9
Other Places

• Walls - provide the most space
• Windows - sills and the panes themselves are good
  for translucent and transparent objects because
  of sunlight
• Ceilings - things can be hung from tile dividers
  and/or netting can be installed to hold things.
  Tiles can be painted.
• Floor - has a lot of unexplored possibilities,
  can be painted upon if okayed by administration,
  can be roped off to make the space for kids
  only
• Trees - are custom made for hanging items from
• Columns - have similar outcomes in comparison
  with displays in trees
• Fences - Can be viewed as a less static wall
  space
• Abandoned buildings - with restrictions
• Sidewalks and streets - similar to floors, but as
  with all outdoor display, items on display should
  either be disposable or weatherproof

10
Heidelberg Project, Animals Hung in
Treehttp//images.google.com/imgres?imgurlhttp
//www.heimat-erde.de/extrem/detroit/bilder/hdkermi
ttree.jpgimgrefurlhttp//www.heimat-erde.de/extr
em/detroit/exdetroit_h01.htmh300w443sz18hl
enstart47um1tbnid9RJTa_hRAh9fNMtbnh86tbn
w127prev/images3Fq3DHeidelberg2BProject26st
art3D4026ndsp3D2026svnum3D1026um3D126hl3D
en26safe3Dstrict26client3Dsafari26rls3Den26
sa3DN
11
Lets not forget furniture!

• http//www.murals4u.com/furniture1.html

12

• Furniture
• All kinds of furniture can be utilized for
  display, including t.v.s, bookshelves, cabinets,
  and on and on. Boxes and crates also can figure
  prominently in the display of items. Sometimes
  kids will create a scenario for a pet.
  Envision a hamster with a display of figurines
  and toys grouped around his cage. This is a way
  of arranging dominant themes organized as
  artworks around the personal concerns of the
  artist (Szekely, 2001, p. 23).

13

• Carry-around displays
• Some displays can be deemed portable made to
  travel easily from one place to another. Hot
  Wheels cases or some of the Barbie cases come to
  mind. Children could make portable display cases
  without much difficulty. Cardboard or wood or
  even a transformed found box can fill the bill.
  They could become the Cornell Boxes of the 21st
  century.

14

• Postmodernism? Yes!
• Are these groupings that children indulge in
  to be defined as art? It is for the same reason
  that maybe Duchamp figures to be more influential
  than other of his contemporaries (subjectively)?
  Ready-mades from mass production make it easy for
  us to collect, hence the popularity of the
  figurines and trinkets we collect these days.
  Yes, its true that a lot of stuff the kids will
  display is mass-produced. They all have a lot of
  the same stuff, but its in their arrangements of
  the items that elevates their displays to
  original art levels (Szeleky,2001). Lets just
  call each display of different items a combine
  a la Raushenberg. And remember, were supposed
  to have an inclusive total view of all art, not
  just the black frame/white mat kind.

15
Unique Exhibitions

• Maryland Newsline, Mural Fever
• http//www.newsline.umd.edu/etcetera/murals/muralp
  age1.htm

16
More Heidelberg Project Work
17
Heidelberg Project, established by Tyree Guyton,
1986, Detroit, MIAll at http//www.agilitynut.com
/h/heidelberg.html
18
recycled buseshttp//detroityes.com/art/16heidel
berg5.htmThe city (Detroit)declared the
Heidelberg project an eyesore, and dismantled
part of it in 1999. It had been conceived by
Tyree Guyton, and consisted of found objects
strategically placed around both occupied and
abandoned buildings. Some objects were hung
in/adhered to trees. The buildings and other
parts of the scenery were painted in a mostly
polka-dotted motif.
19
http//www.thisnext.com/media/230x230/More-Art-for
-the-Floor-kewl_813DC71F.jpgCarpet can sometimes
be floor art.
20
Floor lightshowhttp//cache.viewimages.com/xc/52
446027.jpg?v1cViewImagesk2d17A4AD9FDB9CF193
CC300C081D9F47009A389AB24635D626647233FC966B2051A5
5A1E4F32AD3138
21

• Proposed Plans
• The children will be asked how they wish to
  mount their work for display. They will be given
  the chance to do the mounting themselves with my
  assistance as needed. The students can try a
  display area besides the usual bulletin boards
  and hallway walls. This display area will be on
  the floor. It will be roped off and no adults
  will be allowed to enter (besides me). The
  display will consist of school-approved items the
  students bring from home or make at school.
• It is important for us to give children a
  chance to display on as many different surfaces
  as possible. With limited space for display at
  our school, it is probably pragmatic to attempt
  some outdoor displays in trees or woods, and
  possibly on fences too.

22

• Scheduling
• To organize such displays, a rotating curation
  schedule should be created. A day during a class
  period could be assigned to the student curator
  in which with the help of a student assistant and
  the teacher (if needed), the curator could set up
  the display. The display could stay up two weeks
  before another student gets a chance to curate.
  If there is more than one possible display
  location, then even more students can immediately
  become involved.
• What do kids have to say?
• As educators, we need to know what kids are
  interested in what makes them tick. If we
  provide a forum and sufficient freedom for their
  ideas to find expression, we will gain knowledge
  about their ideas and the interests they have.

23

• Childrens immediate interests
• If the connection to our students is to be a
  strong, fundamental one, we need to stay abreast
  of their customs and interests. To a child, the
  past and future do not have quite the value that
  right now does. This immediacy is of greatest
  value to a child because he/she has the need to
  develop foresight. Our listening and recognition
  needs to be directed to them. Lets give them a
  chance by letting girls and boys create art
  displays.

24
References

• Szekely, G., (author), Dalton, R., Zuk, B.
  (Eds.) (2001). Student Art Exhibitions - New
  Ideas and Approaches. Reston, VA. The National
  Art Education Association.
• More books and writings by George Szekely at
  FindArticles
• Szekely Articles