Two years ago I attended JUSTArt, a conference put on at Wheaton College by Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA). There I heard educator Benjamin Volta speak about his use of play as a key component in creating art with youth, teachers, and the community. Out of all the presenters that day Volta's talk kept everyone in the room laughing and encouraged. His work inspired my Web of Connections project.
For this project I had the teens select a spool of colored string, three pieces of colored cardstock squares, masking tape, and a marker. Together we went to a hallway space behind the third floor gallery. Originally I had planned to give the teens three planned topics of interest (such as favorite sport, musician, food…) however noticing that I had been doing a lot of the talking I decided to leave the choice up to the teens. I asked them to choose an interest and they collectively chose favorite color, artist, and hobby. They then wrote their answers down on the cardstock and taped their paper anywhere on the hallway walls. Next I told them to attach their string to their paper and then find someone else’s interest that they also like and attach the other end of their string to that persons paper. I had anticipated this project to be quick and easy however it ended up taking more time than expected. The teens were not only thoughtful with their answers but also mindful to how their string hung in relation to one another. With this in mind I decided to have the teens keep adding interests making the web more complex and intricate instead of tearing the web down and creating an entirely new installation.
For this project I had the teens select a spool of colored string, three pieces of colored cardstock squares, masking tape, and a marker. Together we went to a hallway space behind the third floor gallery. Originally I had planned to give the teens three planned topics of interest (such as favorite sport, musician, food…) however noticing that I had been doing a lot of the talking I decided to leave the choice up to the teens. I asked them to choose an interest and they collectively chose favorite color, artist, and hobby. They then wrote their answers down on the cardstock and taped their paper anywhere on the hallway walls. Next I told them to attach their string to their paper and then find someone else’s interest that they also like and attach the other end of their string to that persons paper. I had anticipated this project to be quick and easy however it ended up taking more time than expected. The teens were not only thoughtful with their answers but also mindful to how their string hung in relation to one another. With this in mind I decided to have the teens keep adding interests making the web more complex and intricate instead of tearing the web down and creating an entirely new installation.
By the fifth interest everyone was bumping into each other, snatching string on their clothes and hair, and having to limbo or crawl their way over to another posted interest. Not only were they having a lot of fun but learning about each other through their written interests and conversations and discovering how others problem solve by helping them find their way over and under the strings. At the end they collectively came named their installation Neuron Connections. Our Web of Connected Interests... |