Collage Compositions

Picasso 

For this Field Study Unit students were asked to gather 3 - 5 collections of images and use them, not necessarily at one time, to create a 2D collage, or a 3D assemblage/relief (something designed with reference to a flat picture plane) that:

• explores pictorial space (2D space)

• explores composition (unity, variety, balance, lines of movement, placement, position, compositional space, etc) 

• considers how composition can reinforce the inherent meaning of the images being placed together....what do the images evoke? what does the organization suggest? what do the shapes hint at? Can you work with these elements rather than impose something onto them? 

• explores material integration

Size was left to individual choice, but students were asked to limit themselves, at least initially, to black and white, with one accent color. This was a a suggestion to keep things simple at least at the start so students would be able to learn how color and shape interactions can structure space....and also to remember that sometimes, less really is more.

Finally students were asked to consider how what they were making stood as a reflection of what they were learning about composition, craftsmanship, content, creativity (i.e., the 4C's).

Through this Field Study Unit students developed 3 - 5 collage compositions, each of which was evolved through 2 - 3 revisions over time. Our discussion focused on compositional organization, spatial organization, serial images vs. centralized pictorial space, integration of materials, color, shape, texture and intention.... and much more).

Transformed Objects

This unit involved observing, understanding and transforming an everyday object by: 

1) drawing the object

2) photographing the object 

3) considering what the object connotes/evokes 

4) transforming the object
5) using all of the above to develop an installation in which composition is carefully considered

Blind Contour Drawings

Part-way through our work with transforming objects, it seemed that many of you needed to slow down and consider the importance of deep looking, authentic engagement in the creative process, and finding what is most interesting in your own work (learning, as Bruce Mau says, ...'to love what you make like you would love an unwanted child")

Mind Maps

Mind Mapping was used as our starting point for exploring visual communication,

composition and design, creative thinking, and learning about ourselves and each other.