Doncaster East Secondary College

Art works

In 2003, while on a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square, the Arts KLA Leader at East Doncaster Secondary College, Cathy Price, came across some labels attached to art works that were written by students. These bits of poetry and narrative motivated by the images were inspirational. As a result she approached a Year 8 English teacher at the College, Jenny Hoegh. Jenny and Cathy taught the same group and worked together to trial a program which involved using Art images as inspiration for thinking, questioning and responding. The success of these trials led to putting into place a program at the Year 8 level which uses visual imagery to assist students to further develop their thinking, learning, writing, and creative expression skills.

The aims of the program are to:

• engage students through cross-curricular activities;
  
• build links between English / Literacy and The Arts at the College and increase student connectiveness to school;
  
• use visual imagery to improve and enrich students critical thinking and questioning skills;
  
• use visual imagery as inspiration for written responses both in the English and Art classroom.
  

In 2004 and 2005, we were fortunate enough to have two exhibitions in Melbourne centered on Surrealism which provided thought-provoking images for our students. This year, all of the Year 8 students at the College, accompanied by their Art and English / ESL teachers, went to see "James Gleeson: Beyond the Screen of Sight", featuring the work of Australia's foremost Surrealist artist, at the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria in Federation Square.

For a program like this to be effective, and more importantly sustainable, the staff involved must support the idea, see the benefits and be committed to the project. This involves setting up and supporting a learning team. The coordinators of the team were Mrs. Cathy Price (KLA The Arts) and Mr. Noel Troy (KLA Leader English).

Prior to the Gallery visit

• Meetings were held by the Coordinators to formulate a basic operational structure:
  
• Two form groups were taken out at a time (approx. 50 students).
  
• The coordinators negotiated with the gallery concerning times and made all the bookings at one time (including buses), set over two weeks.
  
• The gallery excursion was done over two periods and lunchtime (although a review afterwards felt the time was a little too brief).
  
• A document was produced giving basic information about Gleeson and Surrealism for staff: This was done even though the focus of the project was not for students to 'learn' about Gleeson or Surrealism. It was felt that staff, particularly non-Art staff, would feel more confident if they had some knowledge of the artist and style.
  
• A CD was available to staff with images and information from the exhibition.
  
• A professional development event was organized for all staff. The College covered the costs. This was held on a Saturday morning at the exhibition. Staff met for coffee and then were guided through the exhibition. At this time Cathy Price and Noel Troy discussed some ideas with the staff that they could incorporate later in the classroom. The idea for this PD came from feedback out of the 2004 program where teachers felt that a staff preview of the exhibition would assist them in their preparation for the gallery as well as for back in the classroom.
  
• Sub-learning teams were created based on groups of students and their English / ESL and Art teachers. These groups coordinated their excursions by themselves, negotiated with Gallery Education Officers, and discussed ideas and topics for the classroom.
  
• A final meeting of all involved was held just prior to the Gallery excursions to clarify issues.
  

At the Gallery

At the gallery, students examined and discussed the works with the assistance of their teachers and an Education Officer. The focus, supported by the Education Officers, was not an "all you ever wanted to know about James Gleeson". Students were encouraged to apply a philosophical inquiry approach to the provocative works, with student questions and responses critical to the process. The works of the Surrealists, with their emphasis on the imagination, were very stimulating starting points for students' creativity, both in the Art and English classroom. Students were given some time to respond while directly in front of the works.

Back at School

Although there had been some work done in the classroom on the theme of Surrealism and Gleeson prior to the Gallery visit, it was after the visit that an in-depth look and response began. Staff was given some ideas that they could incorporate but students and staff were encouraged to find their own direction and interpretation from the Gleeson exhibition.

Debriefing

With the wide range of creative responses an exhibition is a must. Samples of students' work from English and Art went on display in the College library and office foyer. The exhibition was also a focus for the College Open Evenings. At the debriefing meeting the exhibition was on show and staff were asked to evaluate the program. All staff felt that the benefits for students and staff were enormous and supported the continuation of the program. Ideas for the following year were discussed. One area of concern is the material given to students and whether it was appropriate for ESL and Integration students. This is an area that will be looked at prior to 2006.

Surrealism and the English Classroom:

Activity: How to Play the Exquisite Corpse to Create a Surrealist Piece of Writing

1. Each person will need a piece of paper and a pencil.

2. Decide on a sentence structure Article/Adjective/Noun/Verb/Adverb).

3. On the first round, each person writes a word fitting the outlined sentence structure.

4. Fold the paper over to conceal the written word and pass it to the next person.

5. The next person writes a word, conceals it, and passes the paper to the next person.

6. When a round of sentences has been completed open the paper.

7. The resulting sentence could become the first part of a longer poem or story. It could also inspire a painting or drawing.

Activity : Automatic Writing Surrealist Techniques.

Sit at a table with pen and paper and start writing. Continue writing without thinking of what is appearing beneath your pen. Write as fast as you can. If, for some reason, the flow stops, leave a space and immediately begin again by writing down the first letter of the next sentence. Choose this letter at random before you begin, for instance, a 't', and always begin this new sentence with a 't'.

Although in the purest version of automatism nothing is 'corrected' or re-written, the unexpected material produced by this method can be used as the basis for further composition. What is crucial is the un-premeditated free-association that creates the basic text.

Activity : To make a Dadaist Poem

1. Take a newspaper.

2. Take a pair of scissors.

3. Choose an article as long as you are planning to make your poem.

4. Cut out the article.

5. Enlarge it on a photocopier - makes cutting out easier.

6. Then cut out each of the words that make up this article and put them in a bag.

7. Shake it gently.

8. Then take out the scraps one after the other in the order in which they left the bag.

9. Copy conscientiously.

Further writing ideas after viewing an exhibition

• Pretend you are a newspaper critic and write a review.
  
• Write a poem inspired by one or more of the works.
  
• Some of the work displayed the artist's reaction against War. Express your views of war using one of the images.
  
• Keep a dream diary and describe a dream or nightmare in prose or poetry.
  
• Write a dream sequence for a favorite TV show.
  

Surrealism and the Art Classroom:

Activity : Create an Exquisite Corpse in Art

1. Take a piece of paper and fold it into sections. For example, if there are four people participating, fold the paper into four sections; you can do this in three or even two sections.

2. Without letting anyone see, Person #1 draws the start of a person or creature in Section #1. Person #1 continues the lines at the bottom of Section #1 slightly over onto Section #2, as shown below.

3. Person #1 then folds Section #1 over (so that no one can see what has been drawn) and passes the paper on to Person #2.

4. Now, starting with the lines from Section #1, Person #2 (who hasn't seen Section #1) continues the drawing in Section #2, then continues the lines from Section #2 slightly over onto section #3.

5. Person #2 then folds Section #2 over (so that no one can see what has been drawn) and passes the paper to Person #3.

6. Continue until all the sections are filled. Then unfold the paper and see what you have created.

Activity : Surrealist Collage

Using copyright free imagery, magazines, etc., create a Surrealistic collage based on juxtaposition of unrelated imagery.

Activity : Automatism Type Techniques

Practise automatism type techniques used by the Surrealists such as decalcomania, or ink blots where the end result is based more on chance than planning. Use these techniques as a background for Exquisite Corpse characters as seen above.

Activity : Appropriation

Recreate a famous Surrealistic image. For example, trace out the basics of René Magritte's surreal bedroom in 'Personal Values' and use drawing and collage to create a new version.

Activity : Dream Diary

Keep a 'Dream Diary' and base an illustration or painting on it.

Activity : Surrealist poetry

Illustrate a Surrealist poem or other written response completed in English.

Activity : Illustrate Colloquialism

Illustrate (literally) a Colloquialism and use it as the start of a Surrealistic piece of art.

• carry on like a pork chop - behave foolishly
  
• catching flies - yawning; astounded look with jaw wide open
  
• grab forty winks - have a short nap
  knuckle sandwich - a punch in the mouth
  
• like a stunned mullet - bewildered
  
• rare as hen's teeth - precious
  

The following poem was a response to the James Gleeson painting, The Sower

Evil lurks where the monster stands,

Spreading evil and hatred, to where he goes.

All good dies and evil grows,

Life will not go on.

The world will be full of evil,

The only question we can ask,

Is how it came?

Where did it come from?

Soon the impossible

Will be inevitable.

By Domenic Curulli

Copyright 2004 Zart Art & Zart Education Service