The Archibald Prize 2012 in the classroom

I am excited about the announcement of this year's Archibald Prize winner. Completely.

The 2012 Archibald Prize Winner
Tim Storrier's 'The Histrionic Wayfarer (After Bosch)'

There is just so much to say in the classroom about this work. On hearing that Tim Storrier had won the $75,000 prize I immediately Googled the announcement. Ah yes, I knew this work from showing my year 7s a sideshow from the Art Gallery of NSW a week or so before. Oh yes, I think this is a great choice for the winner! I remember Storrier's entry from last year. It was a key work for discussion with Year 10 - discussing how an absence of the physical figure can say so much. Most of the Year 10s really liked Storrier's magical treatment of landscape, of his whimsical explorations of memory and the self.

Like other years before, this year's winner had not been announced at the time that John McDonald had written his article on the prize (SMH March 32-Apr 1, Spectrum). I always enjoy reading his work however I almost feel sorry for someone who has to critique the entries (and possible winners) before they are announced. It must be awful to be in the position of writing so much that could be so wrong. And yet, what a fun game - to predict (from the informed point of view of the expert critic of course) the winners and losers, the 'good' and the 'bad' and then to see the outcome.

Next year I might play this game with my kids. What a great classroom exercise - look thought the slides of entries from the AGNSW website, discuss, critique, judge, then wait...

So, back to the announcement of the winner. John McDonald stated that 'Tim Storrier's The Histrionic Wayfarer (After Bosch) continues a series of self portraits as the invisible man, identifiable only by his clothes and possessions...One suspects even the trustees of the AGNSW would hesitate to give the prize to an invisible subject...'

I would have loved to know reasons why McDonald thought the absent figure would not win. Is it because, as one immediately assumes from his writing, that there is no face and is therefore a controversial choice and too unpredictable, even for the trustees who are open to the 'controversial choice'. Or is it because well, there is no face and of course, many of us know this approach to portraiture has been done numerous times before, and is a little 'old hat' and predictable?

And, back to the announcement (there are just so many diversions from the subject at hand when blogging). The day of the announcement, Tim Storrier's work made me feel an immediate excitement.

Rarely do I teach art theory on a Friday last period. The kids are just not in the headspace to retain in-depth information on the artworld. And who could blame them? Their heads are in the play they will have in only 50 minutes time! And yet, Friday afternoon's class was one of the best I have had with this group.

We discussed the winner - why this work could be seen as controversial due to the fact the man has no face. We looked at all the clothes and objects and the gestures that make up the figure, and how these say so much about the type of man Storrier is. Of course, we couldn't ignore the artist's dog who looks directly towards a floating piece of paper with a drawing of the artist's portrait.

We then looked at Bosch's work and compared the two. We looked at Storrier's entry from last year and compared the work to this year's winner.

              Tim Storrier's 2011 entry

Then we looked at Brett Whiteley's 1977 'Self Portrait in the Studio' - how could we not? The comparisons are lovely for Year 7s, particularly with Storrier's actual portrait on a piece of paper, and Whiteley's actual portrait in the small mirror, and all the objects and belongings that tell us so much about the artists themselves. Combined with previous investigations, students were able to gain a good understanding of the history of the prize and how approaches to portraiture have changed.

Brett Whiteley's 'Self-Portrait in the Studio (1977)

Finally, we looked at Brett Whiteley' self portrait 'Art, Life and The Other Thing' (1978) which includes a drawing of the artist drawing Dobell's painting of Joshua Smith - Dobell's work being a controversy students have investigated in-depth during a previous lesson.

Brett Whiteley's 'Art, Life and the Other Thing' (1978)

Therefore, during this lesson students gained an understanding of how artists have an informed knowledge of the artworld and how their artworks are often informed by this knowledge (we may also talk about appropriation here).

Links such as these lead me to the conclusion that this year's winner is an obvious choice, and a very strategic choice at that! John McDonald, surely you would agree! What a great catalogue discussion this would make.

Back again to the lesson: This may sound like a lot of content however it fit perfectly within the 50 minute allocation. I usually encourage note taking however during this lesson we just sat and talked. The responses I got from the kids were outstanding, and yes, our classes are graded, and yes, this was a 'less advanced' class. I often find the 'lower' classes have an outstanding ability to talk about the artworld during class discussion, even if their reading and writing skills are considered to be less advanced than the other kids.

What I also enjoyed about this lesson is that I 'Googled' all the content as I taught it. It means I have to be fairly fast and make sure (the Googling being projected on the Smart Board for all the see) that nothing inappropriate is included in the search, however this approach can be good modelling for how to look at relevant websites and content. It is also of use when there is no time to create a PowerPoint, worksheets, etc.

If anyone has any ideas or tales of teaching the Archibald Prize to students I would love to know here.

Links:
http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tim-storrier-wins-2012-archibald-prize/story-e6frf7jx-1226314415481

http://m.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/face-the-facts-20120329-1vz9v.html
Images:
Storrier images: artgalleryofnsw.gov.au

Whiteley: (Self Portrait in the Studio, 1977): artquotes.net
Detail: abc.net.au

Whiteley (Art, Life and the Other Thing, 1978):

http://blogs.cofa.unsw.edu.au/artwrite/?tag=brett-whiteley

My World (and) the Artworld. Opportunities for reflection.

A Henry Moore Bronze outside the Art Gallery of NSW: I love it when I see an artwork I have been teaching the kids at school!

At the university I attended,  there is a first year assignment that requires the university student to interview a practicing Visual Arts teacher for one hour, the goal being to gain an understanding of the complexities of teaching the Visual Arts.
Whenever a first year student approaches me requesting an interview, I always say yes. I have also made it clear to the university that I am always very happy to participate in this task. I complete the interview, mostly at the end of a working day when I am at my worst - tired, not really 'into it', and very zombie like. I fear the students may think I am drunk or a little ditzy, as I fight to speak of my practice in a state of sheer exhaustion from teaching all day. However, I know these students appreciate my participation, and I know that as new teachers, they hang on to every word I say...
It was not that long ago that I too was a terrifed first year who struggled to find a teacher to interview and who, during the interview, was terrified the recording device would fail and I would end up with no interview at all (there were stories of this happening!). It was quite traumatic to say the least, and whilst many of these students appear more confident than I was, I know there is a level of nervousness that can only be quelled with a cup of tea and a good educational chat.
During my last interview, the interviewer asked a very fine question indeed: "How do you stay up to date with what is happening in the artworld". Oh dear. I was tired, I couldn't think. How do I? As an art teacher, I know it is important to know my subject, and this includes staying up to date with what is happening in museums and galleries and the contemporary artworld. As a relatively new teacher, I realised I had been spending so much time putting all my energy into improving my teaching practice and classroom management skills, as well as building my PLN (professional learning network), that I had neglected this part of my practice. I realised I now needed to extend my efforts in another area.
So, I took to this task like I did in developing my teaching practice and my PLN. What did/do I do to extend my knowledge of the artworld?

• I extended, and continue to extend, my Twitter contacts to include as many art galleries, publications, artspaces, festivals, etc. as possible.
• I participate in arts conversations on Twitter and other forums, and I mention exhibitions or festivals I have seen to my followers.
• I belong to my professional association, and am an active member in this association.
• I continue to read the arts segments in major and local newspapers
• I put aside time to watch Visual Arts programs on tele
• I take time to watch clips on TED, or on gallery websites
• I pick up free publications which provide information on Visual Arts activities happening in Sydney
• I try to read as much as I can when I can
• I try to get a friend to accompany me to an exhibition so that I know I will go! Sometimes I will just find the time to take off by myself to soak up the art.
• I try to fit in gallery trips during my school holidays

But after a busy week teaching, I've got to admit...sometimes the sheer exhaustion means I just do NOTHING. And that's ok - there will always another event, article, TV show. I don't have to be an art superstar - I just need to put in the energy to get out there sometimes, and to really get to know my subject. Getting to know my subject means I improve my confidence in teaching, and it has helped my to answer some of those curly questions students can at times throw at me:

"Miss, I saw a painting that is just a white square...I don't get it".

I will keep hoping students from the university will  continue to visit me at school and ask me about my teaching practice. During a one hour interview, I gain an opportunity for reflection that I don't get anywhere else. In a profession where being said to be 'time poor' is an understatement, I will always have the time for these students because they help me as much as I help them. Bring on the questions! I hope I have difficulty answering them...

Some sweet links for you:

VADEA: Visual Arts and Design Educators Association (NSW)
The Sydney Fringe Festival (September)
Oxford Arts Factory
RealTime Arts - a cool free mag
Art Nation ABC - Awesome segments for the art classroom.
ABC i-view

More links to come...must run. The world awaits!