Paper into Sculpture Tour, Part One

How many ways can you change or manipulate a piece of paper?

At the beginning of our second tour, students made a list of ways to manipulate paper that included cut, tear, burn, draw, paint, shred, crumple, and fold.  Keeping these actions in mind, we entered the special exhibition Paper into Sculpture.  Side note: the students were REALLY excited to go into the downstairs gallery.  I guess we hadn't spent any time downstairs in recent years?  :)

Visit 2 Vocabulary:
paper / papel
manipulate / manipular
feeling / la emoción
fictional / ficticio
narrative / narración / la historia

3rd grade

4th grade

5th grade

Inside the exhibit, we saw works of art by five artists who used paper in different ways.  As I read our list of actions aloud, students pointed to the sculptures where it seemed like the artist used that technique.  In some cases, students pointed to more than one sculpture.  (P.S. pointing is fun!)

3rd grade

3rd grade

4th grade

4th grade

5th grade

After reviewing our list, we focused on the following artwork by Nancy Rubins.

Drawing by Nancy Rubins

Students began by describing the work of art, then guessing how the artist made it.  Just about everyone was shocked to learn that Rubins used two very simple materials: pencil and paper.  To be specific, she used large sheets of watercolor paper, which is thicker and has a more textured surface than notebook paper.  Rubins covers the paper with graphite from carpenter's pencils, which are rectangular in shape (as opposed to the round shape of standard writing or drawing pencils).  To get a small sense of how long it might have taken Rubins to make this artwork, students took 30 seconds to see how much of their paper they could cover with their pencils.  Considering this artwork is 31 1/2 feet wide, 11 feet tall, and covered with multiple layers of graphite, it must have taken Rubins much longer than 30 seconds!

3rd grade

3rd grade

3rd grade

3rd grade

4th grade

5th grade

5th grade

The name of this artwork is Drawing. It is included in an exhibition called Paper into Sculpture. Would you call this work of art a drawing, or sculpture, or both?

Next we looked at an artwork that some of the students walked right by without noticing.  Can you see it in these photos?

3rd grade

4th grade

5th grade

5th grade

Quite a few visitors walk right by this artwork without noticing it, partly because it is made of tiny little pieces, and partly because it is made of small white shapes installed on a white wall.  Here are some close-up photos.

Language Shower by Marco Maggi, detail

Language Shower by Marco Maggi, detail

This artwork by artist Marco Maggi, titled Language Shower, extends from floor to ceiling and is almost as wide as half the wall.  It is difficult to take a photograph of the entire artwork because the further back you step, the less you are able to see the individual shapes and pieces. We must get close to see the little shapes, but we must step back to see how high and wide the artwork stretches. There is no one perfect spot to view the whole thing.

Maggi creates his artworks by cutting small, precise shapes out of self-adhesive labels, which he applies directly to the wall.  He uses a utility blade to cut the shapes, which he does not draw beforehand.  The shapes are rarely flat against the wall, but often extend away from the wall at least a little. 

Maggi calls works like these "shy sculptures."  What do you think he means by this?  Think about Drawing by Nancy Rubins.  What feeling do you connect with that artwork?

After discussing these artworks, the 4th and 5th graders divided into groups.  Each group was given two of the following verbs: tear, fold, crumple, roll, draw, and color.  Everyone received a sheet of paper, which s/he made into a work of art using one or both of their verbs.

4th grade

4th grade

5th grade 

5th grade

5th grade

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