More Pictures

The comments have been many and all positive. What have you heard?

One of the things that I have noticed around school, is that the level of awareness for installation art has really increased. It has created interest and provided a place for many conversations about the meaning of the piece, even though they were not involved in putting it up. Some folks talked about the "environmental impact awareness" aspect of it, others feel like the space has been made more festive, or happy as a result. It has made the entry into school a different experience for them. Others just remark about how clever it is to use bottles in such a way! Many students have added their bottles to the pile accumulating at the bottom. Finally, photography students are using the installation as an exciting place to take photographs for their assignments.

Special thanks to the student photographers who took all these pictures: Beda, James, John, Jamal, and Laken. Did I forget anyone?

A very SPECIAL thanks to Denise Driscoll! Thank you Denise!

The Finished Installation!

Well, we finished at last!

BYOB was a name Denise thought of and the majority liked. (It stands for "Bring Your Own Bottle"). The other title folks liked was "Winding Down"

Creating an artists' statement

April 7

A few folks started to write the Artist's Statement, while others installed the work in the lobby. Ms. B, went on line and looked at suggestions from students and added a their ideas to the mix. What do you think? We need a title, so start brainstorming!

Artists' statement so far:

We decided to create this temporary installation to somehow represent the school and the 1400 + students and staff in it. We began working with Denise Driscoll, an artist from Holliston, and explored a lot of different media. We decided that we were going to work with bottles because they were so plentiful around the school, and one man’s junk could be another man’s treasure . . .?. After some brainstorming, we agreed on the ideas of cutting the bottles into spirals and hanging them by chicken wire. We were able to suspend them all on the ceiling. The way the bottles fall onto the ground makes it a mystical and tranquil scene, like a curtain that leads to who knows where. Everyone in the class interprets the installation in their own way and that makes it interesting and worth the work.
What is an installation?

Installation art uses sculptural materials and other media to help modify the way the viewer experiences a particular and familiar space in a new way. Materials can range from everyday and natural materials, to new media such as video, sound, performance, and technology.
Artists:

3D Design: Public Spaces Semester 2 Class: Jon, Brenda, Jamal, Evan, Georgina, Laken, Alex, Jeremy, Mia, John Andreas, Tory, Anton, Patric, Cassie, and James

Denise came up with some possible titles. What do you all think? Can you add a few?

"Unwinding" or "Unwound"
Message in a Bottle
Breaking the Bottleneck
BYOB (bring your own bottle) ?
Helix
Bottled up
Coiling
Uncoiling
Winding Down

Installation

We began installing on Friday. We learned what all of the difficulties were, and by the end of the class period had worked out a system that we can use to finish up today. Andreas brings up a good point, that we might want more bottles hanging closer to the floor. Today, while a small crew is installing, the rest of us can cut more bottles in order to extend the cascade down towards the floor.

We also need to name our installation and to write a artist's statement that can accompany our work in the lobby. In the statement we can answer some or all of the following questions: Who are we? Why did we make this? How did we make this? What questions were we asking ourselves while we made it? What interests or issues were we thinking about while we made this? Our words can offer the reader another pathway into the work.

Collecting Bottles

Nearly half of the water bottles came from Holliston High School, where I am working on another project with the Art 1 class. At HHS, the Environmental Club recycles paper and bottles weekly, so dipping into their supply was very easy. They are interested in seeing the transformation of their "trash" into your "treasure".

The Art 1 class in Holliston is using discarded clothing as their base material. You can visit their blog listed in Other High School Projects.

Making

Hundreds of bottles later, we are making something magical!

Exploring

We collected water bottles and worked to see what we could do with them.