TECH4ARTED
Out of Place
There are different ways to interpret art that is “out of place.” Perhaps the artwork conflicts with our understanding of reality, uses improper
scale or juxtaposition, or maybe the
artwork just doesn’t match our own
expectations. The following online
resources will inspire your students to
think beyond their own understanding of place and space.
Theresa McGee
Our Understanding of Reality
M.C. Escher is perhaps one of the
best-known;illusion;artists.;His;visual
tricks play with our understanding of reality. Connect with Escher
through an iTouch app that fools the
mind’s eye and engages your students
( tinyrul.com/EscherApp). Visit the
Escher website ( www.mcescher.com)
to download an interactive puzzle
and take a virtual ride into an Escher
masterpiece. Interact with an amazing 360º computer animation based on
Escher’s Relativity at blog.360cities.
net/tribute-to-escher.
Scale and Juxtaposition
Send your students back to eighteenth-and nineteeth-century America with
the;National;Gallery;of;Art:;Faces
and Places interactive online game at
tinyurl.com/NGAplaces. Work with
scale, perspective, and composition
within a panoramic landscape. Blend
the poetry of Jack Prelutsky’s
Scrani-mals with technology and create your
own juxtaposed creatures using Build
Your Wild Self (buildyourwildself.
com). Perhaps misplaced or out of
place, these new creations can work
as a foundation for student art production. You can also start from scratch
with;Google;Sketchup;(sketchup.
google.com). This amazing (and free)
tool lets you design three-dimensional
functional objects, including anything
from a can of soda to an armchair to
architecture. These everyday objects
are often overlooked as works of art.
Our Expectations About Art
Hosted;by;the;American;Visionary
Art Museum ( www.avam.org), the
Kinetic Sculpture Race (
kineticbalti-more.com) challenges traditional art
perceptions through proportion, new
use of materials, and subject matter.
Also notable for creating the unexpected is the outsider artwork of Chris
Roberts-Antieau, one of the Visionary
Museum featured artists. Explore a
documentary of her life and visionary
work through a very entertaining animated video at www.br
ookbankpro-ductions.com.
Integrating art into your curriculum that questions context can lead
to thought-provoking art discussions.
Instead of fitting “into place,” look
beyond traditional approaches and
embrace the “out of place.”
Theresa McGee is art and design teacher
at Monroe Elementary in Hinsdale, Illinois. She also writes an art education blog
( teachingpalette.com). tmcgee@d181.org
