The Artist, the Object and the Meaning Between: An Exploration of the Joys of Incorporating Meaningful Objects into Art Practice and Teaching Pedagogy A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree Master of Arts (MA) Art + Design Education in the Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design of the Rhode Island School of Design By Sarah Leis, BFA Rhode Island School of Design, 2017 Approved by Department Head Dr. Paul Sproll Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design Professor Nancy Friese Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design © 2017 by Sarah Leis. All rights reserved. Cover photos, front & back: A recreation by the author of her great-grandmother’s “Treasures” that are described in the thesis. Printed by Alphagraphix, Providence, Rhode Island. For my mother, Karen Leis Unsophisticated or naive in character; ingenious in concept; direct in expression; sincere in creation; bounded by the vigorous limitations of a tool, a material, a handcraft, or machine process. [on items he is drawn to] —Alexander Girard, Alexander Girard The ugly is the beautiful. —William Shakespeare, Macbeth CONTENTS List of Illustrations. 3 Acknowledgments . 5 Abstract . .7 Introduction: The World is Flat 11 Chapter I Portrait of the Artist Sifting Through Rubbish 15 II Objects, Value, Meaning 23 III A Weird & Wonderful Classroom: My Personal Pedagogy Object Lessons Appendices A: Things That Jump Into My Pockets or My Collections . B: Sorting All Things: A Beginner’s Guide to Ontology C: Resources Bibliography . 1 IMAGES Images A through J in the included envelope are to convey what is meant by “meaningful” objects. Though many speak for themselves, I’ve included a little history behind each. Items K through R are examples of my work that incorporate objects from my collections. A: 1960s mathematics textbook covers with detail of student inscription below. I fell into collecting vintage math textbooks after being impressed by the fine design on many of their covers Flipping through the pages of one I found the gem below them The hand-written words“Pure Poetry!” to the side of an especially complex explanation struck me as especially sincere and earnest B, C: Self-portrait and application to Art Instruction, Inc from 1958 Described in Chapter II, these are two items of my late grandmother’s given to me by my mother Just seeing her lovely handwriting on the application brings my memory of her into focus D: Four 8’’x10’’ found portraits These four images of a girl transitioning from girlhood to early adulthood were found beneath the stock image in a vintage picture frame I purchased for $1 Something in the nature of the portraits seems to show the love between photog- rapher and sitter E: Proof of military service Found between the pages of a thriftstore book, an item like this makes one wonder who Joseph Lopes was: Was there a war on? Did he survive to return to his family? Was he an impressionable teenager or a husband with children waiting for him? 3 F: Vintage motherboard From this motherboard I learned that the connections were originally carefully painted by hand The human touch on something seen as inhuman is what draws me to this piece G, H: Pages from Art in Everday Life, 1964, and The Boy Mechanic, 1958, respectively These spreads are examples of unpleasant things I find signigicant for their historical value. The first assumes there are no complexions other than the white, Euro-centric ones shown and the second has Mom at the recipe box, Dad at the bookshelf I also own a 1940s children’s American history book by a still-respect- ed historian who describes Southern slave owners as “good” to their slaves I decided not to include its image in my thesis as I still find it too upsetting. I’m still working on a sensitive way to bring it to my students I, J: Examples of found or thriftstore items in my collections K: Life drawing of found shell on withdrawn library book page L: Details of Renaissance paintings drawn on withdrawn library book cover M: Textile pattern made from scanned images of found objects N: Collage from withdrawn library book on found board O: Digital photography of items found at a former jewelry manufacturer in Providence, RI P: 35mm photograph of some of natural objects Q: 35mm photograph of juxtaposed Catholic kitsch, old office supplies and obsolete technology R: Ready-made from inherited rosary and found vintage whistle ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Endless thanks to the three amazing individuals who are faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design’s Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design. Artist and Professor Nancy Friese’s encouragement and practical advice brought me to RISD and helped sustain me once I arrived. Department Head Dr. Paul Sproll’s thoughtful guidance and planning shepherded me and my cohort safely through an intense and rigorous year of study. Professor John Chamberlain’s inspir- ing enthusiasm and patience have been invaluable as well. I wish him an especially wonderful 2016/17 academic year! I also use this opportunity to thank my former instructor at Lyme Academy, artist Randy Melick. His unique course, Calligraphic Drawing, changed the way I draw and the way I think about drawing. Both he and Nancy Friese continue to influence both my art practice and my teaching practice in countless ways. As always, thank you to my mother and my late father, whose love, support, and encouragement are the most precious and enduring treasures in my “collections”. 5 ABSTRACT The Artist, the Object and the Meaning Between begins by exploring the human motivation and delight in keeping physical ephemera, tokens, specimen, souvenirs, relics, etc. Material things can be tools to understand and interact with the world around us; a name for this is “Object-based Learning”. I use Qualitative and Arts-based research to make the case for object-based learning as a complement to digital resources. Though anyone may benefit from these practices, the focus of the thesis is the teaching artist and her opportunity to encourage in her students a rich experi- ence of the three-dimensional in a world that seems increasingly two-dimensional. I found that creating, maintaining and sharing a carefully-curated materials lab enriches both my personal art practice and my teaching practice. In-the-classroom examples, ontological lists, lesson plan sparks, and drawings and photos created as part of the research are included. 7 Whiteread: There is a vitrine, which will display objects that I collect whenever I go traveling, or from junk shops and off the street. I never really know why I’m collecting these things, and it wasn’t until we started working on the drawing show that it became completely clear what they are. They’re as much drawings, for me, as the drawings themselves, and they’re related to casting and they’re sometimes related to domesticity – they’re a little bit of everything. People get me things, they buy me things, but very few of those have actually gone into the cabinet. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but it’s definitely my own eye. Bice Curiger: I think many of those objects have to do with the projection one puts into them. There is also a certain innocence, because you don’t know the story behind them. For example, whether this knife has murdered a person or not, and you might have information that is shocking or deluding… Rachel Whiteread: Exactly. People often come to my studio and they look at these things. Then when they leave they say: ‘Oh, that really haunted me, and every time I see one of those now I think about your studio.’ It’s quite funny how innocent little objects can be so affecting. —Rachel Whiteread, Drawing is Like Writing a Diary INTRODUCTION The World is Flat Technology continues its steady advance with ever-increasing speed. It brings us new and differ- ent ways to experience the world and one another. At this moment, a simulated world viewed on a two-dimensional screen is becoming the dominant space to observe, study and communicate. There are wonderful opportunities for collaboration and partnership here. Offering unprecedent- ed access to information and communication, it could be argued the virtual world encourages democracy and favors the self-motivated. But as one observes others fixated on personal devices en masse (after looking up from her own), is there a sense something has been lost? At a recent art exhibit I had my first experience with “virtual reality”. It was impressive, but I’d say we are far from approximating something as complex as the fluttery, downy feel of a baby chick held in cupped hands or the cool, lithe feel of a snake’s belly, even with advanced aug- mented sensory experience. In the former sensations we begin to understand what is meant by the “haptic”. Haptic Perception can be understood as Tactile Perception’s more spirited and sensual cousin. Rooted in a Greek word meaning “to grasp”, haptic perception uses active exploratory methods such as the running of one’s fingers over surface contours, enveloping an object in one’s hands or exerting a careful pressure on it. One fully experiences the object’s physical properties (and quite possibly spiritual ones) in an effort to understand the object, its history and its mean- ing in a more complete way. Needless to say, all this is difficult when said object is experienced solely on a flat screen. Supplying what is often missing: the material object, is the current impetus for the accu- mulation of my “meaningful” things.