socially engaged art

Karen Profilio

NSGHS

what is socially engaged art?

• projects that are designed to intervene in life, not just to imitate it

• projects that are designed to develop creativity and collaboration in and beyond the classroom often involving geographic and/or cultural distances

• a way to build artistic networks in recognition of our increasingly connected world

what is socially engaged art?

• projects deemed innovative because they broaden the concept of ‘creative practice’

• projects that transport students in their artmaking, beyond their experience in the classroom

• projects where students conduct public interventions to explore the power of their learning to communicate meaning

what is socially engaged art?

• projects that extend conventional understanding of the artists’ practices and relationships within the agencies of the artworld

• projects that focus on collaborative and real world practices

• projects that utilise social and digital networks as part of students’ artistic practice

catalysts

>>codex_timeline

• Google 1998• New syllabus 2001 > conceptual framework

• NSGHS 2001 > new ideas/clientele

• Book Crossing 2001• Facebook 2004• Blogging 2005• You Tube 2005• PostSecret 2005• Live Journal 2005• NAEA (joined) 2006• Twitter 2006• Tumblr 2007• Instagram 2010• Pinterest 2010

influences & projects

• NAEA Chicago 2006

• Slices of 7 2006

• NAEA NYC 2007

• NAEA NYC 2012

• Dandelion Deeds 2013

• ESA Turin 2013

• codex_urbanite 2014

Slices of 7Mail Art for the 21stCentury

• Postcards were assembled from student works

• Students were asked to post them overseas to family and friends, to gather material for their art works

• These cards were also distributed at the NAEA conference in Chicago and at Columbia University NYC in 2006

• A variety of material was collected and each student was required to use some of the posted material in their art works

Slices of 7Mail Art for the 21stCentury

• Students had to present a series of 7 works that represented a journey. Material from overseas contributions must be included in the works

• All “slices” were the same size (21x14.5 cm) and were presented in landscape format

• Students had to “justify” their works and their decisions in an artist’s statement

• Works were photographed and the website was constructed by one of the students

Ways forward..

• I extended this initial project in a number of ways:– Students made Artist’s Trading Cards and swapped

them locally and internationally

– We participated in a mail art exhibition in Manchester, England. We contributed works themed “I LOVE MY CITY: urban identities ” and they were displayed online and in the University gallery

– I have become a member of many Mail Art websites and forums, they are many opportunities here for extension of the project

– Participated in The Interdependence Hexagon Project in the USA; a Regeneration project post 9/11

Long story long #1 Slices of 7

Karen Profilio |Elspeth GrewNorth Sydney Girls HS

why

• to encourage communication through chance exchanges in urban settings

• to raise awareness of how technology + traditional communication = rich[er] contact

• to reawaken an appreciation for our natural environment, encouraging sustainability

• to map interpersonal interactions

how – critical/historical

What is VANITAS?

{ }

The Symbolic Nature of Flowers

= h (x)y Pi

FLOWERS + PLANTS

{ }IN MODERN/ CONTEMPORARY ART

Jeff Koons, Puppy,

how – artmaking

1.drawing + hybrids

2.postcards + truisms + QR codes

3.interventions – 3 city locations

4.ecology boxes – return summary

Hybrid Images#1 Preliminary Activity ‘I __ you’

Truism Hybrids

TRUE BEAUTY IS FROM WITHIN

Carnation - Distinction

Gladiolus – Strength of character

Hibiscus – Rare and delicate beauty

Orchid – Refined beauty

Truism Traditional

#2 Postcards

#3 Interventions

Ideal intervention setup

MCA VADEA Conference

Intervention5th May 2012 9:30 – 11:00am Outside the MCA Circular Quay

(outside McDonalds)

Intervention5th May 2012 11:30 – 1:00pm Outside the AGNSW

Intervention5th May 2012 1:30 – 3:00pm Chinatown

#4 Ecology Boxes

Print Out Exhibition @ MoMA NYC 2012

Ecology Boxes

Ecology Boxes

Ecology Boxes

want to see more?

http://dandeliondeeds.blogspot.com.au/

codex_urbanite

decoding the [inner] city or stories from places

+urban fragments

reference

• Watch Hannah Gadsby’s Oz Ep 1

• On ivew

• Pay particular attention to her ideas about identity and the links to place

• Think about your personal links to place –here and possibly overseas

your task

• You are to make a postcard

• This will be multi layered

• The order of layering is your decision

• It will include text/story about a “secret” place either in Sydney or a place that you have a direct link to e.g. the town your grandparents reside in China/Japan/Korea/India etc

• The text will be written in more than one language and will be “coded”

your task

• You will develop the code

• The message may be rendered as a symbol

• It will include a map

• It will include cut out and/or torn sections to reveal the message/s

• A QR code will de-code your text and alphabet

• It will be completed in full colour

Ed Fairburn

m_i_s_o

many more references…• http://www.theloop.com.au/mrseaves/project/162075 PURE font

• http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/01/new-portraits-drawn-on-maps-by-ed-fairburn/ Ed Fairburn

• https://maptia.com/ Maps and stories online

• http://www.debutart.com/illustration/alan-kitching/13347#/illustration-portfolioFont shapes

• http://www.sydneyspiritstalkers.com/haunted-areas.html Place with spirit stories

• http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/stories-histories Sydney Historic stories

• http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ World Heritage sites

• http://www.buzzfeed.com/emmyf/10-secret-sites-of-new-york-city Secret sites of NYC

• http://www.sydney.com/things-to-do/arts-and-culture/history-of-sydney/heritage-buildings-and-architecture Historic spaces in Sydney

• http://www.convictcreations.com/culture/facts.htm Unusual facts about Sydney

• PINTEREST http://www.pinterest.com/karenprofilio/art-references/

• http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-street-scribbles-tell-a-secret-story-20131120-2xvci.html Street Scribbles article

• http://m-i-s-o.com/work/2013-bright-night-sky/ m_i_s_o

Portrait in Words grows up…

• Reference Xu Bing’s calligraphy

• Reference Rosalie Gascoigne’s deconstructed text

website

• We decided that rather than just use a text message through the QR code we would link to personal pages on a purpose built website

• Each postcard has a QR code that will direct users to the ‘explanation’ page

• QR codes created from free QR generator websites and saved as jpegs

the results

• http://codex-urbanite.weebly.com/

the results

interventions

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #1 MCA

intervention - #2 The Rocks

intervention - #2 The Rocks

intervention - #2 The Rocks

intervention - #2 The Rocks

intervention - #2 The Rocks

intervention - #2 The Rocks

intervention - #3 AGNSW

intervention - #3 AGNSW

intervention - #3 AGNSW

intervention - #3 AGNSW

intervention - #3 AGNSW

intervention - #3 AGNSW

intervention - #3 AGNSW

instagram

instagram

in conclusion student quotes

• “Socially engaged art” enables interaction with the audience intellectually and emotionally

• It asks the audience to do more than observe but to engage with the work

• I think it was useful, I’ve never done anything like it before and think my unfamiliar experience is enriching

• I particularly enjoyed talking with our audience and observing them as they reacted to our art

• It’s a different level of engagement, a connection to your work….to share a close personal experience with a large audience

in conclusion student quotes

• It was useful as we could engage with a wider audience outside school, about our ideas

• Different and really taught us about interacting with the public to express concepts and ideas

• …it allowed us as the artist, to engage ourselves with the audience

• …it forced you to really understand your concept and then express it to the audience

• Participating in the intervention pushes you to improve!

in conclusion

• Ideas come from many and strange places

• They develop on a continuum which may not be linear but piecemeal

• It is up to you to be ‘open’ to influences and opportunities

• Use all your experiences and interests to inform your projects

• Try new things move forward and grow!

activity• Use Instagram or Twitter and connect with

codex_urbanite

• Use #codexurbanite on Instagram

• Connect with a mention/message @codexurbanite

• Visit our websites codex_urbanite

http://codex-urbanite.weebly.com/

Slices of 7 http://web2.northsydgi-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/public/custom/Slicesof7/about.html

Dandelion Deeds

http://dandeliondeeds.blogspot.com.au/

contact

Karen Profilio

North Sydney Girls High School

365 Pacific Highway

Crows Nest, NSW, 2065

9922 6666

karen.profilio@det.nsw.edu.au