Monthly Archives: August 2019

Jean-Michel Basquiat is one of my top 10 favourite artists of all time. The year 1&2’s have been exploring the iconic ‘Pez Dispenser’ (1984) as inspiration for their projects this term. Using the picture books ‘Radiant Child’ and ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me‘ we have been learning about the life and artwork of Basquiat and his career in New York City in the late 1970s-1980s, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Andy Warhol and David Bowie on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

My aim was to give students a choice as to the materials and techniques they wanted to use for their drawing project – recreating the ‘Pez Dispenser.’ So we did a series of experiments. The experiments gave students the chance to trial different materials and evaluate which materials were most suitable for their individual masterpiece. The other challenge was to push students to draw BIG so that the ‘Pez Dispenser’ was the subject matter and focal point of their artwork…this proved to be difficult!

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s style is reflective of the emergence of street art and graffiti art in New York during this time. The idea to use newspaper as the surface that students drew on was to represent billboards and paste ups found in the streets at the time. Basquiat was famous for drawing and painting on lots of different surfaces. His style is child like and characterised by his quick drawings which can be described as swift and expressive.

As always the student’s work is exceptional and plays homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat.

 

 

In case you missed it or have forgotten the amazingness that was Ripper Art, let’s reminisce…

Foundation showcased their collage studies showing their development of fine motor skills and some knowledge of the art elements shape and pattern.

The year 1&2s blew everyone away with their beautiful interpretations of Australian landscape artist John Olsen‘s famous painting (see below) titled:  Sydney Sun (1965) 

Students learnt the basic fundamentals of colour mixing and developed skills in a variety of painting techniques. They experimented with a variety of brushes and different types of paint including acrylic and watercolour, ensuring careful layering of the materials. Finally, they used pastels on top of their paintings to create interest in their final masterpieces. Students added to their understanding of the importance of using warm and cool colours to create harmony and variety in their finished art works.

Many years ago I took a group of VCE Studio Art students to visit Metro Gallery in High Street Malvern and had the fortunate pleasure of bumping into John Olsen. He was delightful and lovely and passionately talked about his artwork.

Textiles was the focus of the year 3&4s work for Ripper Art. Students explored weaving as a technique and used yarn/wool as the primary material for their delightful wall hangings. The students used a loom to weave the wall hangings and all students were required to measure and construct their own looms. They showed precision and dedication to this project which required lots of concentration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, year 5&6s completed a study on Swiss artists Alberto Giacometti and constructed a sculpture in the style of Giacometti’s work. They learnt about the fundamentals of three dimensional art making and were required to use creative thinking and problem solving to ensure their sculptures where able to free stand while maintaining the integrity of Giacometti’s work. They showed an understanding of Giacometti’s style and recognisable elongated bronze sculptures that he is famous for. Many years ago while travelling in London I was fortunate to see the Giacometti retrospective at the TATE Modern. The exhibition made a lasting impression and I was very excited to share this with the students.