Facescapes

Facescape, Natalie, age 11

This project during our Art and Nature week combines elements of traditional landscape painting with 20th century photography. Campers saw examples of artists who have inserted themselves in their work, used their bodies as canvases in their work, or have constructed environments to be photographed as final piece of art.

Revenge of the Goldfish, 1981
Sandy Skoglund (USA, b. 1946)
Silver dye bleach print
27 ½ x 35” (mat window); 44 x 37 x 1 ½” (wood frame)
SBMA, Partial gift of Donnelley and Cinda Erdman and partial museum purchase with funds provided by PhotoFutures
2005.30

Mirror Lake, Yosemite Valley, 1864

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)

German active in America

Oil on canvas 22” X 30

”Gift of Mrs. Sterling Morton"

1960.5

After identifying the layers of space that create perspective in a landscape painting (foreground, midground, background) students chose an environment and determined their three basic compositional elements apart from themselves, ie sky, mountains, trees etc.. After painting the background on the bottom of the box they then drew, painted, and cut out various elements for the fore- and midground which were finally assembled in the painted interior of the box. Painting the face to become part of the landscape was an option that most of the campers chose to round up their facescapes.

The older students applied their own face paint in front of the mirror.
The younger students got their face painted by teachers and Counselors-in-Training.

For the final artwork campers inserted their (painted) face into the box and teachers took various photos (eyes open, eyes closed). The photos were printed on our color copier on 11x17 cardstock and displayed at the Art Show at the end of the camp.

If you like to learn more about Sandy Skoglund: http://www.sandyskoglund.com/

More information on activities for interpreting “The Revenge of the Goldfish” http://www.getty.edu/education/teacherartexchange/archive/Feb96/0247.html


Camp: Art and Nature: Discover, Draw, Design
Project: “Facescapes”
Teaching Artist: Bill McVicar