Subject:
|
Legos as a Function of Art
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.edu
|
Date:
|
Thu, 22 Jun 2000 18:08:15 GMT
|
Highlighted:
|
(details)
|
Viewed:
|
6597 times
|
| |
|
|
Howdy,
Pat McShane the founder of PCS Edventures.COM authored a list that
described various
subject areas that can be taught with Lego elements. This list covered a
range of topics from
anthropology to zoology. One area he discussed was art. Pat indicated
that LEGO® products
can be used as a function of art through: (a) Abstract Designs, (b)
Kinetic Artwork, (c) Use of color, shape, size,
proportion, and symmetry, and (d) A Model that 'speaks' to the designer
it is completed.
As an instructor at PCS Centers in Boise Idaho, I have had the
opportunity to experience these
functions first hand.
*ABSTRACT DESIGNS: I have had several aspiring artists as students, and
their creations
foretell of brilliant careers. Andy H took the time to create portraits
and complex designs
using brick patterns. Josh, a student at the Davidson Middle School in
San Mateo CA built
incredible abstract designs in gigantic brick walls as part of a
pichinko machine.
*KINETIC ARTWORK. One of my first robots was a walking machine that
stood two feet tall.
I built this project in 1991, entirely out of red and black elements.
Being inspired by
the wacky art robots of Survival Research Laboratories, I added moving
arms/claws. I dropped
videotaped shots of my head into the Atari ST, and manipulated and
printed them to create a
"box" of my head. This box went on the top of the robot and would turn
as it ambled along.
Another California student built a huge head with a moving nose. Jason
built a "bee" robot
( complete with flapping wings ) as an entry into the "sumowrestling
robot contest." A younger
student named Matt was captivated with creating a series of "robocats."
The cat face was quite
distinct, and each cat had two claws that would alternately extend out
to capture its prey.
*USE OF COLOR, SHAPE, SIZE, PROPORTION AND SYMMETRY. These subjects tend
to be embedded in most of
our architecture projects. For example, a group of students in Corte
Madera built a breath taking
scale version of the Taj Mahal entirely of white elements. The most
success I have had as a teacher was a series
I did with students involving optical illusions. Creating the illusion
of a 3D image using
a 2D Lego surface ( bricks and plates on a baseplate ). I own books full
of tesselations and
Moliere patterns. I was always impressed with Andy's rendering of a
bubble or bulge using
a series of scaled pixels, moving from small blocks at the edges to
large ones in the center
of the baseplate creating a "fisheye" type image. Nika W built a
catalogue of shimmering
tesselating images using black and white elements.
I hosted LEGO CAMP at the 1998 Burning Man, and as our project, Mike,
Shawn and I built Bes,
an Egyptian deity depicted as a bearded savage-looking dwarf. Our
creation was
to be 4 feet tall using only yellow elements. We took special care that
our version closely
followed images of Bes depicted in relief, stepping out of a wall. Our
team took note
of size and symmetry of the the panel.
*MODELS THAT SPEAK TO THE DESIGNER. One of the most common phrases I
have heard in our engineering
labs is "its not done yet." The model or project was not finished in the
student's eyes.
Shannon P worked and reworked her vision of a penguin family until it
was "just right."
Little Maggie spent weeks creating the ultimate "Swan House" ( for her
imaginary swan friend ).
Students intuitively create art using Lego elements.
Part of our success of LEGO CAMP at Burning Man involved making
available many bricks
for use by Burning Man attendees. People from all walks of life sat down
and created
interesting objects of art. ( I still remember the lovely lady who made
a Lego ring for
a body piercing! Talk about creative! ).
There are countless other ways of exploring art with Lego elements.
Portraits, scultures.
replicas, architecture are all expressions of student artistic
abilities. Personally,
I liked the painting robots developed in Florida and the 4 color plotter
programmed
with the Control Lab by Mike H.
Are there any ART STORIES that anyone can add?
Richard
rwright@pcsedu.com
www.weirdrichard.com
|
|
1 Message in This Thread:
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
