I used to work with a teacher who would never give an assignment that didn’t end with a product. Her thinking was, time is precious, portfolios need to be filled, and every project should end with a piece of art. I’ve always had a slightly different position. I enjoy assigning provisional projects.
Phil Hansen’s Goodbye Art series is an example of creating temporary art. Many of the works in this series were purposely created using media that wouldn’t last. Sidewalk chalk, burning candles and even frozen wine are examples of media used in this series. After each project was created, it was then destroyed. At the end of a year of making art, not one product remained.
However, even these projects produce a product if only for a brief time. Temporary works such as these can be captured in photography and utilized in a portfolio. Still, there are lessons where the outcome is only process or thought. The question then becomes:
Is there room in our art curriculum for assignments that produce no end product whatsoever?
One such project that is common in schools, though perhaps not a staple of the art room, is creating a Rube Goldberg contraption. Students are placed in small groups and given a box of junk. Their assignment? Create a series of small cause and effect events that lead to the completion of a simple task. This lesson produces no physical product though it does teach many higher order thinking skills including collaboration and problem solving.
Another example, and perhaps more directly aligned with the art room, is Oliver Herring’s TASK party. To participate, students randomly select a piece of paper from a box. Whatever is written on that paper is the task they must undertake. “Become a pickle,” “walk a dog” and “dance the robot” are possible TASK examples, but tasks can vary widely in scope and interpretation. Though some product may be produced in order to complete the task, the resulting item is only a means to an end. The true value of a TASK Party is the creative process.
Though the benefits of these lessons may be apparent, what is questionable is how much time should be dedicated to projects that produce no product. In today’s curriculums, which often are heavy on teaching the elements and principles, it is difficult to justify assignments that can’t be easily measured. The true value may be overlooked, so these lessons are diminished to fun Friday projects while the rest of the week is reserved for serious work.
Art teachers have a built in propensity for completed products. Gallery spaces filled with wonderful works of art demonstrate the strength of our programs and the learning that takes place. Completing unmeasurable assignments seems contradictory to our mission. However, I believe problem solving, collaboration and involvement in the creative process should be the foundation of our programs. Even if they produce no product at all.
What lessons do you teach where no product is produced?
How much time do you allot to problem solving projects?
This article was written by AOE Team member Ian Sands. Ian is the incredibly creative HS Art Teacher from Apex High in North Carolina. Ian is originally from NYC where he received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts.