I have a difficult time thinking about this subject, as I guess I have always seen art as a personal act of expression and creativity. I have also, unfortunately, seen the results of projects or art pieces that I can only describe as "art by committee," in which there are so many contradictory ideas mashed together that they are perfectly unable to express anything at all. I do realize the importance of group work and cooperation, and I think there are ways to do it successfully, but I still struggle to come up with many interesting ideas.
One concept that I have seen work many times and have even participated in would be a sort of "jam" book or comic. In a way, it can function like a collection of short stories or poems, but instead of collecting stories, it is an (often bound) collection of artworks or illustrations by many different artists, usually based around a similar theme or concept. In this way, each artist (or student, in this case) could feel free to branch off of the central premise and create something that would connect to the works of their peers but not necessarily infringe on or be changed by their artistic ideas and styles.
A more collaborative project could be individually creating a large illustration, but making sure that each person's work is included and that there could be a sense of flow to the finished piece. This could be a mural, a class poster, or even a sculptural figure or diorama. No matter the form it would take, it would both include the students' different ideas and preferences, but also allow for them to work as a group to create a cohesive finished product that everyone had a chance to contribute to.
I know there are many other ideas I am either unaware of or simply can't come up with right now, but I do feel that a large class project would have a number of positive aspects that could help to unify and hopefully energize your students.
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A "jam" book would be a great idea for a collaborative project! Students could have a "jam" session where they read different books created and discuss the content which would include English in this! Is there a direction for the content of the book? This could really work and maybe even have a connection to the school long term where students produce these and distribute them throughout the school.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of a large illustration. How would you include all student's work and have it somewhat in unison? Or would you care if all the pieces related to each other? It might be interesting to have a large illustration where nothing really fits with anything else. Maybe that's just me, but it sounds kind of interesting! On the other hand, you could give requirements to all students to ensure that all pieces relate to each other in some way, creating a sense of flow.
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