the blue one.indd - Modern Art Oxford

FRee Activity guide for families and schools
BlUe
KAleIDOSCOPe
Modern Art Oxford is 50 years old this year. To celebrate we have
organised five exhibitions which will take place throughout the
year. Together they are called Kaleidoscope. each exhibition will
include art works which have been shown at the gallery before,
alongside work by artists that will be showing their art here for
the first time. By bringing these artworks together we want to
think about our own history and how time can affect the way we
see things. Do we see an object or a picture differently because
it’s from the past? Why should that be? What happens when
you look at something old next to something new? This Activity
Guide can be used with all the exhibitions this year to help you
think about different ways of seeing, and how you can change
your view of the world.
e
u
l
B
d
e
R
Red
Blue
This guide can be used on it’s own or in conjunction with the ReD Guide.
Red and blue are at either end of the light spectrum. We have different
reactions to different colours and to different artworks. This guide has been
created to make you think about how we feel when see the world around us.
Our brains interpret what we are looking at in many different ways depnding
on our age where we come from what we have experienced. This guide will
focus on how our brains make connections and how we all see things very
differently to each other, and how we think about culture from the past to the
present
At the back of this guide there is a Mini-Guide. You
can cut this out and make it into a small booklet.
The Kaleidoscope exhibitions will keep changing
over the year, to help keep track of this you can
bring this Mini-Guide back with you and add to it
each time. You could even combine the Red
Mini-Guide with the Blue one.
On the graph, plot your
feelings as you move
through the gallery. Make
an X on the graph every 5
steps. The join them up.
Add new feelings you want
to record and plot again.
Steps around the gallery
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
...............
impatient
...............
cold
...............
red
Add you own feelings or experiences and plot as you move back through the gallery.
...............
blue
...............
frustrated
...............
bored
...............
disturbed
...............
confused
...............
inspired
...............
moved
...............
sad
...............
excited
...............
hungry
...............
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
curious
50
Steps around the gallery
Making Connections.
The optic nerve carries information
from your eye to your brain. Draw eight works
of art that you are
drawn to. Think about
what do you find
interesting about
them. Maybe its
because of how they
look or what they
remind you of.
Title:
Title:
Title:
Title:
Title:
Wor ds
a f f e c t
what you see.
Titles
make
you
see
artworks differently. Write down
the title of the eight works
that you have drawn and the
materials or media used.
Imagine and draw an
alternative artwork to
go with the title.
Title:
Title:
Title:
See through someone else’s eyes.
Pause for a minute in front of an artwork you find interesting. Decide where is the best place to view it from.
It could be close up or from across the room. Place the foot prints down on the floor in that position and
ask someone you are with to stand in your foot prints, did they see and experience it in the same way that
you did?
Have a conversation about what the differences are in the way you see the same artwork. Try
and find out what you see differently and why.
nd
e.
ol
Cut aro
u
Stay
looking at
the same
work, join the
inner dot to the
outer circle with
different lines and
shapes inspired by the
artwork. Rip out the page
and stand on the footprints,
then make your drawing into
a cone and look through to see
your chosen work. Swap with the
person you had the conversation with.
See through someone else’s eyes.
make a
to
h
ok
or p e you
cut or rip
gh
Cut or rip along the line.
r
g e r t hr o
u
fin
e
th
so
ul
eye
s are the wind
ow
to
th
e
u
o
s
to
l
ar e
s
e
ey
the
eyes are
th
e
wi
n
d
ow
One Word: Ask a Visitor Assistant for one
fold
word that sums up how they see the show.
Write the word down on each visit.
Draw the front cover
MINI-GUIDe
cut
lasting impressions: When you get home after
each visit write down what you remember.
I felt
I heard
I saw
Seeing Textures: Find a different texture around
ga
l
le
r
y.
gh
rp
th r o u
oke y
the eye to focus your vie
Use
w
i
n
the
er
r fing
ou
3
4
5
rectangle. Make your drawings join up.
2
Finding links: each time you visit draw a detail of an artwork in a
1
cut
5
4
3
2
1
fold
Modern Art Oxford each time you visit the building. Do
a rubbing to build up a visual record of how something feels to the touch. (Please do this in the non-gallery spaces)
Cut o
Schools
Schools and
and Groups
Groups Activities.
Activities.
Viewing Boxes.
Create your own personal wearable viewing box
out of cardboard. Make a 3D shape with two open
ends so you can look through it. Find an artwork
that evokes an emotional response or that you feel
strongly about. Inside the box recreate these
responses physically out of coloured acetate,
cardboard and collage. Add a strap so the viewing
box can be worn over your head like a virtual reality
headset. Once completed ask someone to wear your
viewing box whilst looking at your chosen artwork.
This activity is about placing your experiences
outside of yourself and explores emotions against
what we physically see.
Seeing through someone
else’s eyes.
In pairs take close up photographs of each
others eyes. If this can be done on a smart
phone you could play around with matching
up the eyes to someone else’s face.
Alternatively print out sets of eyes and create
‘eye masks’ so that each person in the group
wears someone else’s eyes. Cut out the pupils
of the eyes so that you can see out.
Take photographs of each other, create a
group performance or create self-portraits
using mirrors.
Group portrait/diagram.
In pairs create a portrait of each other in a
diagram format. You could do this by writing a
description of each others appearance and then
plot that description onto a map which the whole
group can use, for example adding hair colour
onto a spectrum or estimating size of ears on a
scale from 1-10. Once each person has collected
their portrait data, a class average is taken. each
person uses the data to draw a portrait using the
data of the class average. Does each portrait look
like it’s of the same person?
Mirror drawings.
Use bendable plastic mirrors to distort and draw
reflections. Think about how a mirror or a lens can give us
a particular view of what we actually see with our eyes.
Use photography to explore reflected images. Ask what is
more believable, our eyes or a photograph? In pairs place
a piece of clear acetate onto mirror and ask someone to
hold it up to their face. Draw the reflected image on to the
acetate with a marker pen. Now place the acetate onto an
overhead projector or hold it up between a strong light and
a blank wall to enlarge the image.
Kaleidoscope
Twitter: @mao_gallery
Instagram: @mao_gallery
Facebook: ModArtOXford
Free Admission
Donations Welcome
Free artist led workshops, for schools and other groups, are
available during each exhibition.
Opening Hours
11am – 6pm Tuesday – Saturday
12pm – 5pm
Sunday
Closed Monday
Workshops can be tailored to group sizes and year groups.
Please note that groups should be no larger than 20 and that
we cannot offer a dedicated lunch space.
Modern Art Oxford is a fully accessible venue.
To book a workshop, discuss dates, times or any specific
needs you have, please contact:
info@modernartoxford.org.uk
If you have any questions, please ask one of our Visitor
Assistants who will be happy to help.
Museum of Modern Art Oxford Ltd is a Registered Charity no 313035
This activity guide has been designed by Georgie Manly & Judith Brocklehurst for Modern Art Oxford
© Modern Art Oxford, 2016
Printed by Newspaper Club newspaperclub@newspaperclub.com
Modern Art Oxford is supported by:
The current programme is generously supported by: