Michelle Casey, "Making a Difference", Mixed Media / Collage, 7.25 x 11 inches, June 2012. Quote inspired by Mohandas K. Gandhi.
Recently, I assisted elementary school teacher Catherine and her grade six students with a collage project. After working throughout the year on a social issues theme with her class, she asked them to create a collage of the “footprint” they’d like to leave in the world: things they wanted changed for the better.
Now, I’ve never worked with young students before – let alone 24 of them, so initially I was afraid of taking on this project. However, after sitting with the class and giving them a collage art talk, I began to feel very comfortable with this enthusiastic group of students.
Weeks before I stepped in, Catherine gave the class guidelines for selecting imagery (predominantly from old National Geographic* magazines) for their collages. My role was to assist students in their collage making as well as relay some basic techniques: gluing, cutting, composing and a bit of mixed media.
Transforming the World through Collage
As I surveyed the students’ work in progress, I was impressed by their interest in world concerns. Poverty, hunger, war, human and animal rights and the future of under-privileged folks in economically and politically oppressed regions of the world stood at the forefront of their collages. A number chose emotionally-charged images to describe these heart-breaking scenes. A part of me was glad to see these kids taking these topics head on and whole-heartedly demanding a change. While another part of me wondered what these images were doing to maybe diminish their sense of optimism about the world. Nevertheless, I hoped this project would spur them on to build attitudes and careers that would help them transcend these issues even if only in some small way.
I’d love to tell you about every students’ pieces, but I must limit myself to a few here so I thought I’d share some samples of works that made me think about what it means to tackle a complex subject such as theirs – one even I found challenging!
After viewing a number of gut-wrenching collages related to poverty and disease, I was pleasantly surprised to find one student’s optimistic take on these issues. Her work focused on positive images such as a poor mother lovingly embracing her child and a doctor tenderly treating a patient. She mentioned she added two kangaroos to literally put a happy spring feeling into her collage. Even her slogan: “New days… every day new things happen” features text whose words are entwined by signs of growth and renewal: leaves and trees – her message was so uplifting!
I was also glad to see other students striking off the usual path to search for other kinds of imagery to speak of change. One young man chose basketball as a jumping off point (!) for his collage. Naturally, his board was dominated by a large basketball. He wanted to add some inspirational text so I suggested he try catch-phrases from ads, TV or sports interviews to describe the spirit of top athletes from the field. He came up with one in a few seconds! I was fascinated by the fact that he was thinking of using the best quality of his sports heroes to describe the attitude it takes to transform the world. Seeing students march to the beat of a different drum always makes me happy. After all, it’s going to take all the inventiveness we have as individuals to change the world! We don’t often think of famous political leaders pursing different avenues for change but some have. Mohandas K. Gandhi for instance tried his hand at fashion design to create clothing that would unite the divided peoples/classes of India. Even celebrities have the power to incite change. Late American Pop singer/artist Michael Jackson’s song “Heal the World” (1991) and its related foundation donated 300 million dollars to charities; as well, his songs and music videos have raised much awareness about helping others in need around the world.
In this same spirit, I was pleased to observe one young lady tackling the subject of beauty using the pages of a fashion magazine. Since this is also an important concern in my art as a woman artist, I was elated to see a “mini me”! In a thoughtful gesture this student placed images of Black and White female models side by side, courageously and confidently setting out to balance images of race in advertisements that stereotype ideals of female beauty through her own personal ad! It’s these small revolutionary acts in a student’s life that can pave the way for being a more active and conscientious future citizen.
Video of Students’ Collages
For your viewing pleasure here are some images of the students’ works in progress. I took as many good photos of the works as I could while simultaneously hopping about helping the class! My deepest apologies for the collages I missed capturing. Thanks to all the students for allowing me to share their art works.
Video of Students Collage Journal Pages (for PC click here)
Video of Students Collage Journal Pages (for MAC click here)
*Please note the video takes less than a minute to load… I appreciate your patience
Video Music: “Heal the World” (1991) by Michael Jackson
My Thoughts for the Students
Whatever you become, where ever you go in life, don’t forget these important ideals your teacher has passed on to you. Even if you don’t become a high-flying political leader, in whatever role you choose: an ordinary citizen; a working mom; a sales clerk or construction worker, do some little thing that makes the world a better place. If you reach celebrity status, remember where you came from and try to give back to the world. And, don’t forget, when you need to visualize something to transform your life or the world, collaging is a great place to start! It can help you to imagine the bigger picture and begin to see what you can do to make the changes you’d like to see.
I loved all of your collages, even the messy sticky ones and the ones with images that weren’t cut out properly – it’s all okay, with time and practice, you’ll get better at these things. The hardest part you’ve already achieved – taken a dream and tried to make it real by speaking about it with images. This takes much courage so be proud of yourselves!
Special Thanks
My deepest thanks to teachers Catherine and Christine for overseeing the students. Their enthusiastic support and guidance has taught me much in a brief time! Thanks too to my hubby/tech Kevin Casey (my “guy Friday”) for hauling supplies and assisting me with demos and presentations. Last but not least, thanks to the students who gave me such a valuable and fun learning experience – they’re my most important teachers. I will not forget their wonderful visions for improving the world!
*It’s important to note that images from magazines such as National Geographic which feature marginalized world cultures are taken from the view point of western photographers and media who have their own agendas of how these people should be portrayed for western audiences. Academics have written much on this subject. Every magazine has its biases; it’s crucial to understand something of the context their images where created in so they can be used effectively. If you’re curious to learn more, see “Film Cameras…” link below.
Other Related Links:
The Collage Artist Goes Back to School
Emma Tarlo: Clothing Matters (Gandhi)
Film, Cameras and the Documentary Encounter
Michael Jackson
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