Untitled
2010
Below is the Proposal I used to sketch out how I would make this work for the school
PS 65 SITES FOR STUDENTS
DAVE EPPLEY
STATEMENT OF CONCEPT AND PHILOSOPHY
My own past work is made directly from the site- it is my canvas. After assessing a space and working out an idea, my process starts and ends with my presence at the site. Through the routine of my working at a site, whether it be a gallery or public space I am able to gain a deeper level of appreciation and understanding about the site, its inhabitants and the workers that keep it alive and running. I feel I can truly connect with a space unlike a painter or sculptor, because I am there in the space to experience its ups, its downs and the occurrences that happen in it over a long period of time.
For this project I would like to create a “vine” of green stripes with colorful flowerings that extends the perimeter of the cafeteria walls. This vine-like form will be created with and from imagery of student work and my interpretations of that student work. The shape of the vine’s stalk and it’s complex foliage will be inspired from student projects that deal with nature and their surrounding neighborhood. The vine will be the foundation and central part of the work, paying mind to fixtures, corners and parts of the walls that distinguish themselves as visually interesting. The flowerings of this vine will be comprised of images reflecting the school’s community and surrounding neighborhood framed in colorful petals. The finished piece will be a work I make that is directly informed from student images, both artistic and verbal executed and documented during my class sessions at PS 65.
I intend to teach the students about basic art concepts such as line, form, color and positive/negative space through the prism of nature and their surrounding neighborhood. The 10-20 classes in which I will work with the students will be divided into two parts each of which will be followed by a vinyl installation completed by myself:
Part One will focus on lines and positive/negative shapes in nature. We will utilize the nearby Highland Park as our primary resource for visual aids and inspiration. Whether it be in pictures or visits to the park itself, students will draw trees, leaves, roots, and other linear natural forms. These drawings will be further developed through different materials such as colored pencil, paint, and finally vinyl. The works made during this first part will be the primary resource for making the main vine that will run the length of the cafeteria walls. I will use student works directly and indirectly to inform the divisions, turns and positive/negative shapes of the line itself. Color, proportion and overall composition will be at my discretion so as to allow for a well balanced “informed” piece that works well with the space.
Part Two will focus on form and color. Students will identify landmarks, people, shops, foods, streets, vendors, signs, houses and buildings in PS 65’s vicinity that play an important or significant role in their lives. Images and related words of these identified locations will be transferred to a workable printing plate using a special process of image transfer. After printing multiple copies students and I will choose the best prints. These prints be will transferred directly to vinyl stencils using a computer technique. The drawings will then be framed in brilliantly colored pentagons to adorn the vine with a foliage that reflects the energy and vitality of the school’s community and surrounding neighborhood.
Part Three will commence after these two parts are completed in vinyl. Using a drawings and schematic markings the entire work will be transferred with layered acrylic paint. The layered paint will be sanded and smoothed to a similar gloss of vinyl but with a beautiful soft patina. Because of its glossy nature the work will can be easily cleaned.
This approach to the cafeteria of PS 65 is based on two successful lesson plans I have used over two years with students from 3rd grade through high school. The results of the younger classes is always more complex and diverse than that of the older grades. I thoroughly enjoy working with younger students because of their limitless imaginations and ability of invention. My years of teaching with this age range has informed my own evolution as an artist, giving me new ideas for line, form and color arrangements.
The evolution of the piece bringing the students’ interpretation of their surroundings into the school will become the core of my teaching curriculum during the installation of the tape and paint. This part will “feed back” to the students what they have given to me as an artist, and will illustrate for them the artistic process and how they have contributed to it. The students will learn that art is made from a combination of the elements we have studied in Parts One and Two.
The final work will show the students input and the evolution of the process of making art. They will come to understand that line, form, and color are the fundamentals for making art. As the project unfolds, they will see and come to understand that art is also their understanding and interpretations of their environment
DAVE EPPLEY
STATEMENT OF CONCEPT AND PHILOSOPHY
My own past work is made directly from the site- it is my canvas. After assessing a space and working out an idea, my process starts and ends with my presence at the site. Through the routine of my working at a site, whether it be a gallery or public space I am able to gain a deeper level of appreciation and understanding about the site, its inhabitants and the workers that keep it alive and running. I feel I can truly connect with a space unlike a painter or sculptor, because I am there in the space to experience its ups, its downs and the occurrences that happen in it over a long period of time.
For this project I would like to create a “vine” of green stripes with colorful flowerings that extends the perimeter of the cafeteria walls. This vine-like form will be created with and from imagery of student work and my interpretations of that student work. The shape of the vine’s stalk and it’s complex foliage will be inspired from student projects that deal with nature and their surrounding neighborhood. The vine will be the foundation and central part of the work, paying mind to fixtures, corners and parts of the walls that distinguish themselves as visually interesting. The flowerings of this vine will be comprised of images reflecting the school’s community and surrounding neighborhood framed in colorful petals. The finished piece will be a work I make that is directly informed from student images, both artistic and verbal executed and documented during my class sessions at PS 65.
I intend to teach the students about basic art concepts such as line, form, color and positive/negative space through the prism of nature and their surrounding neighborhood. The 10-20 classes in which I will work with the students will be divided into two parts each of which will be followed by a vinyl installation completed by myself:
Part One will focus on lines and positive/negative shapes in nature. We will utilize the nearby Highland Park as our primary resource for visual aids and inspiration. Whether it be in pictures or visits to the park itself, students will draw trees, leaves, roots, and other linear natural forms. These drawings will be further developed through different materials such as colored pencil, paint, and finally vinyl. The works made during this first part will be the primary resource for making the main vine that will run the length of the cafeteria walls. I will use student works directly and indirectly to inform the divisions, turns and positive/negative shapes of the line itself. Color, proportion and overall composition will be at my discretion so as to allow for a well balanced “informed” piece that works well with the space.
Part Two will focus on form and color. Students will identify landmarks, people, shops, foods, streets, vendors, signs, houses and buildings in PS 65’s vicinity that play an important or significant role in their lives. Images and related words of these identified locations will be transferred to a workable printing plate using a special process of image transfer. After printing multiple copies students and I will choose the best prints. These prints be will transferred directly to vinyl stencils using a computer technique. The drawings will then be framed in brilliantly colored pentagons to adorn the vine with a foliage that reflects the energy and vitality of the school’s community and surrounding neighborhood.
Part Three will commence after these two parts are completed in vinyl. Using a drawings and schematic markings the entire work will be transferred with layered acrylic paint. The layered paint will be sanded and smoothed to a similar gloss of vinyl but with a beautiful soft patina. Because of its glossy nature the work will can be easily cleaned.
This approach to the cafeteria of PS 65 is based on two successful lesson plans I have used over two years with students from 3rd grade through high school. The results of the younger classes is always more complex and diverse than that of the older grades. I thoroughly enjoy working with younger students because of their limitless imaginations and ability of invention. My years of teaching with this age range has informed my own evolution as an artist, giving me new ideas for line, form and color arrangements.
The evolution of the piece bringing the students’ interpretation of their surroundings into the school will become the core of my teaching curriculum during the installation of the tape and paint. This part will “feed back” to the students what they have given to me as an artist, and will illustrate for them the artistic process and how they have contributed to it. The students will learn that art is made from a combination of the elements we have studied in Parts One and Two.
The final work will show the students input and the evolution of the process of making art. They will come to understand that line, form, and color are the fundamentals for making art. As the project unfolds, they will see and come to understand that art is also their understanding and interpretations of their environment
