Project Title: Body Prints
Artistic Noise Year: 2016
Description: Contemporary artist David Hammons created a series of body prints in the 1960’s and 70’s. Hammons spoke of these works as his “moral obligation as a black artist to try to graphically document what I feel socially”. It felt timely to revisit these works and the concepts behind the creation of them with Artistic Noise youth artists in 2016. Although these prints are dealing with some very complex issues, the act of creating them is actually quite celebratory, playful and completely messy. The youth artists decide on a gesture that represents how they feel that day. Their emotions responded to their incarceration, their love of family, and also the playful quality of the project. Using vaseline (Hammons used grease) the youth artists covered either their faces or hands and pressed these onto large sheets of paper. We then dusted the paper with charcoal powder and when we removed the excess charcoal these beautiful and haunting images emerged. These workshops were experimental, spontaneous and fun. Objectives and Goals: This project uses David Hammons series of Body Prints from the 1960’s and 70’s as a point of departure for youth artists to create their own body prints that deal with the complexities of incarceration and race, as well as the playfulness of being teenagers. Creative/Technical Skills: Youth artists play with materials such as charcoal pigment. They learn how to create body prints to convey a specific message. They learn about body gesture and how this can create meaning and emotion. Critical/Conceptual Skills: Learning about contemporary artist David Hammons through open ended yet focused questions. Youth artists are
encouraged to express a particular idea, emotion or experience through their gesture. They are encouraged to think how a two dimensional work of art can express such complex issues as race, incarceration and adulthood. Youth artists write and speak about their work, developing their ability to think critically. For examples of this technique watch this short video https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning (top left corner). For info on David Hammons work: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/127864?locale=en Materials: Charcoal powder, vaseline, popsicle sticks, baby wipes, large heavy paper (such as 16x20 or 18x24 Bristol Board). It is good to have newsprint pads to store the artwork before they are sprayed with fixative or hairspray. Wear all black the day you do these, it is messy but fantastic! Process: 1) Look at the work of David Hammons as a group. - Ask the participants to slow down and look deeper through the following open-ended questions: What do you notice in this work? How do you think this work was created? What do you think it is about? Does it mean anything to you? - As participants answer the questions, feel free to ask further questions to force a deeper interpretation, as well as sprinkle in facts about the work and Hammons. At the end make sure the young people have a good understanding of David Hammons’ Body Print series and what he was trying to convey. 2) Begin Artmaking
- Ask participants to think about how they are feeling today. Have them describe and write down five gestures using either their hands or face that convey these emotions. It is really great to have them write it down so when we get to the messy part they have a roadmap to follow.
- It is best if all the participants can sit at the same table. Give each participant a scoop of Vaseline on a scrap piece of paper.
- Demo how to make the print so they can see it: spread vaseline on either hands or face and then press into the paper, afterwards sprinkle just a bit (it
doesn’t take much) charcoal powder onto the Vaseline imprints and then pour off excess (like glitter on glue).
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Have fun and make a mess! Encourage each participant to make 3-5 prints. Lay them all out and look at them as a group to discuss. (Optional): Have each youth choose 1 artwork to present and write an artist statement for the display.
Example:
Youth Artist: Jesus Title: Family There’s one face on the top and they are giving a hug and there are hand prints around it meaning you’re locked into your family and you can’t get out. For me this is a good thing because I love my family.