Year 9 Art and Design students inspired by The Rise of Sneaker Culture
The Year 9 Visual Arts students were blessed with wonderful weather for an excursion to the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) this week.
The students caught the train into the cultural precinct, where they received a guided tour of AGWA's current The Rise of Sneaker Culture exhibition.
"The students were inspired to see how art can extend into everyday culture, such as footwear," said Rachael Sandover, Art and Design Teacher.
"They particularly loved seeing some original 'AirJordans', and the gold studded sneaker (with signature red soles) by fashion designer Christian Louboutin."
After being motivated by popular culture, students had the opportunity to design their own graphic pop-art sneaker.
"I loved creating and designing my own shoes. It allowed me to be creative and do something I don't often do. It also allowed me to take inspiration from a range of different things," commented Kelsey Wolmarans, Year 9.
At PICA, the students focused on a selection of artworks in the 2017 Hatched: National Graduate Show exhibition, which showcases the best works of Fine Arts tertiary graduates across Australia. The girls were blown away to see how exceptional art is not necessarily a painting or drawing, and how the conceptual underpinnings of an artwork are often what gives it impact.
The students then participated in a soft sculpture workshop with Lucas Mack (an artist in the show) where they used his technique of creating objects out of clear packaging tape to reflect the transparency and fragility of notions of gender.
"I loved seeing all the creative pieces of art that people today come up with. It opened my mind to new ideas and the thought that everything can be art if it has a meaning," said Ava Naylor, Year 9.
"I learnt that artwork has so much more meaning and purpose than what meets the eye!" said Beth Prendergast, Year 9.
"Not all art is just paint and canvas or pencil and paper. It can be audio or video or even sticky tape! These other materials can make a message more powerful," said Abigail Morris, Year 9.
Overall, it was a fantastic day where the students were inspired, motivated and thoroughly creative! They can't wait to go back and explore more.