Week 6
Week 6
Instructional Activities
Lecture & Readings
Click on the links below to access this week's lecture and reading
materials.
Readings
Introduction to Collecting
Videos
Artist Feature Videos
Personal Collection Assignment Demonstration
Quiz
Take the Personal Collection Quiz (located under "Quizzes" in the
menu) on the information we have learned in this module. Questions
will cover both the online reading and the artist feature videos.
Reminder: There are questions NOT from the online readings & the
Artist Feature Videos in the quiz. These questions are aimed to test
your understanding of the artists' styles, thinking, approach, etc.
While the artworks on the quizzes are not addressed in the course
readings and Artist Feature videos, they are very similar in style to
the ones that are covered. You should be able to utilize your
gained knowledge to correctly identify them.
You should have completed all of the activities listed in this module
prior to taking the quiz.
Art Assignment
Please complete the Peer Assessments for the Correspondence with
Memory assignment. You will be asked to assess the works of two
peers.
See the details for the personal collection assignment. When you are
ready to submit the assignment, go to the Peer Assessments
page and start the process of uploading your photographs and
completing your Artist Statement.
You can view the Peer Assessment Rubric that will be used to
evaluate your assignment. This rubric can help to guide your efforts.
Please note: next week, you will need to complete two peer
assessments of other students' Stories Through the Lens art
submissions. See Suggestions for Critiquing Art and the List of
Adjectives to help you in writing constructive and personal feedback
to your peers.
Shawabti
People collect for numerous reasons, all of which are indicative of their
personalities, views in life, and goals for the future. Collections may be
personal or professional, private or public. While some collectors
gather information of interest to share with the public, others choose
to concentrate on personal collections that are kept as private
spectacles. For example, museums have numerous collections of
natural and artificial items that continue to expand and evolve. These
collections not only provide us with important information, but also
engage us. We are pulled into collections with their thought-provoking
stories and fascinating stylistic attributes. While collecting is a
conscious decision, it often happens subconsciously. We are natural
gatherers and it is in our habit to form behavioral patterns. Whether
the reasons for accumulating and even hoarding material may be
private addiction, a fascination with history, tracing of family roots,
curiosity, or mere storytelling, they may be found in most households,
cultures and parts of the world.
Claes Henry Walter Bates, "Plate from Contributions to an insect fauna
of the Amazon Valley, Lepidoptera: Heliconidae," 1862.
Above all, there is a great sense of pride and fulfillment in the "art" of
collecting. As collectors gather, they experience intense anticipation of
acquiring important items that will make their collection more
intriguing. While that discovery may seem irrelevant to others,
accumulating a multitude of related items is a satisfying experience for
the collector. It may be compared to collecting sea shells, sports
cards, or small toys in childhood, and the joy a child feels when he or
she finds another similar object to add to the assembly. Even though
compiling the contents of collections is an enjoyable task, trading is
often just as important. Through trading, collectors exchange useful
information and items to enrich their own collections.
Cabinets of Curiosities
Cabinets of Curiosities may be viewed as a specific type of display
that has influenced our modern-day approach to collecting and
showcasing. Rooms of curiosities are larger-scale cabinets that have
also impacted our way of presenting and viewing personal finds. By
learning about the cabinets, their contents and their relationship to the
viewers, we can gain a better understanding of how they served as
models for display. Examining the contents of the cabinets will show
the remarkable blend of multidisciplinary matter combined under one
roof or within a single cabinet.
Collecting in the 16th and 17th centuries took on a bizarre and quite
innovative form. Personal collections were displayed inside
the Wunderkammern, or Cabinets of Wonder, also known as the
Cabinets of Curiosities. Larger-scale collections filled
the Kunstkammern, or Rooms of Curiosities. The purpose of these
cabinets and rooms was to obtain the most fantastic and rare finds in
order to gain a better understanding of life's mysteries and to
demonstrate the wonderful creations of man and nature. Their titles
referred to the contents' astounding attributes and the reaction they
triggered from the gasping public.
These small and large "chambers" served as shells for the most
incredible blend of art, science, history, medicine, and folklore. This
versatile mixture of materials and categories blurred their differences,
resulting in fantastic and creative displays of fact and fiction. Each
cabinet symbolized a microcosm, a small representation of the world
as seen by its creator. Famous English philosopher, essayist, and
leading figure of modern science, Francis Bacon, astutely described
the crossing between disciplines in the Cabinets of Curiosities when
he wrote in 1594's Gesta Grayorum: "a goodly, huge cabinet, wherein
whatsoever the hand of man by exquisite art or engine has made rare
in stuff, form or motion; whatsoever singularity, chance, and the
shuffle of things hath produced; whatsoever Nature has wrought in
things that want life and may be kept; shall be sorted and
included."(Francis Bacon)
Function, Purpose, and Meaning of Cabinets
The Cabinets and Rooms of Curiosities were filled with "goodies", or
collections of unusual and rare finds, from all over the world. Whether
they belonged to the natural or man-made category, they were
proudly showcased side-by-side in these "treasure chests." Their
placement and presentation were evocative of the collector's personal
taste and understanding of the accumulated items. Environmental
acquisitions consisted of preserved natural specimens like unique
rock formations, pickled monsters, skeletal remains, fossils,
mummified animals and humans, minerals, precious and semi-
precious stones and shells; artificial ones contained jewels, figurines,
coins, artifacts, works of art, medical and scientific tools, weapons,
various inventions and more. For instance, Ostrich Egg
Goblet, created from 1570-1575 by Clement Kicklinger, a master
craftsman from Augsburg, is a marriage between natural and artificial
materials. Clever combinations of gold, silver, coral, and ostrich egg
shell produces a fantastic juxtaposition of real and extraordinary
subject matter reminiscent of Salvador Dali's Surrealist paintings. A
towering ostrich is led on the leash by a moor. While carrying a
magnificent ostrich egg, elaborately ornamented with gold and red
coral, the ostrich holds in his beak a horseshoe with an intention to
consume it. This emblem of luck also signifies the ostrich's immense
power and strength in being able to digest metal.
Claes Clement Kicklinger, "Ostrich-Egg Goblet," 1570-1575
The horseshoe is the ostrich's form of nourishment. Surrounding coral
branches serve as a healing luck charm against evil and damage to
blood and intestines. Ostrich Egg Goblet is one among many works
that demonstrate just how much thought, skill, and creativity were
invested into a piece worthy of a cabinet.
Collectors of Curiosities
Reorganized Collections
Cabinets Today
Cabinets Online
Eagerly waiting to surprise and welcome new visitors, The Royal
Danish Kunstkammer retains 250 objects of the
original Kunstkammer founded by King Frederik III. This
extraordinary Cabinet of Curiosities may also be entered and explored
virtually, allowing viewers to closely examine each marvel while sitting
in front of their computer. The Kunstkammer also allows anyone to
create their own collection of curiosities or an exhibition online. This
interactive, virtual Kunstkammer creates a bridge between past and
present, merging the old with the new. It is an amazing opportunity to
learn about the cabinets, their history, contents, owners, and
collectors and then react to them by producing personal
virtual Cabinets of Curiosities.
http://www.museumsandtheweb.com/mw2002/abstracts/prg_17000068
6.html
ntroduction
Collecting is an important part of many people’s lives. For some
people collecting is a hobby. For others, collecting is a passion, an
obsession, and a way of life. Collections may be personal,
professional, or institutional, each type unique and versatile in its
own way. For some, collecting means gaining peace of mind, an
escape from the mundane world, and entry into a world of wonder.
For others, collecting is a constant treasure hunt full of anticipation
and excitement.
Purpose
By producing a Cabinet of Curiosities that displays your personal
collection, you will not only learn about collecting and cabinets, but
you will have a creative opportunity to demonstrate and
incorporate your understanding of key concepts and techniques
from across the course. In a brief Artist Statement, you will
describe the idea behind your artwork, your medium, process and
the overall intentions.
8.
Goals & Objectives
If you don't really have any experience working with various art
mediums, you may want to visit the Art Elements & Techniques
videos from Week 1. There you will find a gallery of videos that will
guide you through using a variety of art mediums and they will
explain various techniques on how to use them.
Some videos and resources you may find helpful for this
assignment are :
• All of the Art Elements & Art Techniques Videos
• Especially: “Color Media Techniques: Acrylic Paint, Watercolor
and Colored Ink”, “Using Pastels”, “Proper Cutting
Technique” and “Using Different Types of Glue”
• Personal Collection Demonstration Video
• The Photography Guide (PDF)