This Artist Bank will present artists that engage with the theme of 'Above and Below'.
The theme of 'above and below' in contemporary art explores the dynamic interplay between what lies on the surface and what exists beneath. This collection showcases artists who respond to the concept of 'above and below' in innovative ways, revealing the contrast and connection between visible and hidden realms. Through these artworks, viewers are challenge to engage with the world from multiple perspectives, transcending the boundaries between that which soars above the surface and that which writhes beneath its depths.
Perspective
These works invite viewers to shift their viewpoints, revealing how perspective can transform our understanding of the relationship between what lies above and below, altering our perception of space, depth, and reality.
Anish Kapoor, Sky Mirror, 2006. (Mirror Installation).
[Lesson Idea: This mirror reminds us to see the wonder of the sky above us, which me may otherwise not take the time to look up to the heavens above us. Take students outside to watch the clouds, give them mirrors with which to draw the forms floating above them. For best results, before you go outside ask students to cover the page in blended graphite, and provide students with both erasers and B grade pencils (blending stumps if available) ask students to focus on areas of tone and soft terminators.
Artists like Hilary Brace can offer excellent exemplar images of clouds drawn with Graphite.
Jasper James, City Perspectives, 2006
Julian Beever, About to Meet Mr Newt, 2024. Optical illusion art/ Anamorphosis.
[Resource: Anamorphosis guide TEDx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wujEE3PRVUo]
Leandro Elrich, Dalston House, 2013, (Mirror installation, Optical Illusion)
[Lesson Idea: Theme: Optical illusion art, Concept: creating backgrounds/using existing walls as scenes for 'gravity defying' photographs.]
Margie Livingston, Day Hike: Lake 22, 2018. (Performance/ Land Art)
MC Esher, Three Worlds, 1995. (Lithograph)
[This image works well to describe the process of a reduction print, revealing more in the world with each pass of ink.]
Monica Carvalho, Brushcara, 2024 (Vertical Juxtaposition)
[Lesson idea: produce halves of mages as the one above, ask students to produce creative ideas in response to the vertical juxtaposition. First, come up with thumbnail sketches of 4 ideas, with One design that is developed into a final drawing.
Alternatively, students could create their own drawing, tear it in half down the centre and produce 2 designs as shown above, expanding from the image they started with.
]
Olafur Elliasson, The Weather Project, 2003. (Installation)
Paul Heaston, London to NYC, 2016. (Five Point Perspective POV drawing)
[Lesson Idea: Drawing an empty sketch book, peripheral vision. As Paul Heaston demonstrates above, this is an accessible challenge to encounter 5 point perspective, Exploring the space visually, as a journey of relatioships between objects and ourselves. Resources: Heaston Describing his process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21xN4AVxqLc ]
Rich McCor, Untitled, 2017. (Paper-cutouts).
[Lesson Idea: Responding to the architecture around us, take images of the architecture in your local area, and then ask students to add paper-cuttings on-top of the photograph to create compelling compositions.]
Shirin Abedinirad, Heaven on Earth, 2014. (Mirror installation)
[Lesson Idea: Mirrors can be used to conceal just as much as they can be to reveal.
Photography shoots with mirrors as a tool of concealment can make for interesting compositions.]
Yann Arthus-Bertrand, The Earth from the Air, 2000. (Aerial photography)
Yoko Ono, Cloud Piece,1963. (Instruction Art)
Sea and Sky
Anselm Kiefer, Stalks of the Night, 2003. (Textural Paintings)
Eric Zener, Immersion, 2023. Oil Painting.
[This artist paints distorted figures below the surface, and scenes of vast landscapes, on diving boards high above the surface. Zener is known for his hyper-realistic paintings of swimmers. His work often captures the tranquility, freedom, and introspection associated with being underwater. The interplay of light, water, and the human form evokes a sense of both escape and immersion.
Concept: Submersion, Depth and distance, Resource: https://www.learntopaintwatercolor.com/blog/depth-in-a-painting]
Hilary Brace, Untitled, 2020. Charcoal on Polyester Film.
Janet Echeman, Earthtime 1.26, 2010. (Net artworks, activated by the wind)
Huang Yong Ping, Wu Zei, 2010. (Suspended installation)
[Lesson Idea: Through large installations, we become aware of our own scale to the world around us. Just as in miniature artworks of Tatsuya Tanaka, or Tilt-shift photography which makes the world appear much smaller than it is. Students can be encouraged to be playful with scale, accessing the fine craft of miniatures through drawing and composition.
Resources: Tilt-shift effect - Photoshop tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQBKl3koHN4]
Traversal
Jason deCaires Taylor, Anthropocene, 2011. (Eco-friendly design project)
[Lesson Idea:
Theme: Ecosystems
Concept: Designing environmental art that makes a difference, responding to a brief, looking at research and putting it together within a creative design that raises awareness.
Plan: Introduce through story telling a 'fictional' governmental scheme that is looking to 'sink' a concrete sculpture to the bottom of the ocean to raise awareness to ecological issues. Introduce a tension, discussing how the environmental commission is concerned about the impact on the wildlife and present the solutions this artist came up with above as issues that need to be solved in creative ways. Task students to creatively create something that appeals to both the governmental programme and the environmental commission. Give space for students to ask questions, and provide 'examples' of sculptures to inspire them
Resources: https://www.colleenflanigan.com/lss1.html ]
Nicola Anthony, Murmuration, 2023. (Paper-cutting)
[Lesson idea: Theme: Migration
Concept: Paper Planes/boats: accessible, personal and make-shift vehicles.
Media: Origami paper/ handwritten notes/ book pages/ artwork, hanging wire/ blue paper. - can be observational drawing or installation.
Year 10 Scheme of work
Lesson One - See below, the Sky above.
Concept: In line with the theme 'Above and below', this lesson is designed to ease students into the topic, physically presenting the theme so that students are able to grasp at once the pathways and vastness that this topic opens up to them.
For this (weather dependent) activity, take students outside and lay mirrors on the grass. students are tasked with looking down at the sky above them, drawing images of the clouds they see.
As this is year 10, students are given range for their creative interpretations of this task, however I would recommend giving students standard resources for observational study: charcoal, paper & erasers. Resources:
Ideas for stretch & challenge/ creative freedoms:
Experiment with Colour - e.g. oil pastels/colouring pencils
Experiment with Variety - How many different textures can you capture?
Experiment with Framing - expand your observations to the edges of the mirror and the grass that surrounds it.
This task encourages independence and careful observation, but it is also relaxed and creates a peaceful environment. While students are working, I will have time to see how students are doing, make the first point of connection with students and talk to them about what they are looking forward to about the year.
Further, Students can be encouraged to find compositions for photography, experimenting with using the mirror to connect above and below.
Lesson Two - Just a Position
Concept: Juxtaposing contrasting elements on top of/below each other to subvert expectations/ create meaningful connections between disparate ideas.
Inspired by: Monica Carvalho, Brushcara, 2024 (Vertical Juxtaposition)
Task: Produce images that have been cropped in half vertically, ask students to produce creative responses to complete the vertical juxtaposition. First, come up with thumbnail sketches of 4 ideas, with one design that is developed into a final drawing.
Ideas for stretch & challenge/ creative freedoms:
Development - This is a good way to develop from photography/ drawings, to experiment with and develop ideas. Students may photocopy their work and tear it in half, to reveal interesting connections that branch out of their imagery. (perhaps this should be introduced later in the unit?)
A bigger slice - Photocopy a finished composition and tear it in half, what other compositions can we find this way?
Break the frame - How can we break that divide between the drawings, what meanings does that add?
Lesson Three - Murmuration
Concept: Juxtaposing contrasting elements on top of
Theme: Migration
Concept: Paper Planes/boats: accessible, personal and make-shift vehicles.
Media: Origami paper/ handwritten notes/ book pages/ artwork, hanging wire/ blue paper. - can be observational drawing or installation.
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[This post exists within an organic archive, the contents of this post is not fixed at the time of its publication but will grow as more and more artists are added to it.]
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