School of Tacet
(2024)
As an artist and educator, I am a passionate advocate for art as a developmental and research-based process. This process prioritizes deep, scaffolded learning that fosters independence and understanding. In my teaching experience, I have observed that not all schools apply this approach; preferring to suppress student voice in favour of silent, uniform attainment.
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Presented here is a developmental project by a fictional school that takes this antithetical approach to a hyperbolic extent. The school is conducting a research project to develop an allegorical device designed to constrain students' minds and suppress their individuality, independence, and creativity.
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The school presents negative values as if they are positive, echoed in the materiality of the work, printed as 52 film negatives. Investigate the work to see at once the deep understandings that can be achieved through the school’s research-based approach, and the dangers of the school’s aims.
Installation Gallery
Digital
Exhibition
A Clockwork Student
Having a clock implanted in their mask can help students stay regimented. The constant haunting reminder of time passing maximises efficiency. The ticking of the clock echoes in their skulls, muffling distractions and independent thoughts that could derail focus.
Ritual of Invocation
In African cultures the mask is a physical mechanism to initiate transformation, whereby the wearer takes on a new identity, allowing them to channel the spirit the mask invokes. Schools are built upon rigid foundations of stone. By wearing a mask of clay, students become another brick in the wall.
Mask of the Mascot
The emblem of a school is an allegorical picture, often inscribed with a motto supplemental to the visual image with which it forms a single unit of meaning. A school’s emblem often features an animal/ mythical creature whose qualities are emblematic of the school’s virtues, serving as a mascot that inspires students to embody those qualities.
Notation of Silence
This is the rest icon used in sheet music to dictate silence. This emblem represents discipline and quietude, aligning with the school’s commitment to enforce a focussed, silent learning environment.
Limit Communication
Classrooms with masked students are efficient learning environments that minimise distractions, promote individual focus, discourage independent thinking and enhance listening skills, fostering respect for authority, and facilitating assessment of student progress and comprehension without peer interference. For this reason, the Mask no longer has a mouth, muffling any attempt at communication.
Silence Student Voice
The mask that cover students' mouths ensures a focused and disciplined learning environment, reducing distractions and promoting mechanistic success. Disciplined silence fosters unity and collective efficiency, leading to consistent and high-quality performance.
De-humanise the Student
Displace personal backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and unique traits with conformity and anonymity. Eliminating personal identity, promotes uniform standards and expectations, ensuring equal treatment and opportunities for success. By presenting students as animals, achievement is earned through unbiased merit and students understand their command to be obedient to their superiors.
Embrace the Cage
Pandas are quiet animals, that benefit from institutionalisation. It has been proven that the life-expectancy of the panda doubles in captivity, and strict regiments regulate internal circadian rhythms.
Covers the Airways
Students wear the masks to limit inspiration, with its potential to spark diverse and unconventional ideas. to maintain a standardised model of success. By restricting respiration, and thus the physical comfort necessary for creative thinking, control is ensured that all student output aligns with predefined educational standards.
Bind their Eyes
The mask eliminates peripheral distractions by allowing students to see only through narrow slits, enhancing focus and concentration. Concentrated vision improves comprehension and retention & a distraction-free environment fosters a discipline and productivity.
Ranking Identifier
Each mask is clearly numbered at the crown. Students are identifiable only through their ranking in the school, determined by their attainment and ability to conform to the set expectations. This creates a competitive atmosphere that motivates excellence and fosters a sense of competition that drives academic performance.
Aesthetics of Computationalism
The digital mask represents an algorithmic approach to learning. It trains students to reproduce information accurately, processing data like computers, prioritising correct answers and memorisation over 'critical thinking', individuality or creativity which are discouraged.
De-individualise
Individuality is considered a transgression because it disrupts the desired uniformity. The mask serves to depersonalize the students, thereby fostering uniform success through enforced conformity. This approach ensures that all students adhere to the same standards, promoting a collective identity over personal expression.
