CONTAINMENT AND THE
CONTAINER
A CLAY FIRM SLAB CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
WHAT IS CONCEPTUAL ART?
CONCEPTUAL ART IS art that is meant to convey a concept or idea
through the use of art elements and principles
What are the elements of art?
What are the principles of art?
“In conceptual art, the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the
work. when an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the
planning and decisions are made beforehand.” -Sol leWitt
CONCEPTUAL ART ASKS THE QUESTION: “WHAT IS THE BIG IDEA?”
CONCEPTUAL ARTIST
ONE OF THE LARGEST FIGURES IN
CONCEPTUAL ART WAS SOLOMAN
“SOL” LEWITT
A SCULPTOR AND PAINTER, LEWITT
OFTEN USED SIMPLE LINES AND
SHAPES TO CONVEY HIS IDEAS
FOR LEWITT, THE “IDEA” OF HIS ART
IS BASED ON MATERIAL AND
PROCESS, RATHER THAN TELLING A
NARRATIVE.
SOL LEWITT
"IF THE ARTIST CARRIED THROUGH
HIS IDEA AND MAKES IT INTO VISIBLE
FORM, THEN ALL THE STEPS IN THE
PROCESS ARE OF IMPORTANCE. THE
IDEA ITSELF, EVEN IF NOT MADE
VISUAL, IS AS MUCH A WORK OF ART
AS ANY FINISHED PRODUCT." -LEWITT
"ALL INTERVENING STEPS,
SCRIBBLES, SKETCHES, DRAWINGS,
FAILED WORK MODELS, STUDIES
THOUGHTS, CONVERSATIONS, ARE
OF INTEREST. THOSE THAT SHOW
THE THOUGHT PROCESS OF THE
ARTIST ARE SOMETIMES MORE
INTERESTING THAN THE FINAL
PRODUCT." -LEWITT
“WALL DRAWING #393”
THE CONCEPT OF
CONTAINMENT
CONTAINMENT- the action of keeping something harmful under control
or within limits
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CONTAINED?
WORDS RELATED TO CONTAINMENT: ENCLOSE, TRAP,
SURROUND, INCLUDE, BE FULL OF, HOLD, CONTROL,
RESTRICT, RESTRAIN, CONCEAL
WHAT KIND OF IMAGES CAN YOU USE TO ILLUSTRATE
THESE WORDS?
CONTAINMENT
TO CONTAIN CAN ALSO MEAN TO KEEP AN EMOTION
UNDER CONTROL
WHAT KINDS OF FEELINGS OR EMOTIONS CAN YOU
ASSOCIATE WITH BEING CONTAINED?
WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
THE IDEA OF OUR SLAB CONTAINER IS TO CONVEY THE
CONTAINMENT OF EMOTION.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: CAN YOU THINK OF A TIME
YOU HAD TO CONTAIN/CONCEAL AN EMOTION? WHAT
EMOTION WILL YOUR CONTAINER “CONTAIN”?
HOW WILL YOU ILLUSTRATE YOUR
EMOTION?
LINES CAN BE USED TO EXPRESS EMOTION WITHIN AN
ARTWORK BASED ON LINE QUALITY AND CHARACTER.
LINE CAN BE DEFINED BY THE PATH OF A MOVING POINT
MADE BY A TOOL AS IT MOVES ACROSS AN AREA.
A LINE IS MADE VISIBLE BECAUSE IT CONTRASTS IN
VALUE WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL LINE MAY BE MADE USING STRING,
WIRE, TUBES, SOLID RODS, ETC.
LINE AS EXPRESSION
LINE POSSESSES CHARACTER- A VISUAL SURFACE
QUALITY RELATED TO THE MEDIUM WITH WHICH THE LINE
IS CREATED.
LINE ALSO HAS THE ABILITY FOR EXPRESSION- THE
MANIFESTATION THROUGH ARTISTIC FORM OF A
THOUGHT, EMOTION, OR QUALITY OF MEANING.
LINES CAN EXPRESS DIFFERENT MOOD BASED ON THEIR
THICKNESS, FLUIDITY OR RIGIDNESS, AND LIGHTNESS
LINE AS EXPRESSION
THICK, RIGID LINES CAN
EXPRESS A HEAVY
FEELING (SADNESS)
KATHE KOLLOWITZ
LINE AS EXPRESSION
FLUID, THIN LINES CAN
EXPRESS A DELICATE
FEELING (HAPPINESS,
JOY)
CURVED LINES CAN
VARY IN MEANING:
SHALLOW CURVES
SUGGEST COMFORT,
SAFETY, FAMILIARITY,
AND RELAXATION.
BEATRICE MILHAZE
LINE AS EXPRESSION
DEBORA ODEN
(PRINTMAKER)
USED LINE TO
DESCRIBE OR
REPRESENT
PERSONAL EVENTS.
HTTP://
WWW.YOUTUBE.CO
M/WATCH?V=T1Z4FXXFLO
USING LINE FOR INTERIOR/
EXTERIOR
WHERE YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE YOUR LINES (WHICH WILL REPRESENT THE
EMOTION) CAN FURTHER ILLUSTRATE YOUR IDEA.
THINK ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INTERIOR DECORATION AND
THE EXTERIOR DECORATION: WHAT EMOTION IS YOUR CONTAINER CONTAINING?
ARE YOU USING AN EMOTION ON THE OUTSIDE TO CONCEAL AN EMOTION ON
THE INSIDE?
FOR EXAMPLE: IF YOU WANT TO REPRESENT HAVING TO HIDE BEING SAD, YOU
MAY INCLUDE LINES THAT REPRESENT SADNESS ON THE INTERIOR OF THE
CONTAINER.
ALSO THINK ABOUT INTERIOR/EXTERIOR FOR THE DECORATION: IS THE
INTERIOR TEXTURE, AND THE EXTERIOR SGRAFFITO?
USING LINE TO FORM PATTERN
PATTERN- A REPEATING ELEMENT AND/
OR DESIGN THAT CAN PRODUCE A NEW
SET OF CHARACTERISTICS OR
ORGANIZATION.
THE ELEMENT OF LINE YOU USE CAN
CREATE A PATTERN.
ALL 4 WALLS OF THE CONTAINER, THE
EXTERIOR SHOULD REPEAT THE LINES
YOU USE TO CREATE A PATTERN.
ALSO, THE INTERIOR WILL REPEAT THE
SAME TYPE OF LINES.
MARK YASENCHACK
LINE, PATTERN, & UNITY
WHILE THINKING ABOUT YOUR CONTAINER DESIGN,
CONSIDER THE UNITY OF THE ELEMENTS.
UNITY- the arrangement of elements and principles to create a feeling of
completeness
For your container, you will be using the elements of line, and the principles
of texture and pattern to convey unity in overall piece
WHEN PLANNING AND CREATING YOUR CONTAINER, ASK
YOURSELF: “ARE THE ELEMENTS OF MY CONTAINER COHESIVE?”
“DO THE PARTS LOOK LIKE THEY GO TOGETHER, OR ARE THEY
RANDOM?”
CONTAINER DECORATION
TEXTURE: USING SLABS CREATED IN CLASS
SGRAFFITO: a decorating technique made by scratching or carving
through a layer of glaze before firing to expose the clay body underneath.
Container can be 50% sgraffito, 50% texture (i.e. texture on the exterior,
sgraffito on the interior, vice versa)
Container can also be 30% sgraffito, 30% texture, and 30% negative space
(what is negative space?)
handle for your lid should relate to the line or texture you use on the exterior
(remember that pattern means REPETITION)
PROJECT GUIDELINES
6 SQUARE SLABS, 5 X 5- 6 X 6: 4 FOR THE WALLS, ONE FOR BASE, ONE FOR LID
ALL SLABS MUST BE THE SAME SIZE
ONE ADDITIONAL SLAB WILL BE MADE TO ATTACH TO THE LID, ONE SQUARE INCH
SMALLER THAN THE LID SLAB
LINES MUST BE USED TO EXPRESS EMOTION AND CONVEY A PATTERN
PATTERN ON THE EXTERIOR WILL BE REPEATED ON ALL 4 WALLS TO KEEP THE DESIGN
UNIFIED
REMEMBER TO KEEP THE TEXTURE AND SGRAFFITO UNIFIED
KEEP ASKING YOURSELF: “ARE THE PARTS UNIFIED?” “DO THEY LOOK LIKE THEY FIT
TOGETHER?”
HOMEWORK
RESEARCH IMAGES OF LINE AND/OR PATTERN THAT CAN HELP
REPRESENT YOUR CHOSEN EMOTION: REMEMBER THAT CERTAIN
KINDS OF LINES CONVEY CERTAIN EMOTIONS
FROM THE IMAGES YOU FIND, CREATE 3 DIFFERENT SKETCHES
THAT SHOW THE DESIGN YOU MIGHT CREATE FOR YOUR
CONTAINER
YOUR SKETCHES SHOULD BE THE DIMENSION YOU ARE USING FOR
YOUR SLABS (5X5 OR 6X6)
EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF LINE (CURVY, RIGID,
THICK, THIN)