High Lights And Coloured Spots

WHAT

This workshop was planned in connection with a temporary exhibition Degas to Picasso—French Masterpieces from the Pushkin Museum, Moscow that was exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest from 28 January 2010 to 2 May 2010.  The exhibition included paintings of different impressionist artists, such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, August Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh.

During the workshop adult learners could try making paintings of different coloured spots, stripes, blotches and splotches, that resembles the method used by impressionists painters who innovated the use of colours, being aware of how they work together and influence one another.

WHERE
In the Marble Hall, one of the grand galleries in Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. (www.szepmuveszeti.hu). The workshop ‘Join us, create your own art’’ was organised by the Education Department of the Museum as part of the Museum + programme (link) which are open to all Museum visitors. Live jazz music and a café are also situated close by in the Marble Hall. 

WHEN
18.00 – 21.00, Thursday. February 18, 2010

WHO
FACILITATORS AND STAFF
Flóra Kevély, Museum Educator
Éva Birkás, Museum Educator
Zsuzsanna Papp, Volunteer

ADULT LEARNERS:
Twenty men and women, four of whom were members of the Museum staff. Most learners from the general public came from middle or upper-middle class backgrounds (the Museum charges for admission fee equivalent to the cost of purchasing a ticket to the temporary exhibition) and chose to join the workshop whilst visiting the collections. Learners from the Museum (volunteers and museum educators) chose to participate in their free time.

WHY
For learners to:
•    Enjoy painting with and blending different colours
•    Learning how to blend certain colours
•    Experience that a picture can be made up of many small spots

For facilitators to:
•    Explore how people create pictures from various small spots instead of drawing outlines or figures which is a more common way of making pictures.

HOW
1.    The workshop took place along one side of the huge gallery round four tables placed together. These were encircled by chairs where learners could sit and work comfortably. Printed out reproductions of paintings, tempera, brushes and water were placed on the table.
2.    As people approached the tables, staff explained the concept to them. The learners chose a picture they liked from the reproductions. Then they could ask for different sized and coloured (from white to light yellow), relatively thick paper for painting.
3.    Staff helped learners blend certain colours if needed.
4.    Many participants left their paintings on the bench along the Marble Hall’s wall to let them dry then they picked them up on their way back from a guided tour or other programs. As a result, a spontaneous gallery grew that attracted other visitors as well.
5.    After finishing their work, learners were offered passages of different impressionist poets’ poems (for example Apollinaire and Rimbaud) as a present.

VALUE FOR LEARNERS
When beginning many learners were doubtful whether they could do it and how pleased they would be with their results. However, quality reproductions and a range of colours were so attractive that almost everybody the facilitators delicately invited to join in did sit down and try out the technique. Newcomers found it easier to join when seeing others already engaged as they could have a glimpse at what exactly could be done. There were people who had a look, gave an excuse why they didn’t want to try it saying “I can’t draw” or “I couldn’t even draw at school” and then later they returned and joined in. Maybe they mulled it over after walking away and couldn’t help returning. A few times a “division of labour” developed where the woman, often encouraged by the man painted, while he mixed the colours for her and gave her advice.

Most of the learners became immersed in painting and spent quite a long time at the table. They made nice pictures without any more help from the facilitators (the most frequent question was how to blend this or that colour) and they were more or less satisfied with the results. Moreover, they were obviously happy with the fact that they could paint a picture with a technique that was new and unusual for them. One girl who thought she had spoiled her picture irreparably told the facilitators in the end, “I have nothing to do with it at all but I really enjoyed the process. Thank you very much!”

All the other participants seemed to enjoy the process itself as well. There was an Italian family which was especially enthusiastic: the two sons, who were about 30 years old painted with their father painting onto their pictures from time to time. They were so happy that in the end they called their friends on the phone who were taking a sightseeing tour somewhere in Budapest to come and see their works of art.

It seemed to be a great experience for others as well. Three people asked the facilitators to send them the digital pictures taken of them for documentation via e-mail.

VALUE FOR FACILITATORS
Facilitators learned that people are attracted to painting and mixing colors.  Therefore probably any activity in connection with painting might be successful. In this case it was intensified by examples of impressionist paintings since impressionism is a very popular period of art history nowadays among visitors.

The basic concept was to have people make paintings with coloured spots, but the facilitators prepared other reproductions just in case some learners preferred a different style. These pictures were not painted with spots, but in the facilitators’ opinion, easy to copy, and the originals were from the same period. The facilitators let learners cut out motifs from the reproductions if they thought it would be helpful when copying the chosen work of art but no learners chose this option. The facilitators had thought this would provide assistance to those lacking in self-confidence, however, most likely people found the activity doable even if they were wary about how successful their finished product might be. Out of 20 people only about 5 learners chose a picture that couldn’t be copied by painting coloured spots one next to the other.

The facilitators expected to have to help more, but the learners worked surprisingly independently and according to the given instructions.
Only one problem emerged, when a man, who chose a picture not from spots, had some questions concerning the technique. The facilitators didn’t know the exact answer, although the man needed the information to continue his work. The question remains as to what facilitators should do when they can not answer a question posed by a learner.