Teams Workshop 5

Group Workshops - Exploring BMAG

(available at https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lNEwwao=/)

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Deashe, Roksana, Hannah Q

Shannon, Suchana

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Deashe, Roksana, Hannah Q

For this task we were given an example worksheet with which to explore the online BMAG virtual tour. Our example worksheet was:

'A is for Alchemy'

"In pairs, find a figurative artwork, one where people are represented, that intrigues you. Consider what the story might be. Discuss how you think the artwork came about. What was the role of the model? What was the role of the artist? What was the power dynamic between the model and the artist, the observed and the observer?".

We chose to use this worksheet to analyse the following portrait:

Deashe's response

The woman in the painting looks uninterested, bored. The fact that she is wearing what appears to be an expensive dress, as well as the jewellery (and box) on the table, makes me think that this was commissioned by someone else who could afford to so often, hence the bored appearance.

The presence of the portrait of a man in the corner of the image makes me think that it could be her husband; even though the woman is meant to be the subject of the painting and is in the centre, it feels as though the painting of the man is the dominant figure in the image. Perhaps this is because the woman is looking off to the side, not at the artist/viewer, whilst the image of the man is looking directly at the artist/viewer. This is also interesting as the image of the man is secondary, further removed from the forefront, as he is not even present at the time that the portrait of the woman is being painted- his image just hangs on the wall, watching over her.

In this way, it is not so much the artist and the model that is the observer and the observed, but the portrait of the husband and the woman.

Creating our own workshop

For our own workshop we wanted to continue the same format as we found it easy to follow and replicate for children.

I decided upon 'A is for Anatomy'- anatomy being the science that studies the structure of the body- as I was interested in the way that traditionally deemed female and traditionally deemed male forms were depicted in Renaissance paintings; Men are usually portrayed as brave and strong, fighting important battles, whereas woman are usually portrayed as delicate and vain, either lying naked on a bed or looking at herself in a mirror.

Our workshop

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Shannon, Suchana

Opinion on the BMAG Virtual Tour:

Shannon Thomson's Opinion:

The virtual tour was clear when walking around and you could get a clear sense of the space as if you where there in person. The structure, the Architecture and floors where extremely clear, It reminded me of a google maps tour as they used a similar format. I found the over all tour interesting as you could visit all floors and appreciate the gallery space in a virtual world. You can see the forms of the sculpture and artworks however when you zoom in to appreciate the works the images become blurred. You can see them but you struggle to appreciate them. Also if you where to zoom in to read labels or signs you would struggle as the words are blurred and unclear.

Suchana Sarker's Opinion:

The virtual tour of the gallery was easy and clear to navigate. It looked and felt like I was playing a virtual reality game on playstation. However, the experience felt isolated mainly because I couldn't see any people inside the gallery. Also, it was hard to view and zoom any writings or artworks, as they become blurred.

Creating our own workshop:

We discussed a number of different workshops that we could use with the children around BMAG that included the artwork, however we wanted to turn the attention away from the artwork and more at the architecture. So we catered our workshop around A is for Architecture. We wanted the children to focus on what is around then getting them to interact with the building by taking several rubbings of the walls and floors.

Workshop Activity Sheet: