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The Circle Game or, what counts as. . . .(art, knowledge, literature, science etc)
The circle game is an exercise designed to stimulate exploration of concepts such as art and knowledge by discussion of a number of cases that may or may not fall under that concept.
Draw three circles in chalk on the floor in the middle of your circle of students and label one "art", one "not art" and the other "?". (More circles can be added during the process if the class want to make finer or different distinctions.)
Group students into twos or threes and give each group two or three slips of paper on which are boldly written the items which might or might not fall under the concept. Ask them to decide which circle those items belong in, and why. No one should lay any items down in the initial discussion stage.
Then, invite groups to place their items in the appropriate circle, explaining why. The rest of the class may comment on or challenge each placement. Alternatively, ask all to place their cards down at once, and then invite comments and challenges. Ask “which ones are clearly in the right place and why?” and “which seem to be in the wrong category?”
The facilitator can help focus this process by keeping track on the board of the different characterizations of the concept that emerge. These can then become the raw material for a coherent overall account or definition of the concept, or for an understanding of why such a thing is difficult or impossible.
ART List: (mix up the items before you hand them out)
a postcard of the Mona Lisa a forgery of the Mona Lisa the statue of the Virgin at the local Catholic Church the statue of liberty the Lord's Prayer a Mills and Boon novel comic books a Ferrari window dressing TV advertisements a really good joke a bad joke pop songs the Junior School Orchestra's first attempt at Beethoven's Fifth a painting by a four year old a men's urinal put in an art gallery by a famous artist a splash of paint dropped by Picasso designer clothes clothes from Katie's a beautiful shell found on the beach photos in the newspaper graffiti a well-executed murder . . . . and anything else that might "test" the concept of art.
Commentary and some supplementary questions: to inform the questioning by the facilitator.
a postcard of the Mona Lisa a forgery of the Mona Lisa Neither of these are the “real artwork”, but raise questions about the status of reproductions and copies. Is a very poor reproduction still art? If the forgery is art (because, say, it is a painting) is it the same art work as the original? If not, what makes the difference, since all observable properties are the same? Is “being painted by X” a property of the artwork?
the statue of the Virgin at the local Catholic Church the statue of liberty The question that could be raised here is whether things that perform non-artistic functions still count as art. They probably do, if they can be said to be art as well. But what is the object’s primary purpose? If its primary purpose is not to be art, then can it be art? Does anyone see the statue of the Virgin as art? Or is it an object of worship, or a symbol of something? If the Statue of Liberty is art, are all the little plastic reproductions of it art too?
the Lord's Prayer a Mills and Boon novel Sometimes people don’t see writing as art. Poetry and great works of literature surely are art, but what about other writing? Is the Lord’s Prayer a poem? Are all prayers poems? How good does a novel have to be to qualify as art, and would the Mills and Boon qualify? Do people treat the Mills and Boon story like an art work? What does it mean to treat something as if it were art?
comic books As above, but with issues raised about the pictorial element. Do the pictures make comics art? Are some comics art and others not? Why? How about comic strips in the paper? Compare Donald Duck and Gary Larsen.
a Ferrari The designer of the Ferrari payed attention to form as well as function - and they do look beautiful. Is everything that is made to be beautiful art? Are all car designs art? Even the endlessly similar modern Japanese models? What about pens, stationary, fancy entrees at expensive restaurants?
window dressing TV ads Both of these have a clear commercial purpose - does that conflict with their art status? If we think they are art, what about them makes us say that? Something characteristic about their content? Their resemblance to socially recognised art? Are there ads that are art and ads that aren’t? Why? Ask for examples and reasons.
a really good joke a bad joke Brings up the possibility that a very good X is art even if bad ones aren’t. Also, jokes can be like poems - they play on words and meanings, they make you think, they give pleasure. Does this make them art? Is everything that expresses a clever idea art?
pop songs the Junior School Orchestra's first attempt at Beethoven's Fifth Is all music art? Is the Junior School’s performance a performance of Beethoven? Even if Beethoven’s Fifth is art, is every performance of it art? If the cat walking across the piano keys sounds like music, is that art?
a painting by a four year old We usually think paintings are art - is this a limiting case? Did the four year old intend to create art? Did they even intend to produce the thing they did? How important are the artists in intentions? Compare with Picasso’s splash of paint.
a men's urinal put in an art gallery by a famous artist A famous artwork - “Fountain” by Marcel Duchamp. He didn’t make the urinal, just titled it and put it in the gallery. Could anyone have done this? Can anyone succeed in making things art? Do you have to recognised by the art world first? Can I call my toilet art, for a day, and succeed in making it so?
a splash of paint dropped by Picasso Is anything done by an artist art? Surely not - this case limits the previous one. Art may have to be made by recognised artists, but what they intend by what they do will be crucial. Could Picasso sign the splash afterwards and make it art? Could someone else?
designer clothes clothes from Katie's Same story as the Ferrari - if designer clothes are art, what’s the significant difference between them and clothes from Katie’s, if there is a difference? Is there a difference between designer clothes and wearable art? Is the intended function what is important here?
a beautiful shell found on the beach Natural things are clearly beautiful - are they art? Does art need a maker? Is God the artist in this case? Does work have to be done on objects to make them art? Could a recognised artist put the shell in a gallery and make it art? Can we make it art just by thinking it so?
photos in the newspaper Many photos are art - are these ones? What would make the difference between those that were and those that weren’t? Are holiday snapshots art?
graffiti Graffiti can be like a joke or like a poem or it can be just a name or a greeting. Is graffiti art? Why? If some graffiti is art, should it be preserved on walls because of its art status?
a well-executed murder A murder can be planned and executed (pardon the pun) with as much attention to form, colour, meaning and expressiveness as any artwork. Could it be art? Does the primary purpose of something determine what it is?
If anything can be art, and anyone can make art, what does it mean to be an artist? |
