Ryokai, K. "The World as a Palette: Painting with Attributes of the Environment"

Abstract

To create everyday art monuments through which we express ourselves--whether in the form of a self-portrait or a life-story�is human nature. Our drive to do so is evident in the natural artistry of young children--representing themselves, people and things around them�through a variety of expressions such as drawing, storytelling, and construction with objects. Yet these creations with diverse media decrease dramatically as traditional forms of literacy take over in school, emphasizing decontextualized and depersonalized forms of expressions.

This thesis is about how people, particularly children, create and interact with everyday art monuments, with an emphasis on techniques to support the narrative connection between the creator, creation, and material the creation is made of. This thesis introduces the concept of building visual art projects with elements extracted directly from the artist�s personal objects and his/her immediate environment, thus allowing child and adult artist alike to turn their world into a palette of color. For example, by picking up a texture from his pet dog�s fur, movements of his own blinking eye, color from his favorite yellow shirt, and by combining these elements into a unique drawing, an artist can not only create a thoroughly personalized piece, but also breathe a new kind of life into the canvas.

A number of key design features of the system were developed through observing both adult and child artists using the novel tools over the course of two years. During the final five-week study in a kindergarten classroom, the tools supported children�s individual creative styles (e.g. �visualizers� versus �dramatizers�), and children�s work reflected upon the aspects of objects and interactions with these objects that were dear to them. In addition, evidence suggests the children acquired an expanded view of art, associating features in paintings with attributes in their environment. The potential of this new medium that allows artistic expression using attributes taken from the real world is discussed.