LESSON RESOURCE: A GLASS OF WATER?
The following lesson has been written for GCSE and A level students. It has been devised with a range of Threshold Concepts in mind. Key concepts we will encounter are illustrated below (click on the images for further information).
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In addition, this resource is linked to the Michael Craig Martin exhibition at the Royal Academy (and a related workshop that we will be leading there on October 5th). The following resources are also connected:
- Boring Things - exploring how, via art and photography, even the most mundane things can take on new interest.
- Stuff & Nonsense - exploring the histories and possibilities of objects and artefacts in art.
INITIAL Prompts And questions
- Where, how, and why do artists begin to make art?
This is a BIG question! There is not one answer. This has always been subject to change with time, tastes, interests and influence. But it is worth wrestling with, to help understand art histories over time, and to help reflect on your own personal art interests and motivations.
- Is art mostly a response to beauty and awe; to profound personal experiences; to big themes of love, life and/or death ... or something else? What motivates you to make art?
And regarding this resource ... - Why might an artist choose to turn their attention to something commonplace and familiar, seemingly plain, boring or mundane?
- To what extent might a glass of water be considered as, or function as, something more than a glass of water? For example, does a glass of water have the potential to be symbolic, essential, purposeful or profound? How does this happen?
- As an artist, how might you creatively respond to a glass of water? How might you use this as an invitation to learn, to make connections, to practice - to lead to something meaningful to you or others?
We often look for the special in special objects or special events but actually, if we understood the quality of ordinary things, we are closer to the substance of life. MICHAEL CRAIG MARTIN |
An Oak Tree, 1973, Michael Craig Martin
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In 1973, artist Michael Craig Martin exhibited a glass of water on a high shelf and declared this 'An Oak Tree'. This was accompanied with a supporting text which was also presented as part of the artwork. The text was written by Craig Martin in a Q&A format – an imagined conversation between two people (or with himself) that playfully discusses and justifies the work. The text is displayed below.
Michael Craig Martin is interested in our perceptions of objects (including art) and how we see, acknowledge and name things - and also the presumptions, expectations, acceptances and beliefs that can arise with this. Craig Martin has cited his experiences of growing-up as an Irish Catholic (mostly in America) as a potential influence in this work. The artwork might be described as a (non physical) 'transfiguration' of an object.
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To explain and speculate further, Catholics believe that during the Mass, the bread and wine are transformed into the actual Body and Blood of Christ (transubstantiation). For believers, this occurs despite the fact that the body and blood of Christ retain the appearance, taste, and texture of bread and wine.
This transfiguration is understood to occur on a metaphysical level, where the substance (or essence) of the bread and wine changes, while the accidents (its observable properties) remain the same. Within the accompanying text for An Oak Tree, Michael Craig Martin uses the word 'accident' to describe an object's observable properties. This is a lesser-known use of the word accident and a reference to philosophical thinking regarding surface appearances (as opposed to the essence of the thing). |
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For art historians and informed others, An Oak Tree might be considered a conceptual artwork in the spirit of Marcel Duchamp’s Readymade sculptures - in that it challenged established artworks, artists and art institutions, and their gatekeepers and visitors. 'Fountain' is Duchamp's most famous readymade sculpture. Created in 1917, it consists of a porcelain urinal signed "R. Mutt". It was submitted for the inaugural exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists at the Grand Central Palace in New York. It was perceived as a direct challenge to the exhibition committee who had stated that all submitting artists who payed the entrance fee would have their work exhibited. Via this act, Duchamp proposed that art could exist in ideas as much as outcomes and artefacts. Duchamp's intent was to shift the focus of art from physical craft to intellectual interpretation. Alfred Stieglitz was a photographer and friend of Duchamp who took this photo of 'Fountain'. In a letter dated 23 April 1917, Alfred Stieglitz wrote: "The "Urinal" photograph is really quite a wonder—Everyone who has seen it thinks it beautiful—And it's true—it is. It has an oriental look about it—a cross between a Buddha and a Veiled Woman." It's interesting to wonder if Stieglitz believed that his photo transformed the urinal into this beautiful wonder he describes, or if the urinal held these associations regardless of being photographed. |
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POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
In the video below, Michael Craig-Martin explains why the same ideas drive him today as when he first started out and how, in the spirit of Duchamp, he likes to provoke questions about what we understand to be art, and about the relationship between a real object and its depiction.
- Transfigure a glass of water into something else. Present this and prove it. Explain yourself, via words, photos, pictures or performance. Transfigure something else into something else, if you wish.
- Devise an application process for the transfiguration of a glass of water. How might you invite others to claim-convert a glass of water into something else? What questions would you ask and procedures and checks would you put into place? Consider how you might document/record the whole process in a playful, creative or bureaucratic way.
- Devise a conversation with yourself that justifies an artwork that you have made or intend to make. Consider how this is performed, recorded, presented and/or designed as a creative act.
In the video below, Michael Craig-Martin explains why the same ideas drive him today as when he first started out and how, in the spirit of Duchamp, he likes to provoke questions about what we understand to be art, and about the relationship between a real object and its depiction.
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I'm not interested in objects, I'm not interested in consumerism, I'm not interested in design, I'm interested in language and the way in which we interpret the world and understand the world through the things we make. |
Traditionally, within Western and European art histories (which are not always reliable or equal) , artistic ‘outcomes’ mostly consisted of drawings, prints, paintings and sculptures - alongside crafted, designed and applied artworks, such as architecture, furniture design, textiles and ceramics. (Lens-based approaches, such as photography and film emerged later, in the mid 1800s, and were not necessarily welcomed by all artists or art institutions at this time). Predominantly, prior to the 20th Century, these artworks were figurative and representational - they represented reality in a recognisable way. In other words, artists created artworks that looked like their subject matter. Portraiture, Landscape, History Painting, Genre Painting (everyday scenes) and Still Life were key genres.
The following table by Neil Walton can be useful - and debatable - for reflecting on how various (predominantly) Western art histories might align with certain concepts and approaches.
IS THIS GLASS OF WATER A Still life?
In art history terms, A Still Life is an arrangement of mostly inanimate subject matter, such as food, flowers, dead animals, plants, or human-made objects (for example, a glass of water). Still Life artworks are often paintings, but can also be photographs, sculptures or other media.
Artists create Still Lifes with a variety of interests and motivations. For example:
Consider the images below before reading the subsequent text. Click to enlarge. These images have been chosen for their connections with the theme - and as examples relating to Still life.
Artists create Still Lifes with a variety of interests and motivations. For example:
- Still Lifes make for good observational reference. They don't move and can have a variety of surfaces and textures, colours, forms and so on - so they are suitable for practicing and exploring art materials, techniques and ideas. Artists have been known to choose deliberately testing subject matter (such as glasses and/or water) to demonstrate their technical skill, including the rendering of surface properties and mastery of perspective.
- Some Still Lifes can have popular and commercial appeal. They can also be seemingly neutral and inoffensive, which for some artists and exhibitors in the past may have helped to keep their head on their shoulders a little longer (rather than, say, if they had painted an unflattering portrait of the queen).
- A still Life can evoke associations and memories; hint at or represent something else. For example, a still Life might hold religious and allegorical symbolism. A still Life can be a means for concealed or subversive messaging.
Consider the images below before reading the subsequent text. Click to enlarge. These images have been chosen for their connections with the theme - and as examples relating to Still life.
The top row of these images have been chosen for their 'how to draw-ness'. This illustration and still from this YouTube video operate as diagrams and instructions. As someone interested in art education, these images have a curious appeal - the floating eyes, for example, or the popularity of online drawing videos which might well help, but can also lead to generic production.
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The next 2 images show artworks that might be described as figurative or representational. The is a dutch still Life painting by Willem Claesz Heda titled "Still Life with Gilt Goblet". The video to the left analyses the painting within the context of the 'Dutch Golden Age' of painting. It proposes that the choices of subject matter and style were informed by the economic power of the Netherlands in the 17th Century - and the artist deliberately set out to paint something that would be desired and sought after (and consequently valuable). The second image is an etching by David Hockney. It was produced in 1973 - the same year that Michael Craig Martin created 'An Oak Tree'. It has been suggested that Hockney's etching was a response to Craig Martin's work. |
Whilst a seemingly accurate observation, Hockney's work is also loaded with further references and connections. Postcard of Richard Wagner with a Glass of Water combines elements of abstraction and presents a playful take on art histories. It also reflects Hockney's interest in themes of perception, and of bringing together high culture and everyday encounters - here an influential composer from the 19th century is juxtaposed against the ordinary glass of water, rendered with equal clarity and precision. Hockney's interest in perception was greatly influenced by the work of Picasso.
POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
- Arrange and respond to a 'traditional' Still Life that incorporates a glass of water. Consider some of the reasons why artists have responded to Still Lifes in representational and 'realistic' ways, for example, as a means of showing technical skill. You might add additional objects to increase colours or textures, experiment with dramatic lighting, or consider potential symbolic meaning. Once set up, create a carefully observed work demonstrating both skill and persistence.
- Arrange a 'traditional' Still Life that incorporates a glass of water alongside other objects, perhaps closely inspired by the work of Willem Claesz Heda. You might wish to closely replicate the composition yet incorporate more present-day objects. Take a series of photographs - or produce a series of sketches - subtly adjusting your position, or the lighting, and/or rearranging the objects. Present the series as a set.
The artworks above, Glass and Pitcher and Still Life, 1914, are both by Picasso. The first is a stylised, colourful and predominantly shape-based painting that could be described as 'Cubist'. The second is an 'assemblage' sculpture - including a glass of sorts - shaped from scraps of wood and decorative fringing. It might also be described as Cubist. Cubism refers to an abstracted approach to art making, associated with Picasso, that brings together multiple viewpoints in geometric and experimental ways. Cubism emerged in the early 20th Century and is seen as an influential Modernist art movement. Below are two other examples of works produced in the first half of the 20th Century - so, Modernist, potentially - and also selected for their connection to our theme. Click on the images to view in full.
The first image, Still Life with Green Sideboard, 1928, is by Henri Matisse. He is predominantly known for his fascination with colour, shape and pattern. This work appears to have a deliberately skewered perspective that draws attention to these visual elements upon the flat canvas surface.
The second image, Speeding Motorboat, 1923-4 is by Benedetta Cappa Marinetti. Marinetti is considered an Italian Futurist. Futurism was a radical art movement Inspired by emerging modernity—the industrial city, machines, speed, and flight. The Futurists wanted to revitalise what they thought was a static, decaying nation that only looked to the past for its identity.
POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
The second image, Speeding Motorboat, 1923-4 is by Benedetta Cappa Marinetti. Marinetti is considered an Italian Futurist. Futurism was a radical art movement Inspired by emerging modernity—the industrial city, machines, speed, and flight. The Futurists wanted to revitalise what they thought was a static, decaying nation that only looked to the past for its identity.
POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
- Arrange a Still Life incorporating a glass of water. Respond to this in an experimental way that might overlay multiple viewpoints and/or flatten, twist and contort what you see. You might exaggerate or distort forms, shapes, colours, textures, tones or lines. Aim to develop a vibrant or striking composition that still retains clues of what you have staged.
- Respond to your Still Life in 3 dimensions - make an alternative version using scrap and found materials. Don't attempt to replicate objects in their exact appearance, scale or form. Instead, aim to simplify, suggest and make-do. Let the materials lead the way, but do also aim to retains clues and suggestions to the objects you have carefully observed.
Surrealism was a twentieth-century arts movement that explored the workings of the mind and championed the irrational, the poetic and the revolutionary. Although Surrealism emerged in the early 1900s it could (debatably) be described as closer to, or being the early origins of, Post-Modernist ways of thinking and making - in that the Surrealists embraced collaboration, chance, humour, irony and the unconventional with an informed knowingness. Both images above might therefore be described as surrealist.
The first image is a photograph by Lee Miller taken in 1933. Miller was a fashion model turned photojournalist who was also associated with the Surrealist movement. The photograph is of an assemblage made by the artist Joseph Cornell.
The second image, Les Vacances de Hegel, 1958, is by René Magritte. Magritte is closely associated with Surrealism. This painting portrays an umbrella whose function is to repel water, juxtaposed with an object which contains water - a glass. The idea behind the picture is not very profound, perhaps obvious, even, hence the title, Les Vacances de Hegel (The holiday of Hegel) - Hegel was a famous German Philosopher who questioned the presumed truth of things. Perhaps Magritte is making a joke at the obviousness and falseness of his own image: he's got away with it because Hegel is on holiday, or alternatively, Hegel is feeling relaxed about calling out such things.
The first image is a photograph by Lee Miller taken in 1933. Miller was a fashion model turned photojournalist who was also associated with the Surrealist movement. The photograph is of an assemblage made by the artist Joseph Cornell.
The second image, Les Vacances de Hegel, 1958, is by René Magritte. Magritte is closely associated with Surrealism. This painting portrays an umbrella whose function is to repel water, juxtaposed with an object which contains water - a glass. The idea behind the picture is not very profound, perhaps obvious, even, hence the title, Les Vacances de Hegel (The holiday of Hegel) - Hegel was a famous German Philosopher who questioned the presumed truth of things. Perhaps Magritte is making a joke at the obviousness and falseness of his own image: he's got away with it because Hegel is on holiday, or alternatively, Hegel is feeling relaxed about calling out such things.
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The Treachery of Images, 1929 is another painting by René Magritte. It is also known as This Is Not a Pipe (which is of course true, because it's a painting). Today, this work might also be described as 'meta'. This is the act of something being self-referential - referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre. This is also associated with Post-Modernist thinking where a more reflective, critical and questioning standpoint has replaced the optimism and forward-thinking nature of Modernism.
It might be said that Michael Craig Martin's Oak Tree has also been influenced by the spirit of Magritte's thinking - both artists are interested in how we perceive, name and make presumptions of objects. |
POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
Below are some further examples of artworks, once again chosen for their (loose) connections to our provocation of a glass of water. However, these have also been chosen to introduce some alternative and increasingly contemporary approaches to art making. The first 3 images are all sculptures created by different artists in different times, with varying intentions and inspirations. Click to enlarge and read on to find out more.
- Research Surrealism and some of the key artists associated with this movement. Leonara Carrington, Méret Oppenheim, René Magritte and Salvador Dali might be good starting points. Devise your own Surrealist response that incorporates a glass of water in some way. For example, within a surreal dreamscape, a peculiar and nonsensical Still Life, or as part of a human-animal-machine hybrid form.
- Inspired by Magritte's deliberately direct and unexpressive paintings, create an image of a glass of water within, or accompanied by, a less expected object or piece of writing. To make a decision on what to use or write, you might use or devise a system for generating objects or words at random.
Below are some further examples of artworks, once again chosen for their (loose) connections to our provocation of a glass of water. However, these have also been chosen to introduce some alternative and increasingly contemporary approaches to art making. The first 3 images are all sculptures created by different artists in different times, with varying intentions and inspirations. Click to enlarge and read on to find out more.
The first sculpture, Glass IV, 1977, is by Roy Litchenstein. It is made of painted bronze and is over 1m high. Litchenstein is associated with Pop Art, an art movement that emerged in the late 1950s in America. Pop Artists, broadly put, took inspiration from popular, commercial culture and mass production in both reverent and ironic ways.
The second image is by contemporary British sculptor Rachel Whiteread. It is a series of coloured casts of the insides of different glasses and pots. Rachel Whiteread is interested in negative space - the space that occupies the gaps between things. It might be said that, via casting with materials such as plaster and concrete, Rachel Whiteread makes the invisible both visible and tangible.
The third image is an installation by artist Phyllida Barlow. Barlow took inspiration from her surroundings to create imposing installations that can be both powerful and playful. She created large-scale ( but anti-monumental) sculptures from inexpensive, low-grade materials such as cardboard, fabric, plywood, polystyrene and plaster. The joins and seams are often left exposed to reveal how they have been constructed and her work has a strong sense of what might be described as intuitive, material-led play.
POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
The second image is by contemporary British sculptor Rachel Whiteread. It is a series of coloured casts of the insides of different glasses and pots. Rachel Whiteread is interested in negative space - the space that occupies the gaps between things. It might be said that, via casting with materials such as plaster and concrete, Rachel Whiteread makes the invisible both visible and tangible.
The third image is an installation by artist Phyllida Barlow. Barlow took inspiration from her surroundings to create imposing installations that can be both powerful and playful. She created large-scale ( but anti-monumental) sculptures from inexpensive, low-grade materials such as cardboard, fabric, plywood, polystyrene and plaster. The joins and seams are often left exposed to reveal how they have been constructed and her work has a strong sense of what might be described as intuitive, material-led play.
POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
- Create an artwork by only using a glass (or plastic cup) of water. What are the possibilities here - and how might the following words, for example, influence your thinking: smashed, poured, balanced, in motion, in flight, in hiding, frozen, buried, punctured, overflowing?
- Create a sculpture the same size as - or to fit within, under or upon - a glass of water. Use found, scrap or everyday materials to do this.
- Create a life-sized sculpture/abstract representation of a glass of water using any materials of your choice - cardboard, wire, board, human bodies ...
The three images above introduce aspects of staged image and Performance art within lens-based work. The first photograph is by Carrie Mae Weems. For this series, Kitchen Table, 1990, Mae Weems staged and photographed a fictional drama in which she plays the lead. The setting is always based at her kitchen table. Via self-portraiture, the series examines and presents women’s lives, in particular, Black womanhood’s complexity and strength.
The second image, Self-Portrait as a Fountain is by Bruce Nauman. In this, Nauman questions the role of the artist by imitating the nude statues found in decorative fountains. The work also pays homage to Marcel Duchamp‘s notorious Fountain, 1917, mentioned earlier in this resource.
The final image in this set is a still from a video performance by Marina Abramović, How to Drink a Glass of Water. Abramović’s work explores the relationship between performer and audience - and the limits of the body and the possibilities of the mind. To Ambramović the purpose of art is the transformation of the artist and of the viewer. Abramovic cites that transformation is the key element of all art - which also links neatly back to Michael Craig Martin's Oak Tree.
The second image, Self-Portrait as a Fountain is by Bruce Nauman. In this, Nauman questions the role of the artist by imitating the nude statues found in decorative fountains. The work also pays homage to Marcel Duchamp‘s notorious Fountain, 1917, mentioned earlier in this resource.
The final image in this set is a still from a video performance by Marina Abramović, How to Drink a Glass of Water. Abramović’s work explores the relationship between performer and audience - and the limits of the body and the possibilities of the mind. To Ambramović the purpose of art is the transformation of the artist and of the viewer. Abramovic cites that transformation is the key element of all art - which also links neatly back to Michael Craig Martin's Oak Tree.
The 3 works above are by Yoko Ono, a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Yoko Ono uses a wide range of media and approaches to make art, including instruction-based art, performance and installation. Water is a reoccurring theme in her work, as can be seen in these examples. The central image is an album cover she created for her album 'Season of Glass'. It shows the blood-stained glasses of her assassinated and murdered husband, musician John Lennon. The 3rd image is a detail from 'We are All Water', an installation of glass jars of water, identical aside from the individual name labels. Whilst these examples are very distinct, they all use containers of water as a metaphor for human existence.
POTENTIAL ACTIVITY
POTENTIAL ACTIVITY
- Working independently or in small groups, devise a performance, interaction or installation inspired by, utilising, or incorporating a glass of water (or more). Consider how you might draw attention to a powerful issue or concern or, alternatively, create something that is surreal, playful or unexpected.
Above and below are a few wider examples of creative responses incorporating a glass of water - a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strip, an iconic clip from the movie Jurassic Park, and a panel from a Skulduggery Pleasant graphic novel. Each of these use a glass of water to lead or add to a narrative.
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POTENTIAL ACTIVITY
Devise a short story/sequence incorporating a glass of water - and then illustrate this as a cartoon strip, graphic novel or film storyboard. Think about how - via composition, character, visual elements and text - you might create something entertaining, surreal, thought-provoking or funny. You might choose to base this on real-life characters and/or familiar locations and observations, or alternatively you might embrace a highly imaginative and stylised approach.
Additional NOTES
The following notes and illustrations were doodled alongside the development of this resource:
