I
f I could sum up the stories and advice from the Art panel, it might
read as:
•
•
•
•
Discover interests and learn deeply about them;
Find connections with people or concepts from different fields;
Embrace opportunities and take sensible risks;
Repeat.
Discover interests and learn deeply about them. Zulkifle Mahmod
became interested in sound art and started dissecting toys to study
simple electronic circuitry before he made his first sound-based
assemblages and installations. Donna Ong traced the history of
printed flora illustrations after chancing upon a book that caught
her eye. Edwin began interested in Japanese artisan, and he made
trips to Japan to visit the workshops of craftspeople to see the
making process first hand.
Find connections with people or concepts from different fields.
Zulkifle’s fascination with sound art brought him to art residencies
where he could sample new sound, and to learn the art form from
other artists. Donna collaborated with other musicians and electro-
acoustic composers to create immersive sound environments in
several of her installations. Edwin worked with other Singapore
designers to tap on their interpretations of a Singapore icon to
create prized porcelain ware, aptly launched in 2015 as a Singapore
golden jubilee collectible. Taking those ideas to a new place (like for
example, an artisan workshop in Japan), they are transformed into
objects that possess qualities of two different cultures, and stands
out from other porcelain ware one might find in Singapore.
Embrace opportunities and take sensible risks.
Zulkifle, Donna and Edwin made an effort to seek opportunities
to expand their work. Sometimes, they might not necessarily know
how the exact final end product would turn out, but they trusted
their artistic processes and instinct to get them somewhere. If one
project didn’t work, they learnt and worked hard to make sure the
next iteration was better.
Repeat.
Getting better at something requires hard work on ‘repeat’ mode!
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Finding intersections successfully might require us to be
knowledgeable and competent in a field, and with passion and
discipline as catalysts and compasses. Listening to Zulkifle, I can’t
help but wonder if the influence of his training as a sculptor gave
him the confidence to design and assemble sound installations
in a successful, sculpted way. One might argue that he treats his
materials, sound files or copper tubes alike, in a sculptural, “additive”
and “subtractive” manner. In the same way, Donna’s prior training in
architecture could have allowed her to envision three-dimensional
space, fuelled her obsession with intricate details and perfectly
planned and drawn line drawings. Edwin’s training in Industrial
Design probably allowed him to understand the production process
of Japanese crafts facilities and extrapolate information to make
aesthetics and business decisions when Supermama creates new
designer pieces. Each of these creatives had a strong foundation
of content knowledge to make an original idea come to life. Each of
these creatives had shown in their own way, how their passion and
discipline become catalysts and compass in their practice.
I have a hunch that helping our students become ‘innovators’
isn’t simply diving into designing interdisciplinary lesson units, or
creating complex interdisciplinary project work. Neither is it about
working without limits, as each of creatives had shared. They had
constraints imposed by each project they worked on. There is
probably no one fixed way to ‘grow’ innovators.
From this panel discussion, I hope you the reader will ponder the
following questions:
• How do we need to guide our students to discover interests
through art, and learn deeply about them?
• How do we help students find connections with people or
concepts from different fields, to produce numerous ideas or
see things differently?
• How do we guide students to embrace opportunities and take
sensible risks?
• How do we foster thinking through making, rather than being
stuck in writing or drawing sketches? How do we encourage
artistic processes that push iterations through perseverance,
persistence and elaboration?
View video of Art Panel Discussion HERE.
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