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Look closer

You may wish to look closer at the paintings featured in the film and discuss them further.

First Steamboat on the Clyde

First Steamboat on the Clyde c.1820

John Knox (1778–1845)

Glasgow Life Museums

The Banks of the Marne

The Banks of the Marne 1864

Camille Pissarro (1830–1903)

Glasgow Life Museums

The Riverbanks

The Riverbanks c.1882–1883

Georges Seurat (1859–1891)

Glasgow Life Museums

 

Look and discuss: British landscapes across time

In class, explore the following examples of changing landscapes across Britain including:

  • Bridges near Belfast Harbour
  • Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
  • Aberystwyth Harbour and beachfront
  • Waterloo Bridge, London

In your discussions compare and contrast:

  • the two larger images for each region before reflecting on the more gradual changes in the images below.
  • the industries present and how they impact the environment in different ways
  • the artists' depictions – are they: realistic? Abstracted? Exaggerated? Deceptive?

More Belfast bridges examples (in chronological order)

 

More Stoke-on-Trent examples

 

More Aberystwyth examples

More Waterloo Bridge examples

Research: your local landscape

Research artworks of a landscape local to you across time using Art UK's artwork search tool.

Tips for searching:

  • Start by typing in the name of the place e.g. Fraserburgh
  • You can narrow things down further by selecting artworks from your region using the Location filter e.g. North East Scotland
  • You can also do this using 'Map view' (once you have begun an initial search)
  • Remember to clear previous searches by clicking 'Start new search' or removing individual search terms.

You may wish to use Google Street View on Google Maps for an up-to-date snapshot of how your chosen location looks now.

Compare and contrast how depictions of your chosen landscape has changed over time in the same way as the previous activity and take notes.

Activity: collage your future environment

Following on from the research task, this creative activity challenges you to create an artwork depicting the local landscape as though it is in the future.

To get some inspiration, explore the following prints by Ade Adesina, a Nigerian-born artist based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Through his imagined landscapes, Adesina explores ecological change such as deforestation and threats to endangered species, as well as global conflict and the politics of energy consumption. The landscapes often make visual reference to Nigeria, Scotland and beyond.

You can learn more about Adesina in our Seven Questions interview and in Art in Healthcare's film.

In class, discuss some or all of the examples below and consider if they are: hopeful or bleak? Familiar or futuristic? Utopian or dystopian?

Which elements in Adesina's work can you imagine would also appear in your future environment? What would be different?

The View After the Questions

The View After the Questions 2018

Ade Adesina (b.1980)

Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

Activity methods

Reflect on how your local environment has changed over the years according to the artistic depictions you discovered.

Write down what further changes you might expect to see across centuries to come, whether these are minimal or extreme, realistic or fantastical. How might evolving industries, climate change or local issues affect this? What objects or symbols might visually depict these changes?

With these ideas in mind, now create a collage of your future landscape.

Here are some approaches to creating artwork.

 

Cut-and-paste collage

Create a cut-and-paste collage using a printout of one of the artworks of your local area overlaid with futuristic figures and objects cut out of unwanted magazines and books. You will require a pair of scissors and a glue stick for this.

 

Pop-up collage

Alternatively, create a pop-up version of the above method using various layers from the different artworks you've found.

You can learn more about creating a pop-up artwork in one of our Home School resources.

Create a pop-up collage of your future landscape

Create a pop-up collage of your future landscape

 

Digital collage

Create a digital collage using cropping and layering tools on design software such as Adobe Photoshop. This will create a similar effect to the cut-and-paste technique, but without scissors and glue!

 

Mixed-media collage

Combine digital or papercut collage with other artistic techniques such as painting, drawing, photography and/or printing. Look through the following examples to help inspire your own.


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