A group of students from Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester recently visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park with a focus on incorporating sculpture and landscape into their Art studies.
Both staff and students were inspired by the stunning contemporary and historical sculptural art on show at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the UK’s leading open-air gallery, near Wakefield. The students were able to develop their creative and critical thinking skills and enhance their sculptural vocabulary to make relevant connections between contemporary art, the world around them and their place within.
The students explored the sculpture grounds, looking at and analysing the diverse range of sculpture by masters and contemporary, such Henry Moore, Damien Hirst and Barbara Hepworth.
The purpose of the visit was for students to demonstrate independence by taking and making creative photos to inform their GCSE mark making project on their return.
Primary research and independent learning are key to developing personal and meaningful responses. Visiting the physical sculptures and seeing their size, materials, surface textures allows students to have a better understanding of their subject when they develop their ideas back in the classroom.
It was a very successful trip with students enjoying and exploring the outdoors as well as the variety of exciting artwork that was on display. The visit allowed the students to develop a rich and broad range of important skills linked to the curriculum and will inspire and inform their GCSE work.
The students focussed on taking photos which have a vanishing point to create a sense of perspective, taking panoramic photos to demonstrate a wide view of the sculpture and landscape, taking photos using the rule of thirds and taking photos from different angles and viewpoints.
Miss Rebecca Coyle, Head of Art, said: “It was fantastic to be able to walk through and around the sculptures at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. This was a wonderful visit which provided masses of inspiration. It was an absolute pleasure to accompany such passionate artists for the day and support them in their artistic development.
The students will develop this work as part of their coursework on their return to school. Developing independence and research skills along with photography and composition skills.
The visit allowed students to experience a wide range of artistic styles and ideas whilst appreciating the sheer scale of some of the pieces and the media used. It was incredible to be able to interact with the sculptures so closely and see all the individual marks and imprints made on the pieces.”
Mr Mike Whiteside, Head Teacher at Saint Paul’s, added: “This was a wonderful opportunity for the art students full of creative inspiration. Visits like these provide a very valuable experience for our students and enhance the learning curriculum.”