How will we tell the story?

Creatively. Once students identified the story they wanted to tell they were provided one singular boundary for the end product. The monument design needed to relate to the contributions of the person, group or event being memorialized. Beyond that guideline, students had the flexibility to create virtual reality 360 movies, interactive apps, documentaries, original songs and lyrics, or traditional stationery monuments. Student choice abounded.

Choice Point

What technology and artistic mediums are you curious about?

The story

"What is a Zoom?" "How does a 360 video work?" "Why would you use broken brick from a variety of plantations to pixilate a portrait?" Prior to setting students free to design their monuments, time was dedicated to exploring a variety of artistic and production mediums. This exploration occurred during classroom time as well as during a day with experts at James Madison's Montpelier, a community partner with the project. The day at Montpelier was divided into workshop sessions lead by historians, curators, artists and museum production designers who had been tasked in their professional world with a similar mission as the students. Design a monument that tells an untold story. The expert interaction and feedback was inspirational and pivotal in pushing student thinking around how to tell their story well.

Expert Lens

Chris Danemayer, CEO of Proun Exhibit Design Consulting, had just unveiled his company's videography work with A Mere Distinction of Color, the newest museum installment at Montpelier that tells a fuller story of the presidential plantation. He discussed the power of telling a story through video, given the ability to think about how pictures and sound work together to create a mood and transform an audience's understanding. To further broaden the student tool kit, he introduced them to pop-up monuments, which use innovative, unlikely and potentially disposable items to tell a story. Suggestions included old shoes, cinnamon and frying pans.

Kendall Madigan - Director of digital marketing for Montpelier, noted, "Remember the power of audio!" Videos are transformative, but audio is also an exciting medium for storytelling. Grant money helped purchase Zoom recorders so students practiced using them throughout the day and Lindsay was able to work with the students around building questions for a podcast and then recording and editing their work.

Student Showcase

For the final ShineFest, student work featured Mindcraft, Zoom and Garage Band in their monument designs.

Iteration #2 - When we embark on version 2 of this project, teachers noted that they'd like to give more time to learning how to operate the new technology devices. Student choice during version 1 seemed to be directed by their previous experiences with technology.

Choice Point

What medium will you use to tell your story?

The Story

As the story continues, students moved to their next decision point. "We know whose story we want to tell, we are well versed in her/his contributions and we've seen some options for creating a moving memorial. Now, what is the most effective way to tell our story?" No team needed to use the same materials or production tools and no memorial needed to look the same. The sky was the limit and as a result, students reached for it!

A team from Albemarle High School quickly identified their path. Bare retaining walls around Charlottesville had been acquisitioned for community art. The one near their school would be next. As a further boost, they would collaborate with a professional artist, Chicho Lorenzo to transfer their original mural design from from paper to poster to highway panels showcasing the power of their community to bring people out of darkness into the light. All in response to divisive racial events from the summer of 2017 in their community.

Student Rap Song

(Excerpt from Legendary People)

C'ville strong, our love will never hurtcha. If anything, our cultures will nurture. Unity is our key, so we can build together A new statue, to show our strength is forever. ~ Anija, 12th Grader at AHS

Expert Lens

Chicho Lorenzo - This project is unique as it connected students to both historians and artists. Chicho, a popular muralist, collaborated with AHS students to help transform their ideas from paper to reality. He assisted with what types of paint and tools to use, how to play with light in their mural and how to tell a fuller story using symbolism and silhouettes.

Student Showcase

Student models and muralists for the Mural of Unity project.

Choice Point

What design elements do you want to include in your monument?

The Story

In the early days of of the project, students created mini-monuments with pipe cleaners, clay, fabric and other maker materials. Their pieces were impressive, but there was one striking element to their work. Student interpretations were very literal. i.e. A monument to Joan Baez involved a statue of female in groovy clothes holding a guitar. The interpretation of their story was concrete, but not in a marble sense. This directed next steps for the project as experts were identified who could stretch student thinking around the benefits of incorporating abstract representation, symbolism, design symmetry and classical features. Which, if any of these design concepts, would help them tell their story.

Expert Lens

There were many.
- Elizabeth Chew, Vice President of Montpelier, offered a timeline of monuments from the early classical period through contemporary work at Montpelier. As a result, students developed a deeper understanding of a monuments purpose and how designers play with symbolism and artistic elements to communicate a richer story. The background on Nike was a crowd favorite.
- Sarah Driggs, an architectural historian, accompanied students on a trip to Monument Avenue in Richmond, VA. She provided back stories on the individual commemorated in each monument and then unpack the design elements included in the memorial. Why columns? Why is the horse in motion? Why is his hat off? What does the rose represent? Why an obelisk? Where do you see symmetry? Why is he holding a book? He was a tennis player. Students would answer the questions and then apply what they learned about design elements to the next statue. By the end, they approached a new monument with different eyes. They were more proficient "readers" and could begin to pull out pieces of the story, ask questions. One noted, "Wow. I didn't know every piece of the monument mattered. It all tells a story." This realization would be key when moving into the final design stage of the project.

Student Showcase

Girls Club, life size, metallic figures of all ages and demographics with an opening that observers can step into to join the ring of girls and symbolically complete the circle. Applause for the interactive element!

Report abuse