Stories from the Forest

I visited the Resolis Primary class for the first time at the school on 27 February. The main aim - to excite the childrens’ imaginations on the subject of the Millbuie Forest. I hope to introduce more in-depth learning about the wildlife at a later stage - right now it is about sparking interest and a sense of connection.  

What happened...

I had arranged for Dr Jim Mackay, a local historian, to give a short talk on the prehistory and history of the 'Millbuie', and he gave an informative powerpoint with plenty of local photographs. It was fun when some of the farming children recognised their dads'/grandads' farms and fields from 19thC photos! The children listened with interest for at least 20 minutes, and there were plenty of questions, particularly on Vikings, ghosts and wildlife.

Once Dr Mackay had left, I started by asking which of the children had been in the Forest and what it had felt like, whether they had seen or heard anything interesting. We imagined being a neolithic child hunting and what sorts of things we'd have to look/listen for. In groups we looked at a series of A5 wildlife photos I'd mounted on card, and I asked them who had a creature that was 'scary' 'cute', 'weird', 'a predator' etc.

That was a good chance to introduce some names and basic facts about ecology. By then it was almost morning break, and I wanted to have some quick fun, so we all practiced owl hoots and raven calls. They were soon learning from each other.

After morning break, I had set up the drama room so I could play morning chorus birdsong as they were coming back in. I noticed there were musical instruments in the room, so I used a small skin drum to help grab attention and set the scene. We imagined being in the forest again, and I asked them if they wanted to do some stories or wee plays. With the exception of one wee boy, who is autistic and preferred to draw pictures, listen and watch, they were all very keen to, and so we discussed what sorts of things a story/play might have in it. We decided that the Millbuie Forest should be the setting, but that they could be set at any time period. They wanted to include animals, and there was a discussion about including pandas, flying squirrels etc. I suggested gently that we could definitely include an element of magic, and animals from Scottish myth and legend, but maybe we should stick to what could possibly happen in Millbuie Forest itself ready for our visit. They were fine with that, and we decided unicorns are definitely part of Scottish legend (the Unicorn Tapestry etc.) and that talking trees are definitely feasible, although of course in Millbuie they would be likely to be scots pine, birch or larch (here I showed them the cards again).

So they began to plan their stories. I had a quick check in with the groups to see if they needed anything, and we decided they could use any musical instruments they wanted. Most groups took drums, xylophone or other percussion things. All the groups were having animated discussions and acting out scenes. I left them a wee bit longer and then went round each group to chat to them about how they were getting on. I reminded them that they might want to have a title and have some way of letting the audience know what was being acted out as we didn’t have costumes – maybe a narrator or a scene setter, or using improvised conversation. (See show planning)

Shortly after that they all seemed pretty ready, so I didn’t let the moment go, and we all gathered in the drama room leaving space for the performance! They were all really excited. The school lent me a flip camera, so I practiced by filming the first performance. Then I filmed the next 4 performances using my small camera, and let the children take turns filming with the flip camera. The audience was quiet while the others were performing, except when a laugh was called for. The performances themselves were excellent, very original, with a good mix of reality and fantasy.  After each performance we all clapped, and then I opened the floor to any questions or comments about it, or to any clarification of the plot. (for one of the plays see Millbuie Play 27-2)

We finished just as it was time for the P3s to go for lunch. The others danced to Duncan Chisholm’s music, which I explained was all about the landscape, or chilled on the floor until it was time to go for lunch 10 minutes later. I got a couple of hugs as they left. They were all in great spirits.  

Reflection

The whole morning seemed to go excellently, measured on the amount of enjoyment the children clearly got from it, and the amount of imagination they used while planning and performing their shows. Dealing with children in this situation seemed familiar and straightforward.

I was happy that they were so enthusiastic, and that they let their imaginations have free rein. I was also happy that they were interested in the talk about the wildlife, and that many of them already seemed to know quite a few animal names.  The wildlife cards worked well because they were visual. Just before break I sensed that they were getting a wee bit tired of information and being asked to think, so we did animal calls. That worked well, because it was noisy and participatory.

I wondered if the wee boy with autism was enjoying himself, but the teacher assured me he was fine drawing pictures, and when I checked in with him he nodded he was doing fine. He doesn’t really like being part of big groups, but he seemed to be listening throughout.

Although I was able to document the performances themselves on film, I could not easily capture the informal chats I had with the children, or the feedback they gave each other after the performances. These precious snippets were very informative about the process, but could not be filmed without disrupting the flow, unlike the performances. The children seemed (and are) quite accustomed to being filmed while performing, so they were not inhibited in their acting. The key point was that I tried to keep them continually ‘in the driving seat’, asking them to give each other (and me) feedback, and giving them freedom with their shows.

The five plays were original and very different.  Some had more of a wildlife theme. One was about two animals fighting for territory, one about two Vikings coming into conflict with a wildcat and a red squirrel. Others brought in quite an element of history/fantasy. One was about a ghost that came out of a chambered cairn when disturbed by some bone hunters, entering into the characters and turning one of them into a killer! Luckily nature came to the rescue in the form of a unicorn, and the return of the birds symbolized the return of normality.

Overall, all went as planned it and as well as it could have done. I have asked for feedback from the children themselves through their teacher and will check whether there is anything else I could have done. I hope the final 'creative output' of the Project will be collaborative - so we don't yet know what form it will take. Some of the performances did include a fair amount of fantasy, which was good for stirring up imagination. A key aspiration of the Project is that the children will learn about the real wildlife of the Forest and appreciate the importance of being quiet and aware of what lives there. The challenge from now on will be to develop these ‘quieter’ ideas in ways that remain interesting and creative.

Social Exchange, change, participation and the environment

‘All art invites social interaction; yet in the case of SEA it is the process itself – the fabrication of the work – that is social’ (P.Helguera, Education for Socially Engaged Art: 11)

Helguera identifies four types of participation: ‘Nominal’, ‘Directed’, ‘Creative’ and ‘Collaborative’. During Seminar 4 we discussed the extent to which SEA has the concept of ‘change’ as a premise. Whether or not the artist is in control of the nature of that ‘change’, (and one would expect that it might be largely unpredictable), the artist is engaging with a process that is likely to result in some sort of change. Perhaps any social interaction results in change, whether it is measurable or not, long or short term. 

I particularly like Jeff Kelley’s description of collaboration as ‘mutual transformation’. It would appear that in the most interactive and engaged SEA the creative process itself assumes control, and a receptive, open-minded approach by all participants (including the artist), can result in real transformation on both sides. I am very interested in this apparently ‘magical’ process, as I have sensed it at times while working with children. The need for the artist to cede control over the outcome is, however, central. Perhaps aspiring to this kind of ‘collaborative transformation’ becomes more difficult when dealing with the definite expectations both of a school situation and of an Art and Social Practice module. There is certainly a challenge there.

During the Seminar we were offered the quote, ‘participants in dialogue in socially engaged art are willingly engaged, so they feel enriched by the experience’. Reading Helguera’s chapter ‘Antagonism’, Santiago Sierra’s confrontational work, and the spectrum of ‘voluntary’, non-voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ participation, I am intrigued by notion that participation may not be obviously enriching, but perhaps even destructive. Of course, even the most negative participation is engagement and part of the art. The artist can meet her ‘aims’. But does it really work for the participant if it is not in any way ‘transformative’?

The challenge in the work I’m proposing with Resolis Primary School is that the children are to some extent ‘non-voluntary’ participants, stuck with whomsoever visits the classroom. They may have no interest in nature or in Millbuie Forest.  Part of my role as artist is to reach out to them to discover that ‘hook’ that will switch them on to something they are interested in. I am currently exploring the idea of listening with all senses and being aware of the 'stories the forest tells us'. I'd like there to be 'change', but I don't feel I have control over what it might be - I just hope it will be positive and enriching. I think stories may be a good start. 

Thinking of all this I researched a number of projects that involve social exchange, change or the natural environment:

1. Creativity works www.creativityworks.org  based in Bath

This ongoing project works according to a social, not a medical model, to connect people of all ages with mental health and addiction issues with their creativity. Projects have included sculpture with ketamine addicts, and long-term creative outlets for young carers. It does not regard itself as ‘art therapy’, but more open-ended, using art in a therapeutic way. The process of collectively making has clearly become central to the creative process, and the concrete ‘art’ produced is less important than the internal ‘transformative’ change on the participants. The positive impact on the participants is well-documented. It is quite collaborative; the projects are often run and led by the participants, and the process is designed to be empowering and to inspire creative and wider social confidence. I was particularly interested in the interpersonal ‘social exchange’ and transformative outcomes of this project. 

2. Anthony Schrag http://generationartscotland.org - a socially engaged artist based in Edinburgh

 A. Schrag: 'A Perfect Father Day'

Schrag’s work involves a strong element of fun as the social exchange. His work has included

‘A Perfect Father Day’ and ‘Male Roll Model’ where he encouraged people of all ages to roll down a hill. While the level of participation is apparently ‘directed’ – ie he is asking people to do a certain thing, I wonder if one can really predict the level of actual participation. What appears to be clear is that for certain participants, these activities are quite transformative, and connect children with their parents through the act of having fun.

I am interested in the element of ‘fun’ as social exchange, particularly when engaging with children.

3. Oct 2012 – Can Artists Heal Nature? - http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/los-angeles/la-tierra-de-la-culebra-artists-nature.html  10 artists opinions at an open air event in California

Environmental art is well-established, and art that highlights environmental concerns increasingly so. However, socially-engaged art that actually allows people to experience and be transformed in ways that might have a positive impact on the natural environment, are less common. I was therefore interested in the title of this project.

I was interested in what Janet Owen Driggs, one of the artists, said: The subject is such an enormous one, and one that I am wrestling with a lot at the moment. Not literally, I mean I am under no illusions that 'art' can 'heal' 'nature'. But because I believe the question, because it is crass, enables us to access some very important, elusive, other questions. It begins to pry open:

1) Access the ways in which we conceptualize, and (attempt to) experience, the environment as a thing apart from ourselves.


2) Consider ways of constituting "non-humans" as subjects.


3) Think about our practices as beginning to not only imagine and represent difference or change, but to perform it.

In an age where certain natural environments and monuments are being granted legal ‘personhood’, and in which perceived self-interest appears to be the ruling motivation, at least in individualistic developed societies, I am interested in how one attempts, through art, to bridge the gap between the human species and the environment

4. Zach Pine, Berkeley http://www.naturesculpture.com and https://vimeo.com/92631547

Zach Pine project with homeless
children, Ursula Sherman
village, CA

Zach Pine describes himself as a socially engaged nature artist, and sees both nature and people as his two kinds of medium. He uses nature as a vehicle for allowing people to connect both with nature and with each other. As an artist he gives them access to creative experience that ‘connects them to the earth’. He loves working with younger children, despite the challenges, and says, ‘kids’creativity hasn’t been stifled in a way that some grownups has been’.

I share some of his motivations, and was interested to see how he approached his creative work. I also loved the fun element of the social exchange.

Lessons in all this for Project Wild Millbuie!

More conversations - Social Exchange, words and silence

This week's task was to introduce some kind of social exchange into a conversation. I am familiar with how social exchange works, particularly when dealing with children, but I had a look at Social Exchange theory. I have written a more detailed reflection of how this task went in my developmental portfolio.

This blog entry is a more informal reflection on this week's practical exercise. In essence, Social Exchange theory proposes that relationships are built as the result of an exchange process. The perceived rewards and costs of interacting drive relationship decisions, and self-interest is seen to drive interpersonal relationships. The theory could seem rather calculating and self-motivated... As a mother, I would maintain that there are many everyday social transactions that do not appear to bring personal benefit, but perhaps Richard Dawkins would disagree. But, like so many things, it is all about relationships.

With these ideas in mind I thought about Project Wild Millbuie. In this case there are a range of different relationships at issue, not only interpersonal ones, but the relationships between humans and their natural environment. It is difficult to say whether such relationships can ever be mutual in the way that human relationships are. Essentially, many would argue that the cycles of life, survival needs and death inevitably connect humans to nature in ways few appreciate.  Linked to this is the important sense in which humans are able to derive a great deal from being in a wild spot through giving it their quiet attention. One result of this kind of ‘social exchange’ might even be concrete benefits for conservation, although this could not, of course, be described as a social transaction.

So I thought I would approach this exercise in several different ways. First of all I had a conversation with my children two about what they thought about all the above, and particularly, what kind of ‘give and take’ a human might have with nature.  Kai (8) said, ‘I know, I’m a tree – I give you a seed and you give me air’....OK thanks Kai. I asked Freya (10) how she felt when she sat under a tree in silence for a while. She answered, ‘It makes me feel really calm if things are going wrong. It feels like I am talking to the tree and the tree is reading my mind.’  Social Exchange? Reflecting on these responses I was interested in the idea of silent conversations, without words....

So in the end we had 4 different conversations, all exploring the theme of QUIET:

1. Conversation in Mime - I played a game where the children were asked to sort out between themselves what they wanted to do, but without using any words! The social exchange was the promise of agreeing on some fun. Funny to watch, lots of gesticulating, not much clear sense. Finally the children realised they had to take turns, but even then they were not sure whether they had been understood. There were frustrations, but it was definitely a useful exercise in 'listening' with more than just ears.

2. Silent conversation between leader and led - So we went out into the Forest and developed the idea of a 'silent' conversation, thinking about not only building interpersonal relationships, but relationships with the natural environment. One adult/child led one of the others, who had eyes shut, around a short area of forest, stopping to ‘show’ the blind one things of interest to feel, like moss, bark, water etc. Then the ‘blind’ person was allowed to open their eyes and try to work out which route they had been led on, and show the leader, again without speaking. This involved a lot of communication, both between the led and the leader, and, indirectly, between the humans and their environment. This communication was tactile and potentially on a more emotional level, rather than simply verbal/intellectual. (For a short video see Leader and Led 'Conversation')

3. Filmed interview - As we spent time in the Forest, we noticed that we became quieter, and the children changed from communicating with words to using motions, whistles and animal sounds to catch each other’s attention. To capture this we staged an 'interview' about being quiet and about being in the forest. We decided words would work best for this.  In this case the social exchange element was that the children decided the format - One child was interviewer, one answering the questions. I made a four minute film of this and asked them afterwards what it was like. Kai confessed he’d been so intent on thinking up the next question he had not be able to listen properly. Freya had enjoyed it. Performing on film had become part of the social exchange! (see Interview)

4. Kitchen chat over chocolate cake - Cake has been a staple of social exchange for centuries! We had a group of children playing at our house. After a while I invited them into the kitchen to have a slice of chocolate cake - and a chat. While all the children were eating I asked them questions about being in the Forest. We talked about all sorts of things, being wild, quiet, free, wildlife...One, Cara (9), said that she liked the quiet. She then mentioned the wind farm that is proposed for the Forest, and explained that she had done a project on wind energy, and had actually visited a big wind farm and touched one of the turbines as it went round. The other children were interested to know what it had been like, and she reported that it had been scary and very noisy, and that she did not want wind turbines in the Forest near the house.  There was a discussion between all of us about the contrast between quiet and noise and the difference it could make to experiencing the Forest.

It was fine, and the 'cake for talk' plan worked well, although the neighbour's kids were a bit shyer. I wanted to introduce the children to thinking about the sorts of feelings and values they attach to the Forest, but not in a forced way. I was also aware that the cake was the main motivation for them to sit still and talk instead of going out to play. I knew I would get something of what I wanted and they would get what they wanted if we stayed relaxed and chatty, and there was no pressure for an outcome. We had a nice chat, then, as I knew would happen, when the cake was finished off they ran to play again. With kids you have to be ready to grab the moment!

I really enjoyed all these conversations and felt that they went well, mainly because I took opportunities as they came up, and thought ‘on the hoof’ about what to do to make them work, rather than planning the details of exactly when and how they would happen.  The main thing was creating the right moment, when the children and I were both ready.

Social Exchange theory is about developing relationships on the basis of give and take. Social exchange takes place in every successful conversation, whether you are aware of it or not. If people are engaging, there is social exchange. The trick is to get them engaged! 

From my experiences of all these different types of ‘conversation’, the easiest and most successful seem to be those in which you know the participants and there is a clear reason for engagement – either something fun, like the silent 'leader-led' game, or something concrete at the end of it, like a filmed performance. Being outside can help too. There is a place for more formal, staged events and more 'freeform' ones. These points will be important to take into the larger class situation.

Touching Places - 'Common Work'

'Place is where time takes root...across it the cycles of life and death unfold'  Jeff Kelley 'Common Work' 1995

My take on Jeff Kelley's thesis in 'Common Work' relates to what he sees as the need to harmonise the functional and the 'spiritual', to combine the realities of daily living with the transformative power of the creative imagination - a collaboration between the 'architect' and the 'artist' to create something 'other than'. While this chapter of Suzanne Lacy's Mapping the Terrain is already dated (1995), it does rehearse some of the old frustrations that 'art' might be getting too 'virtual', lacking in the substance of real life.

In this he shares ground with Rirkrit Tiravanija, who first used cooking to 'bring alive the object', before realising that the same principle can be applied to art and human relationships. For Tiravanija, spending time with people immersed in the real, daily processes of living can reveal its own meaning - as with his cooking utensils it is 'through usage you find meaning'. 

For Kelly sense of 'Place' is not merely physical, it touches culture, psychology, community and common values, and is able in some way to hold and contain time. He writes, 'Place is where time takes root', yet 'places are experienced concretely' - the real and the intangible held in the same instant of experience/creation.

Collaboration - The Vitality Institute

I am interested in Kelley's analysis of collaboration. He writes, 'Collaboration is a process of mutual transformation in which the collaborators and thus their common work are in some way changed.' In relation to collaborative SEA, this statement begins to erode any distinction between 'artist' and 'participant' and 'spectator'. The artist is not the arbiter of 'transformative experience' but has to be open and ready to be transformed, has to cede control, be vulnerable to exposure, to the unexpected, the unpredictable, to wonder...

To set a process going and hope that the creative imagination will do the rest.... 

My aspirations for Project Wild Millbuie have much to do with transformation, wonder and the rest, but evoked by a very real 'Place'. I think Jeff Kelley would approve - here's hoping!