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do something different

Teaching Resource: Key Stage 3, 4 and A level/Art & Design

Credit: David Lamelas, From The Violent Tapes of 1975, 1975, Courtesy Galerie Kienzle & Gmeiner GmbH, Berlin

Contents

Barbican Education
Credit: Credit: Robert Longo, Untitled (Joe), From Men in the Cities, 1981, Tate, London 2007

Introduction to the exhibition and this resource Student information and worksheets Further information and planning your visit

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Teaching Resource 01

Barbican Education
Inspired by the extraordinary diversity of the Barbican arts programme, Barbican Education offers pupils and teachers powerful learning opportunities and the chance to discover more about the arts and their own creativity. A comprehensive education programme accompanies every Art Gallery exhibition, including teachers' resources, CPD events, and gallery tours. For more information, to download other resources or book events please visit www.barbican.org.uk/education.

Introduction to this Resource


The artists featured in this resource reflect the different strands of the exhibition. They were selected with teachers' needs and students' interests in mind. Keith Harings' work has a strong appeal to many students. The focus questions and interpretation of his work is intended to get students to think beyond the cool factor and see how this artist built up a visual vocabulary of symbols that helped him communicate to his audience. Linder talks about the process she used to construct her images, which could inspire a project on creating visual shock through collage. The exhibition contains work of an adult nature, and we strongly advise that you make a preliminary visit before you bring any students to the gallery to decide if the exhibition is suitable and to plan an appropriate route. Barbican Education accepts no responsibility for the content of any media, including websites, referred to in this resource, and recommends that a responsible adult checks the suitability of media before using with their students.

Introduction to the Exhibition


Panic Attack! Art in the Punk Years This exhibition contains work of an adult nature Punk is most associated with music, fashion and graphics, but this exhibition demonstrates that the rebellious spirit of punk can also be found in art. Panic Attack! looks at art in Britain and America between 1974 and 1984, and features some 30 artists working with photography, film, video and other media. The late 1970s and early 80s was a period of economic and social crisis in both Britain and America, and a time when art became increasingly politicised. One strand of the exhibition looks at artists who made work with direct political intent, who used their work to criticise society, and often used the imagery of the city as a symbol of social crisis. Another strand looks at collage, trash, and the 'do-it-yourself' scene. Some artists created confrontational performances in which they tested the bounds of social acceptability, while others made works attacking society's depiction of women.

Main image: Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your comfort is my silence), 1982, Black and white photograph, 142 x 102 cm (56 x 40 inches), Courtesy Daros Collection, Switzerland, and Mary Boone Gallery, New York Left hand image: John Stezaker, Eros VII, 197778, Postcard collage 15 x 19.5 cm (6 x 8 inches), Courtesy the Approach, London Photo credit: Peter White Right hand image: Derek Jarman, Jordans Dance, 1977 Super-8 film, 12 mins., colour, Courtesy James Mackay, London

Barbican Education 2007

Teaching Resource 02 Artist: Keith Haring Title: Untitled Date: 1983 Size: 305 x 305 cm (121 x 121 inches) Materials: Vinyl paint on vinyl tarp

About this work:


Keith Haring created bold, dynamic paintings, full of energy, which communicate a direct message about the human condition. The bold outlines, chunky fill-in of bright colour and even paint drips remind us of his graffiti art beginnings in the art world. The figure looks like it is trapped for a moment, about to break-dance. Spiky ribs, breath held, fists clenched, jutting knees, skin electric and sweating. This figure has lit up like neon on the dark dance floor. The symbol in the middle represents Venus, or the female sex (beauty, harmony, affection and relationships). Keith Haring uses symbols in his work to quickly and simply communicate complex ideas. He also created his own reoccurring motifs such as crawling babies (representing life, happiness and the positive side of humanity), barking dogs (aural vibrations are made visible with barking action lines) and flying saucers (with their energy rays zapping the unsuspecting). For more information check out www.haring.com/index.html

Questions:
How does this work of art make you feel? How do you think the artist felt when he made it? What does it remind you of? What is the oddest thing about this image? What message do you think it communicates? What sounds or music does it suggest to you? Could you think of a title for this painting? Do you like or dislike it? Why?

Credit: Keith Haring, Untitled, 1983, Courtesy Max Lang, New York, The Estate of Keith Haring

Barbican Education 2007

Teaching Resource 03 Artist: Andrew Logan Title: Homage to the New Wave Date: 1977 Size: 124 x 22.8 x 16 cm (49 x 9 x 6 inches) Materials: Metal, resin, glass and stone

About this work:


Andrew Logan's London bank side studio was the hive of London's punk culture activity. Derek Jarman created films and legendary parties here, such as the Valentine Ball (1976), at which the Sex Pistols played, which put Andrew Logan at the heart of the London punk movement. Look at the dazzling, twinkling mirror mosaic of this giant safety pin. Think of how the artist must have carefully and painstakingly assembled the sharp shards of mirror around this 3-D form. Imagine looking into it and seeing your broken face and a cubist-like room surrounding you in its surface. Would you think 'Everything is broken', 'Seven years bad luck' or 'Wow, how wonderfully strange and glamorous I look!'. The plinth it sits on looks like a marble block; but look at little closer and you can see the shattered mosaic pieces jumbled chaotically together. This work tells us a lot about the punk ethos. Do it yourself and make it, a creative energy and confidence in experimenting with unexpected materials and creating work. This piece reveals the links between art, fashion and music. The humble safety pin came to represent so much about the punk ethos. Holding together all that was falling apart, it was a political and social metaphor as well as a fashion statement for street culture punks and designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Zandra Rhodes (for whom Andrew Logan created jewellery). To find out more check out www.andrewlogan.com

Questions:
Look carefully at the surface of this sculpture. How do you think it was made? What does it remind you of? What does it mean to you? What ideas does it make you think of? Do you like or dislike it? Why?

Andrew Logan, Homage to the New Wave, 1977 , Courtesy the artist and Arts Council Collection, Hayward Gallery, London

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Teaching Resource 04 Artist: Jamie Reid Title: God Save The Queen Date: 1977 Size: 29.7x42 cm (12 x17 inches) Materials: Newsprint, photocopy, ink and paper collage

About this work:


Can you think of punk without thinking of Jamie Reid's art work for the Sex Pistols? This image, the cover of a single by the Sex Pistols, has become an iconic image of the time, the music and the art. The Queen, symbol of British society, culture and politics has been defaced. Her eyes and mouth have been obscured, removed. The message appears assembled from letters cut from newspaper headlines. Unemployment, Oil Crisis, Strikes, Power Cut, CelebrateQueenJubilee; words from amongst the headlines of 1977 that might have been cut up to create this unsettling image, and set the tone of the record inside the sleeve. Like the artist Linder, Reid used collage in his work it is made by hand not using a computer. The different fonts and typefaces create a visual shock. Graphic designers spend a great amount of time thinking about the style of lettering and how this will make you feel when you read the words. Here Jamie Reid has broken the rules and used several different typefaces together: they look like they have been cut out of newspapers and simply stuck on. It looks like a ransom note, a poison pen letter, a threat. Reid created several key images for the Sex Pistols including covers for albums Never Mind the Bollocks, and Here's the Sex Pistols and the singles Anarchy in the UK, God Save The Queen, Pretty Vacant and Holidays in the Sun. To find out more check out www.jamiereid.uk.net Barbican Communicate: British Independent Graphic Design since the Sixties. www.barbican.org.uk/communicate

Questions:
What is surprising about this picture? How do you think it was made? Why do you think the artist has used these materials and methods to create this image? What ideas, thoughts and feelings does this image communicate? Do you like or dislike it? Why?

Credit: Jamie Reid, God Save the Queen (Single Cover), 1977 Courtesy the artist, Jamie Reid

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Teaching Resource 05 Artist: Linder Title: Red Dress xiii Date: 1979 Size: 23.4 x 19.3 cm (9 x 8 inches) Materials: Photomontage

About this work:


I remember the pure pleasure of photomontage. I had spent three years working with pencil, paint and pen trying to translate my lived experience into made marks. It was a moment of glorious liberation to work simply with a blade, glass and glueI'd always loved magazines and I had two separate piles. One you might call women's magazines, fashion, romance, then a pile of men's mags: cars, DIY, pornography, which again was women but another side. I wanted to mate the G-Plan kitchens with the pornography, see what strange breed came out. Linder Strange the way she looks at you with her heavy 'natural look eye shadow' eyes. She is so pale. Her background so black; lonely. She stands so still, she is thinking, calm. Stranger still; look at those lips! It is those lips that make you stop and think. We are bombarded by media imagery. Saturated with messages of how we should look, talk, act and think. The simple change to this image makes us think about how women are portrayed in the media and question if we as a society are being manipulated to think and behave a certain way. There is something both scary and comic about this image. Her lips have been mutilated, botoxed to oblivion. What would these lips say? Pass my lipstick, Give me a kiss, I'm a man-eater, or maybe they would read out the panel of text (about beauty tips) at the bottom right of the page, like an autocue. Collage was popular with artists from Picasso's papier colls (literally pasted papers), to Dada's photomontages, and Surrealist juxtaposing of contrasting realities that created dream-inspired creations. There was a rich history of collage before Linder's work and yet it appears unique, fresh, and exciting. Montage enabled Linder to explore her own sexuality as well as her ideas of Feminism and gender politics.

Questions:
What is the strangest thing about this image? If she could speak what would she say? What idea or message do you think this image communicates? How do you think this artwork was made? Do you like or dislike it? Why?

Credit: Linder, Red Dress XIII, 1979, Courtesy Stuart Shave / Modern Art, London

Barbican Education 2007

Teaching Resource 06 Artist: Cindy Sherman Title: Untitled film still no.24. Date:19771980 Size: 19 x 24 cm (8 x 10 inches) Materials: Black and white photograph

Questions:
What would it be like inside the picture frame? What would you see, hear and feel? This image is a frozen moment in time. Imagine a story unfolding from this image. What ideas, thoughts and feelings does this image communicate? Why has the artist chosen photography to communicate her ideas?

About this work:


Step inside the frame. Imagine you are her: sitting, waiting, anticipating. The weak sun rays on your cheek, and gentle breeze off the Hudson River. Behind you there is an industrial landscape, the docks, a part of New York City you don't see much of, unless in a film, when something untoward is about to happen. Your hair, make-up, clothes, and sunhat, like a heroine in an Alfred Hitchcock film. You may be there some time. Are you waiting for your husband, lover, blackmailer, or murderer? What are you thinking? Perhaps, someone press play, I must know what happens next? Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to go to the cinema and dive into the screen and become one of the characters? The power you might feel being watched, large and glossy, a soundtrack moving with your every footstep. Cindy Sherman makes this magic happen in her photographs. She didn't make films, but photographs that remind us of a film we may have seen, B-movie thrillers and European art house films. You can imagine the rest of the film, the narrative and character, and you bring this to your interpretation of the image. Cindy Sherman was both the photographer and model in her work. She gathered costumes, wigs and props to transform herself and create another identity, another personality, another kind of woman. It is this exploration of women's identity and the questioning of stereotyping women that links Cindy Sherman to Feminist ideas in art. To find out more check out: www.cindysherman.com
Credit: Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #24, 1978, Courtesy the artist and Metro Pictures, New York

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Teaching Resource 07 Artist: Tony Cragg Title: Policeman Date: 1981 Size: 400 x 120 cm (158 x 47 inches) Materials: Blue plastic

About this work:


Is it just a load of old rubbish? A really big mess? That blue plastic shovel could help you bury that old squashed plastic bottle and broken lid. Look again, can you see our 'boy in blue'; a policeman complete with helmet and riot shield? A collage of found objects unified by colour and arranged not randomly but as precisely as a jigsaw puzzle. Look at the policeman's nose and top lip, the curve of his chin. Look at the highlight on his steel capped boot and the way his riot shield ends with a dark blue full stop. It may make you think of rubbish landfill sites, the mess our country is in. It may make you think about fear, law and order and the ills of our society. It may make you think of a sugar-crazed child tipping out their toy box with a squeal of delight and effervescent energy. This mess is creative play. Most importantly, this will make you think. Cragg collected discarded household materials and fragments into colour categories ready to assemble on the walls and floors of galleries. His work challenges what you may consider to be art materials and how art should be made and seen. Although Cragg has strong ideas before he starts his artworks, they evolve as they are assembled. There is a sense of creative play or chance involved which give his work a sense of energy. Cragg won the Turner Prize in1988. To find out more check out: www.tony-cragg.com www.sculpture.org.uk/biography/TonyCragg www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961 &artistid=953&page=1

Questions:
Look at this image from a distance and then close up. What different things can you see? Is there anything hidden or intriguing about this work? How do you think this artwork was made? What does it remind you of? What message or ideas does this communicate? Does the artist intend you to find a meaning or is there a 'right answer' to uncover? Do you like or dislike it? Why?

Credit: Tony Cragg, Policeman, 1981, Courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery, London

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Teaching Resource 08

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Planning your visit


Barbican Art Gallery Level 3 Barbican Centre Silk St London EC2Y 8DS For all group bookings and general enquiries please call the Groups Booking Line on 020 7382 721 1, fax 020 7382 7270 or email groups@barbican.org.uk. The telephone booking line is open 10am5pm, Monday to Friday. Gallery opening times 1 1am8pm except Tuesday and Thursday, 1 1am6pm Admission 8 / 6 concessions 3 schools and full time student groups of 10 or more, MonFri only Teachers / group leaders go free with groups of 10 or more students Dedicated group booking line 020 7382 721 1 How to find us Barbican Art Gallery is on Level 3 of the Centre. Enter via the main entrance on Silk St and cross the Foyer to the lift and stairs to reach Level 3. Nearest tube stations: Barbican, Moorgate, St Pauls, Liverpool Street Nearest train stations: Liverpool St, Farringdon, City Thameslink, Barbican, Moorgate Coach: there is a setting down and picking up point in Silk St. Parking is limited to the metered bays in Silk St and Fore St. For further information contact 020 7606 3030, asking for Parking Services Disabled visitors Barbican Art Gallery is fully accessible for wheelchair users. For full Access information please visit http:/ /www.barbican.org.uk/visitorinformation/disability access. You can also call or email the Barbican Access Manager on access@barbican.org.uk 020 7382 7389/7083. Cloakrooms There is a free cloakroom on Level 3, directly outside the Art Gallery. Toilets There are toilets on Level 3 directly outside Barbican Art Gallery, and in addition on Level 1 for when you are on your way into and out of the Centre. Cafes / Packed Lunches Waterside Caf, just off the foyer on Level G, offers full meals as well as sandwiches, drinks and also childrens meals. If you have brought packed lunches you can eat in the stalls floor foyer (Level 1) the main foyer (Level G) or outside on the Lakeside where there are plenty of picnic benches and tables. Phones You can find public telephones in the lift lobby just across the road from the Level 1 exit and on Level 2. Further information There is medical assistance available on site at all times. Full evacuation staff are available at all times. Barbican Education has a full CRB child protection policy. If you would like to see the full policy please contact Barbican Education on 020 7382 2333. Please also contact Barbican Education if you would like risk assessment information.

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The Barbican Centre is provided by the City of London Corporation as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nation

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Top tips for planning your visit Beforehand Book your visit via our dedicated groups booking line 020 7382 721 1. On 27 June and 5 July also book a free gallery tour. Subject to availability, please call the Groups booking line for times available. See www.barbican.org.uk/education for information about CPD and other Education events. Preliminary visit Make a preliminary visit before bringing your group. This will enable you to make best use of your visit to achieve your teaching and learning objectives. You should also refer to the gallery floor plan, which is included in this resource, to help you plan your route. If you have any questions during your visit, please speak to a member of the Art Gallery staff who will be happy to help. Planning your visit Use your preliminary visit to plan how your students will use their time. Create your own worksheets we have included some ideas in this resource, but are fully aware that one size will never fit all. At the exhibition We suggest you visit the Gallery in groups of no more than 30 students. Make sure your group have materials for drawing and note taking. A4 clipboards and paper or sketchbooks would be ideal.

Contact We would welcome feedback this teachers resource and the exhibition. We would also love to see any resources you create yourself and any work that your pupils do as a result. You and your students might like to compile a CD and send it to us at the address below. It could contain: Images of students work in progress. Images of completed work. Short report on the ideas that underpinned their work. Credits Panic Attack! Art in the Punk Years Teaching Resource Written by: Vanessa Lawrence Edited by: Anna Dent, Barbican Education Panic Attack! Art in the Punk Years curated by Mark Sladen and Ariella Yedgar. Barbican Education Barbican Centre Silk St London EC2Y 8DS T: 020 7382 2333 F: 020 7382 7037 E: education@barbican.org.uk

Barbican Education 2007

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