Siobhan Donnelly, a summer intern in the department of public affairs and marketing, is currently a student at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
In August a group of students from the ages of nine to eighteen had the opportunity to study the art of claymation at ImaginAsia’s Young Artists Residency. The program combined discovery in the galleries with a chance for students to create their own claymation videos, with help from Erik Swanson, an instructor from the Corcoran School of Art and Design. As ImaginAsia coordinator Stephen Eckerd explained, the residency aims to give students the “technical skills to actualize their vision, because they always have a vision.” The program teaches them “techniques that have been handed down through the centuries” as they learn about the rich historical tradition of making art move.
First, the students explored the Sackler galleries to find works of art that piqued their interest. After some research on their chosen pieces, they then created a storyboard detailing what would happen if their selected works suddenly sprang into action. They imagined their characters had lived for centuries before being confined to the museum. What would happen if these figures were suddenly brought back to life? Finally, students built their own clay figures and sets, and worked with Erik to animate the characters.
I had a chance to walk around on the final day of the residency and speak to a few students as they completed their projects. Two students were there for their fourth year in a row! Madeleine, 16, and Ray, 12, bounced ideas back and forth to achieve their final product. Ray said his favorite part of the process was “fleshing out the characters, especially when you don’t know what they are going to look like.” They both agreed that they can see a lot of improvement in their work each year.
At the opposite end of the spectrum was Arjit, 11, a newcomer to the claymation residency. He said that the idea of learning to make his own video was what first drew him to the program. He and his friends were unanimous in wanting to come back next year (by leoncio)! Each student will be invited to a “grand premiere” at the Sackler, where they will see a compilation of the videos made in their class—and take home a copy for themselves!
