Portfolio Project
4.B. Design to Positively Affect the Future

9/11 ~ The World Holding Its Breath at Dawn,acrylics & charcoal, Cea Winter 2001

(Time: 2 hrs.)

..You have already identified an issue our world is facing and researched it. All that information has been swirling around and stewing in your mind for the last few days. Now you have your chance to put it to use and design an invention or artwork that can positively affect the future.

For the purposes of this experiment, let us focus, like Leonardo, on art, making improvements on known machines, or visualizing something so advanced it will not be produced for perhaps five hundred years, until the technology to build it has been discovered. Like da Vinci, you have it in you to think critically about what is needed and todesign the machine or the message (art) that may improve it.

You have a number of options. Essentially, you need to invent or create something (a machine, a process, or translate a philosophical idea into an artwork, a song, or a video …) that deals positively with an issue our world is facing.

Other design options:Write a song & perform it, make a short video, write a poem and intersperse it throughout a collage. If you were inspired by the Utilitarian Art Object (IF ~ Intuitive Function) concept, choose 2-3 (safe/ clean) discarded objects and design a useable art object using these pieces. Follow the same planning steps and you will get 10 bonus marks if you actually construct it! Regardless, you’ll have a cool art object to use.

* Discuss your alternate idea with you teacher BEFORE starting.

The Steps:

First: (In your sketchbook)

Identify the concern you would like to see improved. Why are you motivated to invent a machine or inspiring artwork to deal with this?

Second:

If necessary, research more about the topic on the Internet (30 min.). What has already been invented to address the problem? Can you make an improvement on one of those machines or do you have an idea for a completely different approach? Does it make more sense to you to create a message in an artwork that will ‘affect the future positively?’

Third:

Sketch your idea on paper. Take a look at it. Is there anything you could change to improvement it? Add the changes.

Finally:

Sketch a final draft of your invention or artwork. Name it. Label the parts. Explain how the machine works and what it does. Building a 3-D version of the design is optional.

* There are 10 bonus marks possible if you build a well constructed 3-D model of your invention or artwork project.

Journal: Explain your creative process briefly. Describe any problem-solving you did to create your project. (6)

..You’re done. Stand back & take a good look at your idea. You thought of it, you figured it out, you brought it to life. (It wasn’t here before you came along). You have created a thoughtful & powerful tool that is capable of changing the future for the positive. Now, what are you going to do with it?

Submitting Your Work

To submit your research notes, rough draft, good draft of invention or artwork, save an image of it by scanning or taking a digital picture. (Remember to compress your file so it is less than 100KB.) Then in the Draft submission section below, click . A browse window will open up. Find the file you saved and click . Do this for all three files.

Enter your Journal Response in the Notes section. Click at the bottom of the page to open the edit box . Type your response in the edit box and click when you’re done. (Remember to put the title of the assignment at the top of the page.)

Once your 3 project files and Journal Response are uploaded and entered, click the button.

Evaluation Criteria:

Must See:

Research notes
Rough draft of invention or artwork
Final draft or good copy of design of invention or artwork, named, labeled, explained
Journal Response

* If you are creating an alternate project, you need to follow the same steps and the teacher will adapt the evaluation criteria based on these points.

Student demonstrates the ability to:

Research a topic on the Internet	/ 5
Problem-solve by adapting an existing machine or designing a new machine to deal with the issue or translate a philosophical idea into an artwork that communicates a clear positive message	/ 7
Design, draw, & label an artwork that has the power to affect thefuture positively with its ingenuity and/or message	/12
Journal: Explain his/her creative process, any problem-solving needed to create his/her invention or artwork	/ 6
(Optional): Well-constructed & effective 3-dimensional model of invention or art object	/10

Total: / 30 (40/30 marks possible if 3-D construction of invention or art object completed.)

Refreshing Education & Winter © 2008