If it's a specific assignment that they have to think what might embody that for them, what do they want to send to somebody else? Art is a form of visual communication. But this is maybe a broader topic to try to nail down and it makes them kind of do a little soul searching on what they think is interesting.
Can art build bridges where language and even diplomacy fail us? Welcome to the random acts of knowledge podcast presented by Heartland Community College. I'm Steve fast your host. Today we're talking about the global art project, a grassroots effort that asks the question of artists, what does World Peace look like? To learn more? Let's go to our local experts.
My name is Jane camp. I'm a professor of arts I teach a variety of art classes here. I've been here since 1994, longtime, primarily dark room photography, drawing, painting, 2d design, but I've taught lecture classes too.
Can you describe this project,
this project is it's a global art project that was started in the late 90s. By Well, a friend of mine new the woman out in Arizona who decided to see if she could promote global unity, global peace and have artists participate, they can be professional or non professional, and anybody who participated would pay like 10 $15. And you would get matched up with anybody then who decided to participate. So you would make a piece of art that embodied what you thought global peace, global unity might be, and then exhibit it in some way. Any way that you wanted could be local library, in my case, the college and then the person you were to exchange it with you mailed it off and there to have mailed you a piece as well. And then you were to exhibit that piece that you got.
So how long have you been doing this at Heartland,
heartland? Probably we've done it that I found the last four times. So it's every two years. But I've done this on and off since the beginning of this program.
So where are some of the places you've exchanged? Art? Not just
me, it's my students and I so Morocco, Spain, Italy, Iran. Were some of the main ones that kind of stuck out to me, but it could be in the United States as well. And so I don't recall every single place that we've mailed off to,
is there any sort of theme or commonality you seen in the artwork that
non nuttin you can look on the websites, global art project.org, thank you. And they post what has been on there, it's a non for profit, they usually make a calendar of some sort, you know, to try to encourage people to kind of help the project. Oftentimes, it's children or people in in school, college, high school, or whatever. But there's lots of professional artists that do this as well. So I always participate with my students and send a piece. So how
do you start the dialogue with students to be involved in this? Do you make an assignment? Do you make a request? How are the steps involved?
I always request but I strongly request because I think this is a good thing in this world. I want to you know, I like the vibe of this program way before where we're at now in our in our lives and what's going on in the world, but we've done it as a group, or you can do it individually. And usually I take my advanced students, so either photo to or independent study students to get them to do this.
What are the students learning out of this process?
It's, you know, a specific assignment that they have to think what might embody that for them, but what do they want to send to somebody else? Art is a form of visual communication. And so all of our assignments are structured in talking about that, but this is maybe a broader topic to try to nail down and it makes them kind of do a little soul searching on what they think is interesting, what they think might promote global unity or global peace or something of that nature.
Have they had any reflections on the art that they've received? What have students told you about the pieces that they've gotten in exchange?
That's the most fun. I mean, it's you know, it's like a pen pal only with art you know, and so it's the surprise of getting a piece. This year it was only Joyce and I that received a piece back you take the risk that people don't won't send you something and so maybe they got busy, who knows maybe it got hung up in the mail, but we've been shipping internationally now so that could have happened very easily. But she got her piece from Spain and it was really exciting to see that she, you know, is never traveled out of the United States. And here she got this piece from Spain and it was a little bit more open ended and metaphorical than her particular piece that she had made. But it was really very cool to see that in 2014, we got a piece from Iran, and it was stamped copper. I mean, it was really a beautiful handmade piece. And we exchanged with Iran, you know, and we got a piece back, you know, a student did and it was just, you know, really awe inspiring to see it and, and stamped into that was just peace, the word peace. But it was very, very interesting.
When the artwork is exchanged. Is there any biographical information that you provide about the students? Or the the person that made the piece? Or is it just straight artwork?
No, well, they don't require you to do that. But being an educator, I just think it's always interesting to know something about the artist. And I make them include a picture of themselves too, because I kind of like that. So we just go in a little bit about, you know, why they made their particular piece, why they chose those images to send them and a little bit about themselves, to put it into context for whoever receives it.
Are there any other pieces that are particularly memorable that you could describe for us,
I brought my piece that's in my office, done in 2000. And you're supposed to rotate the box once daily for maximum peace of fact, which I thought was cool. So if you rotate this, this is a small box with, you know, more abstract images. It's almost hypnotic, right? And it's,
it's multi layered. So the box is, what about two inches, one and a half inches deep wooden box, and there's three or four layers hasn't like a 3d effect, it looks a little bit like it's not kaleidoscope, but it has a little bit of that, you know,
depth to it. Yeah. And that sensation of spinning it. I guess that's what they were hoping to achieve. But I liked that they wanted the viewer to do something with their artwork. So it wasn't just a static piece that you hang on to the wall. And what's cool is, you know, they put my name in the back and everything but and signed it. But I still like rotate once daily for maximum peace effect.
So where did that one come from?
Did you say where are they? Oh, I'd like to say that. I mean, I've been doing it a long time. So I doubt this was here in the United States though. But I just don't remember who did that.
That's a nice piece to the boxes made with it looks like there's some sort of this gets or something. And yeah,
pine box, you know, with spacers in between. It's mine's a little dusty. I know, I need to claim this before I brought it in here. But the slightest was from a fifth grade class, I believe from Italy. And so I got this multi layered packet. What struck me as the funniest is that even in Italy, they laminate things, and no K through 12 Are the laminating kings and queens, but they're even doing it in Italy. So some of it is if you read is artwork from local local artists, local residents, so the reproductions, but other is actually hand drawn pieces that they put in there. And I just loved the whole packet thing. It's very teacher ask with the postcards. And that was really fun to get.
So there are entire classes that are part of this project like yes, most middle schools.
Yeah. And you don't really know they just give you now you get an email address too. But you just get really a name and an address that's mailed to you. And you know, just a way to contact them and and explaining what's what's happening. But you don't know if they're representing a class or whatever, at that point.
So you said that you had a connection with the person that started this program. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Yeah, my connection I actually was childhood friends with we created artwork over impurity together. Her name was Brooke Gardner. You know, she moved away in eighth grade, but we've always kept in contact. Um, her name is now Denali, Brooke, but she is a professional artist in New Mexico. And we just kept sharing letters. I mean, we still are old school because I'm I'm in my 50s. And we've actually had pen pals and we wrote letters. And you know, being artists, we like to make things and like that tactile quality of that. And at any rate, she and I both had a strong sense of community service or community activity in our past and we still do, and she had told me about this when she was in Arizona when she was living in Arizona and Tucson, and I'm like, this is a really cool idea. And, you know, it's just fun. It's this gift that you gap from somebody that you don't know, it could be anything or it could be nothing, you know. So it's a cool way that I've kept, you know, this kind of artistic spark between her and I going I know she always participates every year as well.
Now, when you were young, did you ever exchange our work, Brooke?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Are you kidding? That's what kids do that notes everything else. But yeah, as an artist, you're always making stuff and drawing stuff.
So do you have any idea what the overall breadth of the program is? How many people are doing this?
Oh, it's grown. I mean, really, I mean, it really just started in the United States and how it spreads so dramatically, you'd have to read on the website, itself. But, you know, artists, no other artists. And part of what we do is visual communication is our own, we're always seeking to find shows and exhibitions for our own work. So I assume that's how it spread is okay, I'm showing my own work. And hey, there's this cool project, you know, that I've been a part of, and are you interested in and even this piece that I sent to Italy, I drew a feather and, you know, there was a quote, you know, that I did, you know, just, you know, feathers are unique, just like people. And I had done that for a fundraiser for the Chicago Marathon that I ran last year. Because I was on Team diabetes. And I really believed if people were going to give money to that organization that I wanted to have something back that there was an exchange of energy. So I always made sure I did that. And in the same spirit that this program did, so I just reproduced for them. Another one of these further drawings. And, and that was part of my letter to them saying, you know, my son's a type one diabetic, and, you know, I had made this artwork like this. And this is something that, you know, I felt strongly about and that I thought was beautiful. This happens every two years. So in two years time again, you know, because I imagine the amount of orchestration it takes to match these names. I mean, in the late 90s, they did or by hand, I'm sure there's a computer program now generating all of this, but you know, every two years and anybody can do this, you don't have to be a professional artist. So if you're interested, you can sign up yourself and get a piece of global unity.
Thanks, Jane for coming in. Okay, thanks.
Jane camp teaches art at Heartland Community College. You can see some examples of global art project work at global art project.org Check out our other podcasts on iTunes I Heart Radio, audio boom or subscribe
