Terracotta

What are all these figures made of (terracotta, reddish brown clay used extensively since ancient times)? What is terracotta used for (making pots, figures, tiles; common in Greece and Rome and still widely used in Mediterranean countries)? Why is it popular (has warm appearance in homes, gardens, public places; it is easy to make figures or pots and then bake them in a kiln; brittle when fired, but cheap to replace)? Where can you see it (tile shops, garden pots, kitchens)? Mix paints to get the right colour and then paint a picture of a pot or figure. Where is the colour used (furniture fabrics, clothing, curtains, wallpaper, paint)? Who were the “terracotta warriors” (an army of hundreds of individually fashioned life-sized soldiers made out of the material about 1,800 years ago, found buried in China)?

People’s art

What is “art” and does this installation qualify as “artistic” under your definition? Are ordinary people capable of creating art, or is it just the preserve of the talented few? Try making a figure or small pot out of clay (one possibility is to roll out a long, thin sausage shape and make a coil pot) and then getting it fired or leaving it to dry and harden naturally (if not possible, discuss the processes involved - shaping, decorating, hardening at high temperature). Can you think of any examples of people’s art, and what do you think of them (graffiti, pavement artists, murals, tapestries - for example, the Bayeux Tapestry - where everyone makes their own section)?

Collecting

This installation has been made over time. Is it worth it or a waste of effort? What sort of things do people collect (artefacts, stamps, coins, pictures, mementoes, pots and figures)? Do you know of any collections in your area (in museums, art galleries, private homes)? Do you collect things, do you know anyone with a collection and why do youthey spend time and money on it?

Writing

(a) Write about this collection of figures saying who might have made one, what visitors think; (b) imagine what happened when these figures came to life one day and marched through town.

Ted Wragg is professor of education at Exeter University TALKING POINTS

Is this collection of terracotta figures, made by ordinary people, really art?

For

Art is not just the product of high culture, turned out by a small elite of world-class artists. Anything that involves people creating beautiful objects, making music, shaping their environment imaginatively, can be called art. Exclude the work of ordinary people and art becomes distant and aloof, the exclusive preserve of the rich.

Against

If this counts as art then any rubbish can qualify. There must be minimum standards. Some of the entries in the Turner Prize, collections of bricks or dustbins, piano pieces consisting of a few minutes of silence, bring the term “art” into disrepute. This is a collection of objects, not an art exhibition.