He is a bronze behemoth, standing tall at a staggering seven metres, swinging a hammer, half-man and half-machine.
Eduardo Paolozzi’s Vulcan, which can be found striding across the ground floor of Edinburgh’s Dean Gallery, is just one of the artworks being used to inspire pupils taking part in this year’s National Galleries of Scotland art competition for schools.
Along with Paolozzi’s sculpture, pupils in P1-3 are asked to examine Paul Klee’s Ghost of a Genius and an untitled work by Richard Lindner, reminiscent of a robot’s head that has been taken apart. They are then challenged to “make a picture of your robot friend” using any materials, techniques or processes - for example, drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, photography, computer-aided design, collage or montage.
Meanwhile, it is recommended that nursery children use work by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Wendy McMurdo to get their creative juices flowing, helping them to produce a piece of art under the heading “A Pet for Me”.
P4-7 are tasked with designing a fantastic dream home they would love to live in. They can draw it from the outside or cut through a cross-section and show what it would be like from the inside. S1-2 have to produce a head sculpture.
The National Galleries of Scotland website says: “You can draw the idea, make a sculpture and take a photograph of it or use digital imaging techniques to show how it would look.”
“Let there be light” is the special schools category. Pupils are to make a picture based on the theme of light. Claude Monet’s Haystacks: Snow Effect and a silhouette of a famous Edinburgh anatomist by Augustin Edouart, cut from black paper, are their inspiration.
The competition is open to all schools in Scotland, with group entries allowed to submit work under any of the themes.
An exhibition of the winning works will tour Scotland and a calendar featuring them will be sent to every school in the country, as well as going on sale in the gallery shops.
Deadline for entries is May 7.
- www.nationalgalleries.orgeducationcompetition.
