The Alchemy of Arcimboldo

The book From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Art & Design Problem Solving by Ken Vieth (Davis Publications, 2000) is full of inspiring classroom projects for the new art teacher. Without knowing it, Ken Vieth served as my mentor in my first year of art-teaching. I was building a program from scratch when I discovered his book by happenstance, and a project featuring no. 2 pencils caught my eye.

The idea was to take an everyday object, in this case a pencil, and see it in a new way. Vieth prompted his students to transform the pencil into something unexpected. I was immediately reminded of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, the Italian painter from the Renaissance best known for his imaginative portraits comprising everyday items such as fruits, flowers, and books. I saw an opportunity to use Vieth’s project idea and couple it with a history lesson on an artist related to the concept. This project was an immediate success, and over the years it has expanded to include other everyday objects as well as 2D and 3D interpretations.

Searching for Clues
Begin this project with a presentation on Arcimboldo. Ask students to identify thematic ideas and search for the artistʼs signature in each work, which he often wove into the composition.. Students seem to be most interested in the way he was thinking compared to other Renaissance artists—he was a true original, well versed in realism, who delighted in unusual portraiture and reversible imagery. Some credit Arcimboldo as being the first surrealist, and when comparing his work to a contemporary surrealist such as Vladimir Kush, one can see why.

Exercise: Transforming a Pencil
A drawing exercise that combines realism with transformation techniques is a great way to scaffold this project. Pass out a no. 2 pencil to each student and ask them to study it and think about how they would render it realistically. Give them an open-ended list of transformation techniques and have them select several to try out on their pencil in their sketchbooks. Students can bend, twist, melt, vaporize, peel, tie the pencil in a knot, etc. The goal is to transform the pencil while keeping it recognizable.

For an advanced or extended version, students could select an everyday object such as a leaf, mushroom, or seashell and complete the same transformation exercise. When it comes time for students to share their solutions, it is a lesson in and of itself to see how they can receive the same transformation prompts but interpret them differently.

Group Challenge: Transforming Objects
Group brainstorming encourages formation of unique ideas. Prepare a list of objects and divide your class into groups. Assign each group an object and task them with coming up with as many techniques as possible to transform the selected object. For example, students may decide to play on objects that relate to each other, such as a cat made up of fish, yarn, or cat toys.

You could encourage students to come up with ways to create a reversible, where an object reads one way right-side up and another way upside down, such as a bouquet of flowers and a group of fairies respectively. The ground rule for creative brainstorming is that there are no wrong answers. This rule sets the stage for all students to contribute with open minds regardless of how far-fetched or improbable the idea may seem.