iSHOES (ISSUES)

SHOES are a technology that are virtually indispensable in our climate. Around the world, the materials from which they are made and how shoes serve their makers are linked to the CULTURE, the PURPOSE and the ARTISTRY of their time.

The TEENAGER of 2005 is as complex as ever. They have a developing sense of themselves and the big ISSUES for them are how they fit into their CULTURE, how they come to understand their PURPOSE and how they make sense of and express themselves with the ARTISTRY of their times.

The Grade Eight CyberARTS version of CREATIVE SOLES

iSHOES (pronounced ISSUES)

was a layering of three things:

PERSONAL CULTURE
GLOBAL AWARENESS AND PURPOSE
ARTISTRY


The phrase iSHOES was one I would use to remind them to go beyond the purely aesthetic, beyond the pretty, the painted, the decorative. It was a call to action – iSSUES – personal, or global, as long as there was deeper thought, planning, reflection and expression.

A view of the ARTWORK shows the issues range from interpretations of storybook poverty, like the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, to portrayals of the Great Tsunami of 2004 and environmental commentary of oil slick afflicted shore birds. Themes such as escapism, like in Alice and Wonderland, ethics, as in the wounded animal target, and being “captive”ated by the media, as in the arm handcuffed to an iPOD, are metaphors for what these teens are going through at this stage in their lives.

Today’s thirteen and fourteen year olds are on the edge of innocence in a very visually, politically, ethically and morally complex world. These artworks testify a truth that is rarely seen with such lovely honesty – just think about the teddy bear slipper with the leopard skin high heel. It is an object not of a child, nor of an adult – it is pure adolescence; a pure expression of childhood culture in conflict with maturity, with a confused purpose and artistry that quotes rather than invents. Even the artworks that are unique and creative present us with a naïve passion hidden among the delicate details.

We are lucky to be reminded of these stages of life and how important it is for our children to pass through them. I am very proud of all of my students and the strength of their artistic expressions of iSHOES (ISSUES).

- Sebastian Hergott, CyberARTS Coordinator, Don Mills Middle School