Living Painting Made of People
24 Apr 2009 6 Comments
in Art, Life, News Tags: Art for the Sky, conceptual art, Daniel Dancer
Here’s an unusual idea. Oregon conceptual artist, author and educator, Daniel Dancer recently worked with students from Long Island’s Commack Middle School to create the image of a humongous lighthouse, an image beloved by many native Long Islanders.
2,100 bodies form lighthouse at Commack school. Newsday photo by Daniel Dancer.
The entire Commack Middle School — 1,900 students and 200 staff members — took on the shape of a gigantic lighthouse representing the students’ shining beams of knowledge, understanding and respect for the earth. The lighthouse image was formed by participants wearing clothing representing the school colors (black, gold, and white) and other materials necessary to complete the design. In front of the school, participants gathered in designated areas to become “human drops of paint” forming an image that will only make sense from the sky.
The “rocks” on the bottom of the lighthouse are garbage bags filled with garbage collected from the beach at Sunken Meadow. The top of the lighthouse is constructed from sticks and driftwood from the beach, and the windows are in actuality water and soda bottles that were also collected from the beach.
Dancer photographed the huge design from a ladder truck raised 100 feet in the air.
“Art for the Sky” is an art form that has a history dating back 3,000 years. The varied teachings of Art for the Sky help participants awaken their “sky sight,” a manner of viewing the world in a big-picture way that gives greater access to creative thinking and problem solving. In working together to create Art for the Sky, participants experience the power of collaboration and the benefits of interdependence.
~MadSilence
Apr 25, 2009 @ 00:38:25
I like the concept. Very impressive.
Apr 25, 2009 @ 21:32:33
I loved this. So much thought and such a great and memorable message for the kids. Really creative and wonderful.
Apr 28, 2009 @ 19:31:50
This is amazing. Love that he did it at a middle school. There is no one who would appreciate participating more than a group of young uns. They will remember this group effort for a life time, hopefully instilling a great curiosity for art. Thanks for sharing this.
May 09, 2009 @ 21:15:12
That’s awesome! Check out a similar series of projects by Guillaume Reymond!
May 18, 2009 @ 06:32:13
Thanks Maya. Reymond takes ordinary objects & rearranges them into public art objects. I like the transformers! MadSilence to&w
Sep 05, 2010 @ 10:45:11
I am a watercolor artist who paints lighthouses and I found your story very uplifting.