Line of Sight Activity

Greer Twiss points his finger and directs our Line of Sight, toward his dead father’s spectacles and beyond, to follow the rolling marble across the stage. This sculpture, like a three-dimensional diagram or a still life painting is full of deliberate yet puzzling elements for us viewers to interpret.

Greer Twiss   Line of Sight (1973)  steel, bronze, string Collection of Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History. Purchased from Hansells Sculpture Awards exhibition.
Greer Twiss, Line of Sight (1973), steel, bronze, string, Collection of Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History. Purchased from Hansells Sculpture Awards exhibition.

Have a go at the following art activities that draw inspiration from Greer Twiss’ steel, bronze and string sculpture Line of Sight.

Greer Twiss, Line of Sight (1973)

Art Challenge

Create a still life about your Bubble

While you are stuck at home during lock down, take some time to reflect on things that are important to you. What are you most grateful for in your Bubble? What are the most precious things in your Bubble? Are they beautiful? Are they functional? What stories do these objects tell about your life right now during lock down?

Choose a few of these important objects that you can arrange in a symbolic still life.

Greer Twiss   Line of Sight (1973)  steel, bronze, string Collection of Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History. Purchased from Hansells Sculpture Awards exhibition.

What you will need

A board to arrange objects on and about 2-5 objects from your Bubble that are special to you.

What you do

Set up the objects on the board. Think about how they could be arranged to lead the viewers eye around the scene. You may wish to add string lines like Twiss does.
Now stage your hand within the scene and take a photo. Twiss has composed his sculpture from a bird’s eye view. Test out a few different camera angles, what works best for your composition?

Take it further

Now that you have a plan, it is time to get serious. Still life photography makes it easy to experiment. In contrast to portrait and landscape photography, you don’t have to deal with life models, and you don’t have to search out an interesting location or photo opportunity. Instead, you can create your own interesting composition using common objects you have or find nearby. So, try out some different compositions and lighting setups to see what works and what doesn’t.

We would love to see the art you are making at home during lock down
Post your photos on Aratoi Instagram or Facebook or email them to [email protected]