LOCKDOWN LIFE

Using cuddly toys, house plants, towels or other items lying around the house, LEH pupils and staff got truly creative in their mission to recreate some of their favourite works of art.

Imitating Art

An important feature of A level History of Art lessons at LEH has always been for the students to act out the paintings, sculptures and buildings (yes – buildings!) that they learn about. It brings the works of art to life, as well as making the lessons as interesting and varied as possible.

Proof of just how fun this is lies in the fact that people from all around the world have been doing the same to keep themselves occupied during the various lockdowns, and it wasn’t long before the wider LEH community followed suit with an Art Imitation Competition launched by Miss Lindsay, ‘our’ Head of History of Art.

The guidelines were simple: find a painting to recreate and capture said recreation in a photograph. Pupils were urged to be as inventive

as possible with costumes and props, and encouraged to include other family members and pets if necessary. Prizes were awarded for the most realistic, the most creative and the most unusual imitations and the competition yielded some fantastic results overall.....

Miss Lindsay led by example and, after a rummage around in the fancy dress box and some careful coaxing of her dog, managed to recreate Bronzino’s ‘Portrait of a Lady in Red’: father and daughter in Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic’. Grace gathered all her house plants to best express Frida Kahlo and Rosie summoned the whole family for a Thanksgiving feast:

Then came the Thirds, with some fantastic pet appearances for Iona’s and Alice’s Renoir and Leonardo da Vinci imitations. Hanna produced a very convincing Vermeer, and Shimmy’s costume was second to none!

The final flourish came in the form of the entries from SMT, who also wanted a piece of the fun. Mrs Blaiklock took to her chair for an extremely lifelike ‘Whistler’s Mother’ while Mrs Sinnett called upon some cuddly toys for another fabulous Frida Kahlo.....though where was the monobrow?! And Mr Piper must be commended for his compositional diligence in his Hockney recreation.

Next up were the L6 Art Historians with some very impressive attempts: Marie-Louise went all out in embodying David’s iconic painting ‘The Death of Marat’, and Emily and Ike perfectly captured the impassive, pitchforked These have been strange times, but also times of great creativity, and the fact that so many have turned to art speaks volumes of its accessibility as well as its power to inspire, entertain, educate and bring joy.