To preview our visit to Ian McMahon's installation we invited the children to participate in a slideshow. We used our SEE, THINK, WONDER protocol to organize our conversation as we viewed his process through the photographs Julie sent our way. From this, the children generated questions that we shared with the artist when we visited the Linde gallery.
It looks like a dog with a cone except it’s a door with a cone! Beatrice
It’s bringing in the air! Graeme
We delivered our questions to Ian.
Will we get to go inside?
Can we jump on the marshmallow?
How long did it take you to make it?
What material is the marshmallow made of?
What do you call the marshmallow?
What is the structure called?
Did people walk inside or outside the marshmallow?
How long will it take you to finish?
Ian answered our questions and shared other information with us about his process.
I love that you call them marshmallows. Some people call them pillows or balloons. They have a thin skin…volume is air to fill these things to create shapes.
Ian McMahon
He has 24 marshmallows! We counted and when we got to 24 he said stop. Arya
When we got to 24 he said, “Ding ding ding!” Brooke
He showed us the mask that he wear so he wont breathe in the chemicals. Arya
He said we couldn’t go in. Chester
He said we couldn’t jump on it or we would break it or rip the plastic. Charlie
Or we would get really hurt. Lyla
He told us that he could feel the plaster and he told us that it would get hard. It was soft on one side and bumpy on the other. Birdie
I told you that! Sevi
We took a tour of his work, seeing his work from the outside. The children were very aware that he was sharing his work before it was complete.
Is he going to go back to work when we say goodbye? He is gonna go back inside there. Charlie
He's gonna make windows. When he's done he's gonna take away the second layer of plastic. Graeme
Arya! Arya! That’s the door we saw in the photo. That’s how he gets inside! Chester
Is this a house? Arya
It looks like it’s really tall. Vivian
If he opened one door the air would go out. He would open the first door and shut it and then open the other door and shut it. Open, shut, go in. Open, shut, go out. Arya
THAT’S A HUGE MARSHMALLOW! Lyla
It looks like a big square. Like a rectangle that's upway, that's upwards. Sevi
He told us the black parts will never come off. They are a part of the art. He said they give the marshmallows a hug, a never-ending hug. Beatrice
