P4C in the Sculpture Park: the hare and the tarantula

05/07/2010 by Steve Bramall.

Sixteen10 and 11 year olds, one giant galvanised wire naked woman with the head of a hare, fifteen minutes to make some juicy questions. It’s philosophy, p4c style, in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

On the walk in, there are tarantula care tips, disputes about snake food preferences and warnings about lizard hygene. The kids with scary pets keep a distance from the dog and cat brigade and take their chance to speak their young obsessions. Adam switches suddenly from fauna to flora. ‘Lovely garden.’ He’s right. Beside us is a picture postcard English cottage, fronted by towering hollyhocks,  bouquets of deep lavender and tangles of wild pink roses. A perfect old lady smiles over the stone birdbath. ‘Thankyou.’

In the park, blustery drizzle gives way to a cheery sunshine that causes sharp shadows to reach out from the animal headed woman. Some circle her, several perch on a viewpoint tree stump, the adventurous get close. ‘Why can I touch that one and not this?’ ‘Wonder what she eats?’ ‘Is she pregnant?’

Ten minutes more conversation and the questions begin to flow. ‘Why do sculptors do so many naked people?’ ‘Why are the figures so big?’ ‘What does the split represent?’  ‘If I sit on it, am I part of the sculpture?’ ‘Do sad people make sad sculptures?’ ‘Are there feelings with no names?’

Soon we have more than enough to spark up the afternoon dialogue. These young persons have furnished us with common, central and contentious concepts to explore and stretch, reflective thoughts about meaning and value in art and life to share,  serious and not so serious ideas for making their own sculptural tableau responses.

Back at school, three fifteen comes around in the blink of an eye. In the car park, Steve Williams and I recall the highlights of the day; the deep thinking, the laughter, the sculptures, the learning. We run over other things we might have done with more time, think fondly back to our farm shop picnic lunch, plan the editing and the next trip north. Then its back to our cars for the drive home.

‘That was a good one, from the new girl, ‘Why don’t they put all the sculptures close together’.’

‘Yes, and the boy with the tarantula - said ‘I like it but I don’t know why. Could that be a question?”

Could be. And could raise another question…

Steve Williams is an independent P4C trainer and facilitator.

Steve Bramall’s website

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