Kaohsiung Municipal Minzu Junior High School - Ode to the Wind
Every emotion has its own unique texture: anxiety and stress are like rough sandpaper, unsettling; sadness is like smooth glass, cold and fragile; and joy is like fluffy, soft cotton, delightful to the touch. This course, drawing on the concept of texture in the visual arts, guides students through the translation and creation of texture, exploring the symbolic nature of emotions and interpersonal interactions. Texture in this course extends beyond visual or tactile expression to become a concrete means of emotional expression.
The course incorporates social-emotional learning (SEL) concepts. Through role-playing and interpersonal interactions, students will reflect on the complexities of emotional management and interpersonal relationships, and enhance their ability to perceive their own emotions. They will then practice transforming abstract emotional connotations into concrete "texture objects," creating a personalized key visual for a glass wind chime through the interplay of these "texture objects." This creative process not only allows students to express their inner emotions through sensory experience but also cultivates their ability to convey emotions and ideas through artistic vocabulary.
The choice of wind chimes as a creative medium for the course stems from their diverse cultural heritage as a medium for conveying emotions and thoughts. The swaying gesture and melodious sound of wind chimes, like the flow of emotions in the wind, convey blessings and hope. In the graduation ceremony exhibition, wind chimes also symbolize students' emotional blessings and wishes for their seniors to carry their dreams and soar high. The music presentation is written onto NFC stickers, which are then read by mobile phones. A short video (10–20 seconds) created by the student using Canva is displayed: it includes the student reciting an AI-generated acrostic poem, the selected music, a background image, and title text.
The final wind chime will be exhibited during the graduation ceremony, beneath the beams and columns of the Chuan Hall on the first floor of the school. Considering the classical Chinese architecture of Minzu Junior High School, and the campus buildings imbued with ancient charm, the course incorporates an introduction to and application of traditional Chinese architectural elements: dougong (brackets). Dougong, a structural element at the junction of horizontal beams and vertical columns, represents a culmination of aesthetics and mechanics. Students will learn its basic structure and function, and then use building blocks to creatively combine them, showcasing their own reinterpretations of traditional architecture. The wind chime will be hung beneath a large image of a traditional dougong, adding cultural depth and visual interest to the overall exhibition.
