The idea for the Hundred Views Project was triggered by the work of the Japanese artist Hokusai and his major work, One Hundred Views of Mt Fuji which was first published in Japan in the 1830’s. The publication came into my hands in a bookshop in 1995 and was inspirational for me as a writer. At the same time, I was aware of the task the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, had set for himself, to write a hundred love poems for his beloved. The discipline of conceiving a hundred ideas or images on one subject, to find an ‘inner meaning’, as Hokusai put it, had great appeal. I thought I’d like to experiment with the idea but then wondered how it might apply to children themselves attempting do the same thing.
Finding the Way
I wanted to provide workshops for teachers to help their children achieve the '100 VIEWS' of their community ‘icon’. This is through poetry and art in the first instance, using technology to showcase their offerings, and then working towards a celebration of the community in the form of a Festival. I came to conclude that the best place to test the idea was with students and their teachers in a school, in a living experiment. I decided it should be a Public School to begin with as it needed to be a whole school endeavour. I had to find a school principal sympathetic to the idea of using the 100 VIEWS concept, combining the arts and reaching out to its community. Bondi Beach Public School had such a principal in Ms Maria Hardy and Bondi Beach was indeed iconic as a place to celebrate 100 times over. ‘Let the wild rumpus begin!’
Hokusai
The artist Hokusai used the leitmotif, as he called it, of Mt Fuji to display his artistic virtuosity and to reveal scenes of everyday life, and yet the work is also rich in his ‘spiritual intent’. He chose 100 because at age 100 he hoped to have achieved a ‘divine state’ in his art. He fell ten years short of his dream but was able to complete his masterpiece, 100 VIEWS of Mt Fuji which is still an inspiration today.
To undertake 100 VIEWS is ambitious because it involves fulsome concentration on the chosen icon, a real exploration of a subject, and a deeper focus than one might normally give. And for a teachers and students to undertake it, means a whole school focus is necessary.
Choosing the Icon
The school simply has to choose the ‘local ‘icon’ it wishes to celebrate. Something that evinces their own ‘place’ or environment. It could be a monument, a building, a road or a natural resource. Then, through a series of workshops the students celebrate the icon in poetry and art in the first place, which leads to drama and music in their high point celebration that I’ve called the Festival.
My problem was a way in which to bring this about in a school community that would not burden but rather enliven teaching, and that would use technology as a means to communicate their 100 VIEWS more widely. Thus the idea of the engagement of the whole school in a work that will be showcased as a website seemed ideal. And one that could invites others to take part in a similar undertaking. This could be local but there is no reason why it could not be international e.g. a school community in Japan or United States or New Zealand could take part.
Snapshot 100 VIEWS Project
100 VIEWS allows for ICT enhanced creative thinking involving students who will be participating in workshops and interviews to celebrate their community.
It can involve:-
- Poetry and creative writing through a series of workshops.
- Art for new media - various formats, webpages, blogs, wikis etc.
- Music for new media- own compositions, a symphony of place.
- Technology intertwining all facets - what makes up good design, storyboarding ideas, simple programming, etc to enhance student work.
- A Festival - Performance of a drama/concert/art show related to the icon.
For Bondi Beach Public School, the performance of a play relevant to the community is based on the 1981 children’s picture book The Tram to Bondi Beach which was 25 years old in 2006.
Finding A True Creative Path
Taking part in the 100 VIEWS Project allows for further education in the form of the learning modules, encouraging school staff to improve teaching skills whilst enjoying further insight in the community in which they are teaching. Strong support through workshops, meetings and so on, allows for a synergy between schools, their students and their community, and for a true creative path to be forged. With thanks to Hokusai for the inspiration 100 VIEWS in 2000’s allows for potential to be unlocked, and is multi-directional as technology expands.