4 THE ART OBSERVER August 2009 greater range of materials.” Alongside the foundations of painting, drawing and sculpture, Ruth aims to enhance the scope of computer graphics and image manipulation within the department as well as increasing work with mixed media. The department is awaiting the delivery of a new printing press funded by the Parent Teacher Association. The department boasts a Photographic Dark Room, an Art studio and a smaller adjacent room with a kiln, which Ruth hopes to adapt to emulate the atmosphere of a working studio for A-level students. Ruth also hopes to “move the A-level course a little more towards that of an Art foundation course to make students’ transition to university much easier.” By Ray King ART  at Withington Girls’ School became headline news following the sale of a work by acclaimed Scottish painter Anne Redpath, which enabled the inauguration of the Bain Collection in 2005. Sixteen paintings by established contem- porary artists now hang in strategic positions around the leading independent school in south Manchester - and a reproduction of Redpath’s ‘The Chinese Rug’ hangs in the Staff Room. Art in the classroom is serious business at Withington too - and the subject is changing. For Ruth Fildes, appointed the school’s Head of Art earlier this year from a post at Wilmslow High School, Art is not a subject to be pigeonholed but one that should be recognised as being intimately linked with many others. “Art is very much part of everyday life,” says Ruth. “My aim is to demonstrate that wherever the girls look they are seeing art and design. It’s not just a painting in a frame hanging on a wall, but everything they see around them has taken acreative mind to come up with composition, design and colour.” Ruth is not afraid to confront some of the controversies surrounding contemporary Art. “I want girls to think outside the box,” says Ruth. “To look at modern works and try to understand the thought processes that produced them. She adds: “I am trying to make pupils aware of the broader skills they are devel- oping through Art, like creativity, inde- pendent thinking and teamwork that they commonly use in other subjects. They are not just using paint to create a visual image, they are using life experiences.” Ruth became attracted to the subject while a pupil at Urmston Grammar School. “I just thoroughly enjoyed working with different materials to make images or three-dimensional sculptures and it started from there. And now I just love transferring my passion and seeing young people having their own ideas and developing them; watching them approach things from a different perspective. I learn from that too.” Art is part of the core curriculum at Withington throughout the Junior School and in the first three years in the Senior School. In the fourth forms, before GCSE choices are made, the subject is taught in half-class sizes for half the year. “This opens up opportunities for much more one-to-one guidance and the use of a ART AT WITHINGTON GIRLS’ SCHOOL By Lucy Thompson ANTHONY GORMLEY is known for making large gestures with his innovative sculptures, but what happens when he asks the general public to become involved, and to take their place on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth? Mark Levy went to discover exactly this when picked to fill his hour long designated slot on July 11th at 9pm, armed only with a chair, a glass of champagne, a Times crossword, and a firm loathing of conceptual art occupying his mind. This was sure to make things more interesting, and when the rain came, the hope of completing the crossword vanished and attention was upon the signs Levy had made seemingly to compliment his aim of showing his “quintessential self.” They read, in order of display, ‘I am not art’, ‘I am not here’, and finally, ‘A Plinth amongst men.’ Despite these thought provoking messages, the act of changing the signs was the only point in which Levy felt he was being a performer, and insists that for the duration, he had “a jolly time sipping champagne and chatting to friends.” Gormley wanted a representation of society on this plinth, and Mark wanted to be part of it without condoning it, which he inevitably found impossible. This struggle surrounding the boundaries of performance art echoes the recent exhibition by Marina Abramovich, shown at the Whitworth Gallery as part of Manchester’s International festival. Mark also attended this, and agreed that coupled with his experience on the plinth, his mind had been opened to performance art, and gained a broader under- standing of what it is trying to achieve. Abramovich’s strict ‘drill’ which preceeds the eight hour show challenges the audience to find a place in their minds for intense, meaningful viewing. She suggests that the only way to view this art is to get past the bore- dom, free your mind of hesitation, and ultimately, be part of it. So does one have to be on the plinth to see the plinth? The Fourth Plinth project runs from 6th July until 14th October. During this time the plinth, in London’s Trafalgar Square, is occupied by a member of the public 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Each person occupies the plinth for one hour. Anyone can apply and selection is random. For more information and live coverage go to: www.oneandother.co.uk PLAYING THE PART... FOR ART? Mark Levy on The Plinth