Still Life Self-Portrait
Enduring Understanding: Students will see that everyday objects depicted in works of art often have deeper symbolic significance attached to them. Students will be asked to identify what is personal and unique about them and then they will have to pick objects that represent those parts of their personality.
PGC’s:
Recognize, articulate, and debate that the visual arts are a means for expression.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically using oral and written discourse.
Identify, compare, and interpret works of art derived from historical and cultural settings, time periods, and cultural contexts
Create works of art that articulate more sophisticated ideas, feelings, emotions, and points of view about art and design through an expanded use of media and technologies
Objectives:
1.Students will be able to explain how the object they choose to draw represents their individual personality in their developmental workbooks. LITERACY
(Understand; Comprehend: Visual art has inherent characteristics and expressive features.)
2.Students will be able to use view finders in order to create a composition which emphasizes their intended meaning. TECHNOLOGY
(Applying; Create: Demonstrate technical proficiency and craftsmanship when planning.)
3.Students will be able to demonstrate the use of cross hatching in order to accurately represent value shifts within their still life.
(Applying; Create: Achieve artistic purpose to communicate intent)
4. Student will be able to identify work for the Yuan dynasty as well as artists form the Norther Renaissance; Jan van Eyck and Pieter Brugel the Elder.
(Understanding; Comprehend: The history of art, world cultures, and artistic styles influence contemporary art concerns.)
Pre-assessment:
Ask students if they are familiar with cross hatching.
The warm up activity for day one will be a performance observation pre-assessment. Students will create a value scale in their developmental workbooks. The value scale will have 10 boxes; they will have to produce a range of values from paper white to pure black using the technique of cross hatching. This will give me an idea of who is comfortable using this technique and who will need extra instruction with the technique.
Ask students if they have ever used a view finder.
When would you use a view finder?
Ask students if they are familiar with the term symbolism.
What does it mean when a work of art uses symbolism?
Are students familiar with the word Renaissance? Can they list any artists associated with the Northern Renaissance?
Accommodations and modifications:
Accommodations-
Students with ADD/ADHD- provide a written schedule of what is expected each day so they can refer to it when needed. This schedule will be written on the board each day.
Review instructions individually with students to enhance comprehension
Students with Anxiety disorder- provide preferential seating for these students. Allow them to sit alone.
Modifications- have students focus on two or more objects. This way they have more of a challenge portraying space
Students could create a diptych showing the same object from different points of view
Materials:
Developmental Workbooks
Drawing Paper
Pencils and Charcoal
View finders
Students will bring in personal objects for their still life
Masking tape
Drawing boards
Resources:
1. Dvorak, Robert. Drawing Without Fear.
Palo Alto: Dale Seymour Publications, 1987. Print.
2. Kleiner, Fred. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History, Thirteenth Edition.
Boston: Thompson Wadsworth, 2009. Print.
Preparation:
- A class set of view finders will be cut out of mat board
- Create slide show
-A day before the lesson is given students will be told that they will have to bring in objects that will represent themselves. Bringing in their objects will be their homework for the next class period.
-The teacher will have to bring in several additional objects for students to choose from if they do not bring in their own object.
Safety:
Make sure that it is noted that all objects that are to be brought in are safe and school appropriate. Before students can begin work on planning thumbnail sketches make sure they have their object OK’d by the teacher.
Action to Motivation:
The main motivation for this assignment is student choice. Allowing students to choose the object they will draw allows the assignment to be relevant to students and the freedom of choice will increase their interest in the assignment.
“I know how it can feel to arrive in an art room and see several bottles and boxes set up for you to draw. I know that still life drawings can be tedious. So for our first assignment I am going to begin with a…… still life! But the main difference is this time we will not be drawing boxes and bottles. This time the subject matter is entirely up to you. What object will you choose to that is personal to you? What can you tell me about yourself by the object you choose to represent?”
Students who did not bring in an object will go on a still life scavenger hunt. Objects will be set up by the sinks so they are out of the way during the warm up and slideshow. Students will be allowed to get up and search for an object in groups of two or three. This will get them interested because they will be up and moving and the ability to pick their own object will make the assignment more personal.
Ideation/Inquiry:
Once students have determined their object have them draw thumbnail sketches to help them brainstorm ideas for the composition of their final piece. Each thumbnail sketch should be a completely new composition, not just the same thing repeated to complete the assignment.
Questions to consider –What do you want this still life to say about you? Do different angles produce different meaning? What is the most important part of your object? Can you crop in and draw only a piece of the object to add emphasis to what is most important to you?
Procedures:
Day 1
1. View finder warm up (inquiry)
Set my bicycle upside down in front of the class
Have students use view finders to draw the part of the bicycle they find the most interesting (skills)
-Using a view finder helps us determine which parts of a scene are most crucial to a composition
-This a good tool to determine if we want or composition to be horizontal or vertical
-Be sure to hold the view finder the same distance away from your eye each time you use it so the composition does not change
-Find the key shapes of your object, where do they meet the edge of your view finder? Where does that correlate with the edge of your paper? (concept)
2. Pre assessment (discussion)
Determine students prior knowledge concerning cross hatching, contour vs. value drawing, symbolism, and artists in the northern renaissance
Ask questions such as;
Can value drawings include contour lines?
What is the difference between hatching and cross hatching?
What does symbolism mean?
What does the word Renaissance mean?
3. Slide show (technology)
Introduce students to the artist Jan van Eyck.
Jan van Eyck’s oil painting Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride almost every single object that is portrayed also represents a deeper meaning.
-The dog represents fidelity or being faithful to one another.
-A broom represents domestic care.
-The oranges under the window may represent that the relationship between these two people is ripening; it may even allude to the fact that the woman is pregnant.
All of these symbols would have been common knowledge to the people of this time. This painting was finished in 1434. People viewing this piece at this time would have seen this more as a story than as a simple painting.
What other symbols do you see? (discussion)
What do you think they mean?
Introduce the Yuan Dynasty Temple Vase (Lecture)
In the thirteenth century the Mongols invaded China. Many of the people felt suppressed living under the new Mongol rule. Chinese artists sent messages in their work using symbols that the new Mongol rulers would not recognize and understand. The dragon sent a message reminding the Chinese of their culture and strength. There is also a phoenix depicted above the dragon. The phoenix is a mythical bird known for rising again from its own ashes. This was a symbol of hope that the Chinese people would one day rise again and take control back from the Mongols.
4. Choosing the object
-if students have brought in their object have them begin on the ideation/inquiry part of their assignment in their developmental workbook
-if students have not brought in their object allow them to choose from a selection of objects provided by the teacher
-objects will be set up on the counters near the sinks so they are out of the way and will not be a distraction during the slideshow
5. Ideation/inquiry
Have students write in their developmental workbooks about the object they chose to depict. Why is it important to them? How does it represent them? Have the students draw three thumbnails sketches for different possible compositions for their final piece. How can looking at the object from a different angle enhance its meaning? Will they draw the whole object or will they only include certain parts of the object to emphasize qualities about the object? (skills)
6. Clean up
Have students store their objects on the shelves by the sink.
Day 2
1. Set up the still life
Students will be working on one of the four tables in the room
Each student will place their object in front of them in the middle of the table
2. Discuss taping off objects and chairs (Lecture)
- We will be working on these still life over the course of a few days, taping off the objects is a way to ensure your still life will be in exactly the same place each time you draw it
- Find where your object rests on the table and make a small outline of it with masking tape
- There will be lots of people putting tape on the table so be sure to write your name on your piece of tape
- We also need to make sure you are looking at the object from exactly the same angle each time you draw it. Tape where the legs of your chair are on the floor so you know you are sitting in the same place each day.
3. Warm up- cross hatching and boxes
Talk about the importance of fundamentals. I can see now why my professors had me draw boxes and bottles for so long. You need a solid foundation if you want to be more creative. You have to learn to play by the rules before you can break them.
Show students the basic concept of drawing a box. (Lecture)
-Start with the first line and then find the parallel lines that are connected to it
-Each line can build off the next, use what you know to find what you don’t know, search for parallel lines
-Discuss the idea of measuring lines with your pencil so you understand the lengths of the lines in comparison to one another
-Once you have finished drawing your box, determine which of the three sides is darkest, which is lightest, and which side is the mid-tone
-Show students how to cross-hatch (Demonstration)
-Cross hatching is really just building up value; you start light and continue to work over an area until you achieve your desired darkness
-Practice cross hatching on the three sides of your box
4. Begin to work (Skills)
The goal by the end of the day will be to have your composition mainly blocked out and ready to start working on cross hatching
Teacher will walk around room and help individuals as questions and concerns arise
Day 3
1. Warm up- trouble shooting with gesture drawings (inquiry)
What part of your object is most difficult to draw? Focus on the part that you find most challenging and draw it several times in your DW. What is the darkest part? Where is the highlight? Even try to draw the object without looking at your paper just to get a feel for its shape.
2. Allow most of class to be work time; assignments will be due at the end of class today. (skills)
3. For students who finish early have them critique the work of their peers
Each student will receive artwork from someone else that has finished and talk about it. (critique)
Each student should mention one thing they like about the work and one thing they would improve
4. Finish up assignment
Teacher will walk around to help students individually
Ask questions such as, what do you see? What does that mean? How do you know?
Student reflective/inquiry activity:
Use a blank piece of computer paper and fold it in half vertically. On the top of the left side have the student write – Artist: Write what you meant to express through your artwork. Once they have answered that question have them fold back the paper so their answer can’t be seen. On the top of the other side of the paper have the student write – Without looking at what the artist wrote, write what you think the artwork is about and what it means to you.
Have students work in groups of two. First write what the artist’s intent was. Then trade paper with your partner and fill out the viewer portion. Discuss similarities and differences between the artist and viewer.
Post-assessment:
Rubric Used to grade final 12x18 images. (see attached rubric)
DW’s checked for planning/envisioning the final drawing as well as describing why the object was personal to them.
Self-Reflection:
-To what extent were the lesson objectives achieved?
Ultimately I feel that the “deepest” goal of this assignment was to have students articulate how the object they chose to depict represented them. Many of the objects seemed to be chosen haphazardly just to fill the assignment. Students for example drew their shoes, one girl drew a rock. When I asked her why she chose her object she replied, “Because it was in my backpack and I could use it to complete the assignment.” This reply was very honest and also disappointing for me. Ultimately it was a lesson for me which pointed out my need to really boost my preparation in order to receive the results I desired, especially when I am asking for a lot of student reflection and insight. Because I did not seem to be reaching that objective I decided to focus more attention on the crosshatching and compositional objectives. These objectives were more straight forward and easier to access. I feel like the objectives concerning the use of view finders to develop composition and the use of crosshatching were much more successful in this lesson.
-What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to teach again?
Having students tape off their objects on the table was not a good idea. I am teaching this lesson to two class periods and the tape began to overlap and become confused with one another. There are also six other class periods using these tables, pottery clean up took off a good portion of the first periods tape. Several of my sixth graders simply started to peel off the tape. A good solution for this would be to have students set up their still life on a drawing board. This way the board could be stored away and the tape would safe from other classes clean up and idle sixth grade fingers.
I wanted to increase student engagement by allowing more student choice in the objects that they drew. However this caused more problems than benefits. Some students wanted to take their objects home because they were to special to leave at school so I faced the risk that if the student were sick or simply forgot to bring their object back it would disrupt all the drawings for the students around them who were depending on having that object in their still life. Another problem I faced surfaced during tenth period. All of the football players were excused early because they had a game that day. None of these students had time to pick an object. I had to place them into groups that were already established because trying to have them set up a group comprised of only football players seemed even more difficult. These gentlemen have been the ring leaders/problem students of this class, it is best to have them spread out as much as possible. It was amazing to watch the group dynamic of the class change after just a few key players left the room.
Ultimately I created an assignment with too many variables. Because if this during this assignment we spent more time setting up than we did actually working.
-What do you envision for the next lesson?
After this lesson I was feeling discouraged but Ashley reminded me “not to throw the baby out with the bath water.” He said the idea behind the lesson was still good but the approach just needed to be refined. The next time I teach this lesson I could set up three different still-lifes with different motifs. That way students could still identify with objects that they felt represented them without the risk of them not bringing in their objects. This would also eliminate the tape problem and leave more time for work time and eliminate most of the chaotic set up before each day.
rubric1.pdf | |
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artist_intent_viewer_interpretation.pdf | |
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reflective_art_talk.pdf | |
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