Mexican Day of the Dead
- UNIT -
Key Concepts: Communication / Expression / Narrative
Describe La Catrina. Is it a man or a woman?
How can you tell?
What else can you tell about La Catrina?
Do you think she's stylish? How so?
What do you think is funny about La Catrina?
Does this object make you laugh, why?
What is unique about Posada's illustrations?
What do all of his illustrations have in common?
Statement of Inquiry: Different people/cultures express their culture, celebrations, behaviors, beliefs, traditions, philosophy, art, culture, religion, feelings, and ways of communicating, in different ways.
Inquiry Questions:
Factual— What is a ceremony? What is death? Do you know of anyone who has died? Every society has ceremonies or special things they do about death. Do you know any traditions which honour or remember ancestors or people who have come before us? How does Day of the Dead compare with Halloween? Do you see any similarities? Do you see any differences?
Conceptual—Why and how do people express or communicate their feelings? Do different people feel or express their emotions in different ways? How do you convey your feelings? How do different people/cultures embrace death around the world? How do different people/cultures deal with death/mourn/grief/pain/sadness around the world?
Debatable— Is it morbid or scary to celebrate death as a new beginning during a ceremony? How does it make you feel? Are there other ways to deal with death/mourn/grief/pain/sadness? Can all the different people/cultures find alternatives ways to express and deal with death and yet understand, appreciate and respect each other?
Task 1: Explore the differences between the 'Day of the Dead' concept, and the ideas behind Halloween. Create a page in your process journal, divide it down the middle, outline key points and ideas behind the two traditions of Halloween and Day of the Dead. Compare and contrast. Include images and citations.
Task 2: Research our Artist Role-model 'Jose Guadalupe Posada.' (1Page in process journal). Look into the life of the engraver, and in particular his illustrations of skeletons. Tell us about La Catrina. Analyze his work using art terms (refer to the elements of art and principles of design). Your process journal page should include images, drawing and written formats.
"Aloha"
The Spirit of Hawaii
Key Concept: Culture
Related Concept: Interpretation
Global Context: Personal and Cultural expression
Statement of Inquiry:
The Hawaiian interpretation of ‘Aloha’ is a personal and cultural expression meaning more than just hello.
Inquiry questions:
Factual - Is there a word in English that’s a greeting but has other meanings too?
Conceptual - Do you think ‘Aloha’ could be described as a religious blessing?
What kind of art is ‘aloha’ art? To what kind of extent does the identity of the artist impact the artwork? In what ways can the arts influence or even change a society?
Debatable - Is everyone an artist?
Task One
Knowledge and Understanding, what is Aloha?
Did you know that ALOHA means more than simply hello?
In your Process Journal, title the page 'What is Aloha?'
Click on the link below titled "SurferToday Article...", and read the article about the different meanings that Hawaiian culture has for the word Aloha.
Watch the 8-minute video about the spirit of Aloha, it's at the bottom of the article.
Once you have finished your research, note down 10 facts about what Aloha means to the history and culture of the Hawaiian people.
You can write these facts into one paragraph, do them in bullet points, or create them around a spider diagram with the word Aloha in the center. You decide. Include some color and an illustration somewhere on the page, something... Hawaiian (look up some Hawaiian images online).
Note: Every art process journal page should be a combination of written formats, sketches, and printed images when possible.
Task Two
Developing Skills - Drawing Task
What images do you think of when you think of Hawaii?
These are some that come to my mind... SURF / SUN / PINEAPPLES / COCONUT TREES / BEACH / FLOWERS / WHALES / DOLPHINS / TURTLES / VOLCANOS / TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN TIKI GODS
Tiki Gods
Drawing task: Select an image of one of the Tiki gods. 'Google image' search 'Tiki God Sculptures' so that you are drawing from an image of a real sculpture, not a cartoon one. You are to use a selection of pencils (HB, 2B, 4B, 6B) and draw a full-page Tiki. Aim for a range of light and dark values (shades of light through to dark), using the different pencils will help with this. You can use the eraser to lift out highlights at the end. You may use a blending stub. You should also add some little marks to show textured areas too.
Task Three
Thinking Creatively ~ Design
Typography refers to the visual aspect of type. It’s the practice of arranging text in a legible way (can be read) and aesthetic (looks good). Beyond that, it can be used to exude a certain mood or strengthen a message. To do so, we can use different typefaces and font styles and adjust the size and spacing between letters. For example with the word Aloha you might decide to put an emphasis on the O ...so it becomes AlOha!
Step 1. Search ‘alphabet fonts’ in google images, and find some font families that you like.
Step 2. In your process journal, free-hand ALOHA 8 times in your chosen fonts. (I want you to play with scale and the spacing of letters in some of them.)
Step 3. Think back on the images that you have seen since you began this unit; try out some creative ways to incorporate Hawaiian images into, or beside, or around, the ALOHAs.
See my exemplar works (note: you can go over 1 page if you have more ideas, this is the ‘thinking creatively’ grade… so it’s good to brainstorm a lot and use your imagination).
Task Four
Responding Task ~ Final Creative Outcome
I want you to take your best 'Aloha' idea from your thumbnail (little) sketches in Task 3. and develop it into a final artwork. This means upscaling it (we will use an A3 (12"x16") paper). Therefore, will not be creating this in your process journal but on separate cartridge paper.
Students often see a couple of thumbnail designs that they like and join the ideas together to make something successful. This is called refinement sketching and can be figured out in a quick sketch in your process journal before you start your final.
Creating your final Aloha design
Step 1. using an HB pencil and a very light touch, rule a top and bottom line (frame) for your font to fit into. Some of the letters in Aloha may be larger for emphasis, so consider the space you need around the word before starting. You might also decide to have a larger amount of space around the Aloha, for images.
Step 2. using an HB pencil and a very light touch, sketch in your lettering. Look back to the font family example online to get the best result. Check your line weights (that there is consistency across your lettering).
Step 3. using an HB pencil and a very light touch, sketch in your Hawaiian imagery. You should look back at the original images, looking at them to guide your drawing. (Instead of looking at your rough sketches of the images).
Step 4. let's add color!!! We will use watercolor pencils to create vibrant artwork.
PROCESS JOURNAL & CREATIVE OUTPUT
You will use your research to create a minimum of 4 thumbnails where you will explore ideas for Posada style illustrations, use his work as an influence, especially his mark-making. Communication is often regarded in the arts as a message between the artist and an audience. Without intended communication the arts become solely self-expressive. Through illustration, communicate a narrative about death that makes it seem like the everyday occurrence that it is. Set your drawing in a contemporary scene. Draw skeletons having fun in a comical way, to make us feel lighter and amused about a more serious subject.
NDEBELE DESIGN
UNIT
Key Concepts:
Aesthetics, Composition, Expression
Students will carefully study the South African Ndebele Tribe's designs, and implement the same elements into their own work. In doing so, they are learning and testing the principles of design; shifting compositions to achieve what the Ndebele people consider to be beautiful, and "in harmony."
Statement of Inquiry - Many Cultures consider balance and harmony to be the cornerstone of aesthetics.
Inquiry questions:
Factual — What conventions or elements can be identified as specific to this design genre?
Conceptual — In what ways can the arts influence or change society?
Debatable— Is everyone an artist?
Still Life Studies
Create a still life drawing from a selection of objects in the art room. You can draw from the still life arrangement of the armchair and boots (by the bookshelf), or you can select 3 objects from around the room to place on your table and draw, or draw from one of these pictures here.
Focus on Form & Values.
PROCESS JOURNAL & CREATIVE OUTPUT
Process Journal.
Task 1:
Study the Ndebele tribe in South Africa, watching news clips and taking notes, copy one of their designs into your process journal (1.5 pages).
Task 3:
Still life studies: x4 quick 3 minimum drawings of a still life arrangement, with a focus on geometric shapes. x2 longer still life drawings, working-in form and detail in one focus area. These drawings must show that a range of different angles of the still life have been explored.
Task 4:
Composition Thumbnails x4 minimum This is where you combine the ideas from your still life with the Ndebele patterns, working out arrangements. Keywords are balance, harmony, symmetry. Play with repeating pattern, color and scale. All shapes must be 2D. Flatten the picture plane.
Critique your work with a peer, discussing best ideas. Select one thumbnail to develop after this discussion. Do a refinement sketch. Work out color palette.
Task 5:
Creative Output: Begin to Sketch your final on a3 paper. You must use tools (rulers, compasses - you must use measurements to make your patterns as accurate as possible). Lines and paint work must be kept clean. You must take pride in your work and make it as tidy as possible.
Task 6:
Write a Refection in your Process Journal in pen, answering the following questions in full sentences. Use these 'prompts' in your sentences.
Rethink: What previous ideas has this Ndebele assignment made you rethink? Does your design have more organic shapes or geometric shapes? Be specific and explain why you chose organic or geometric for different areas.
Reinforce: What ideas or skills has this work reinforced?
Reflect: What aspects of your artwork, on reflection, have been successful or unsuccessful?
Adapt: What new skills or new pieces of knowledge might you take and change a bit, to suit you better in the future?
Adopt: What new techniques, ideas, might you take and do exactly the same again? We used balance ~ positive and negative space a lot in this project, what other elements of art & principles of design did you use to help you complete this work?
Address: What skills has this project made you address? What do you need to address now for the future? Did you need more time to complete this project? If yes how much longer would you need? In what ways do you think the art of the Ndebele tribe influenced and changed their society?
Balance
Harmony
Symmetry
Pattern
Color
Scale
Unit 3
Graphic Novels / Illustration
Objectives:
- Approach the study of Art History through Graphic Novels
- Develop drawing skills, concepts and techniques of illustration
- Learn about the ideas and approaches of Graphic Novelists
- Understand how the structure of the art work is created
- Research an aspect of art history to create an original graphic work, which communicates your research on a particular artist and/or artwork.
Project
- Select and analyze an excerpt from a graphic novel paying attention to both story elements and visual presentation of the story.
- In small groups, identify the various elements of the storytelling (character, setting, conflict, action). Also, visual presentation (style, perspective, colour, choice of media etc). Feedback to the rest of the class your findings.
- Graphic Novel Research: In pairs, find examples of different styles of illustration (eg; manga, comic etc). Present research in a powerpoint presentation.
- Independent Research into an artist of your choosing and their life, and /or an artwork and it's story.
Requirements:
- One page of gathered information, on your focus, typed.
- One page of visual imagery which relates to the Artist and/or Painting. Min: 10 images - collaged
- One page of bulletin points outlining a rough storyline relating to your focus and that which communicates your research. Must have story-telling elements e.g A beginning with a hook, a middle with a climax (something which happens to change the story or character in some way, a conflict or action), an ending where there is a resolution or the beginning of a resolution and a to be continued... (only can use this if you create more than 3 pages of a Graphic Novel). How to write the Graphic Novel
- What to consider with Layout Produce a few a4 pages of thumbnail sketches to illustrate your ideas, using a mix of different frame sizes as discussed in the link. Consider Pace: Smaller frames quicken pace, wide frames slow it down.
- Figure drawing and expressions: Draw mannequins in a series of action poses. Draw mannequins using the shapes technique to get the structure of the character, then exaggerate the form.
- Play with different adjustments to facial features and how this can suggest different emotions.