Christina Johnson, Fall 2009
Rauschenberg Inspired Collage
Grade Level/Age: 5th grader/10-11 years old
Time Needed: 3
Days
Focus:
Collage is an easy and fun method
for students to explore in art making. The students will use collage to create
imaginative works of art.
Objectives:
A.) 4.1.1.5.2. The student will describe how the principles of visual
art such as repetition, pattern, emphasis, contrast and balance are used in the
creation, presentation or response to visual artworks.
B.)
4.1.3.5.2. The student will describe how visual art communicates meaning.
C.)
The student will have a better understanding of how to create a successful
composition using various materials.
Motivational Resources:
Posters and postcards of collage
focus on ones with a lot of contrast between background and subject, Collage
books, Example by teacher or past student,
Art Materials:
Camera, computer, printer, paper,
scissors, glue sticks, cardstock or construction paper in a variety of colors
for cutting and for mounting in the end, magazine and newspaper scraps (all
images much be age appropriate),
Introduction to the Lesson:
Traditionally collage is looked at
as the gluing or pasting of multiple pieces of paper together and in fact comes
from the French word "coller" meaning to paste or glue. Throughout history
collage can be found from paper and fabric glued together by ancient Japanese
calligraphers to Italian painters working with jewels and gilded paper in their
works. Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque are generally given credit for
beginning collage in fine art as we know it today. These artists desired a more
real form of painting and decided to incorporate objects and images that were
from their day-to-day lives such as newspapers, hair, and old matchbooks among
other things. This led to other artists using objects in three dimensional
collage works. For example, Robert Rauschenberg created works that he called
"combines" which are essentially three-dimensional collages, because they
consist of a variety of objects acting as one piece.
Rauschenberg has worked with both
two and three dimensional pieces. Some of his collages begin with newspaper
backgrounds that are built up with paint and other scraps of paper. His
paintings contain objects such as dirt, tissue paper, or gold leaf. Fabrics and
other found items find their way into his compositions to make beautiful works
of art.
Instructional Procedure for Art Making:
Day One: Today is an
introductory day for the students. The first fifteen minutes will involve a
presentation on the history of collage with a focus on Rauschenberg's work.
Principles such as repetition, pattern,
emphasis, contrast and balance will be pointed out and discussed during the
presentation. After that explain
to the students that they will be working on a collage of their own but
starting with their own picture. The picture will be digitally taken, printed
off, and then they will be able to cut and paste Then each child will have their photo taken individually and
encourage them to be as creative as they want. While the children are taking
turns getting their photo taken have the students who are waiting work on
drawings of what they want their final portrait to look like. All of the
pictures should be saved in the computer for day two. Allow five to ten minutes
for the students to put away their drawings and clean up.
Day Two: Have the printed
pictures ready to go for the students. The tables should be set up with
scissors, glue sticks, construction paper, and other available collage materials.
Instruct the students to cut their photos into any shapes they want and combine
them with other paper to create a new self portrait. Re-emphasize the
principles of visual art and encourage them to think about them while creating
their portraits. The students should complete the project today. Allow ten
minutes for clean up.
Day Three: This is the last
day for this project. Each child will take out their portrait and a piece of
paper. Allow five to ten minutes for them to write about what they learned about
collage and the principles of art. Then have them hand in their work. The next
project can be introduced.
Evaluation/Assessment:
The final project should be a
collage portrait that displays the student's knowledge of the principles of
art. Composition is important and it should be clear that over the course of
the project they put thought into how the collage was arranged.
DBAE Checklist:
Art History: Collage Art
Art Production:
Collage
Aesthetics: Learn to create
original collage imagery
Art
Criticism: Written paragraph
Bibliography:
"Collage History." <http://www.sunnyday.org/art_lesson_plans/collage_history.htm>.
Krieg, Susan. A brief history complied by Susan Krieg-Collage
Artist.
<http://www.kriegartstudio.com/nesting_cranes/susan_krieg_history_collage.htm>.
"Robert Rauschenberg-About the Artist." PBS.org.
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/robert-rauschenberg/about-the-artist/49/>.
Guggenheim Museum. "Robert Rauschenberg Biography"
<http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_133.html>.
