Age: 8th Grade
Time: 6 Classes
Focus: The lesson will focus on learning the
history of collage, collaging a mythical creature and developing a short story.
Objectives:
a. Describe the characteristics of styles and genres such as
documentary, narrative or abstract. (6.1.1.2.3)
b. Demonstrate use of a variety of tools, materials and techniques
in media arts based on the characteristics of the hardware and software.
(6.1.2.2.1)
c. The student
will create a work that becomes the starting point for a literary narrative.
Motivational
Resources:
§
Examples
of collage work
Marcel
Duchamp's "Fountain" <http://becksearlescott.files.wordpress.com/2009/ 01/
fountain.jpg>
Richard
Hamilton's "Just What is it That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing"
<http://htca.us.es/blogs/perezdelama/files/2008/10/hamilton.jpg>
§
Posters
of Dada art
§
Handout
of the process
§
An
example of a collage creature
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mathi208/arted/Images/
Digital%20Collage%20Creature.jpg>
Art
Materials:
§
Digital
photos
§
Macintosh
computers
§
Adobe
Photoshop CS3
§
Projector
§
Flash
drive(s)
§
Color
printer
§
Copy
paper
§
Lined
paper
§
Pencils
Introduction:
During the
beginnings of World War I, both sides of the conflict promised their people a
quick and swift victory. No one expected the fighting to last as long or be as
detrimental to those involved. In reaction against the horrific effects the war
was having on its nations, an art movement was developed. Dada began in Europe
and is characterized by nonsensical imagery that spoke of frustrations against
the war. (Stokstad, 1088) Dadaists questioned what art is and produced images
that conflicted with the traditional standards of art. This attitude is a
reflection of the people of the time and how they were handling the warfare
happening around them. Another characteristic of Dada art is collage. (Stokstad,
1091) The term comes from the French word coller
which means "to glue." (Stokstad, 1080) and according to Dictionary.com,
collage is "a technique of composing a work of art by pasting on a single
surface various materials not normally associated with one another." ("Collage")
"Experimental artists cut pictures from magazines and newspapers and pasted
them together in composite images whose jumbled scale and perspective
challenged conventional expectations." (Marien, 245) And while the imagery of
the Dada movement and their use of collage may have started as political
commentary, collage can be used in a variety of ways including illustration.
Throughout
literary history, authors have been inspired by the images that they see.
Whether those images are pieces of artwork produced by the masters, situations
they witness in everyday life, or landmarks and places they've visited during
their lifetime. Pictures and images have accompanied literary narratives for
hundreds of years ("The History of Illustration") and have become very
important to some stories. In fact, there is an entire business devoted to
visually portraying the events taking place in a narrative. Book illustration
is a large source of rich imagery that spans many genres of art and almost
always accompanies an author's words. While some stories "paint" vivid pictures
with words alone, illustration can provide a deeper look into a storyline for
its readers.
Instructional
Procedure:
Class 1: During
the first class meeting the students will be introduced to collage and its
history found in Dada. Examples of collage will be shown and discussed as well
as how collage can be created in a digital format. The students will be
introduced to the assignment and shown a digital collage creature as an example
in order to begin brainstorming. Students will also be encouraged to begin
thinking about a story that they would like to tell revolving around their
creation. Mysticism and nonsensical ideas should be encouraged since the
creatures are completely imaginary and would work well with a completely
unrealistic narrative.
Class 2: During
the second class day, an image bank will be made available to the students
which will be divided into categories such as landscape, animal, texture,
interior, exterior, face, etc. From these images, the students should select
portions from multiple images using the tools found in Photoshop and begin
creating a mythical creature. The students should be reminded about the
importance of setting and how each element that they choose to include should
have a purpose and meaning within their story. At the end of the period, all
work should be backed up on the project flash drive.
Class 3: Day
three is marginally a workday to continue developing the students' creatures.
At the end of the day, all students' work should be backed up on the project
flash drive.
Class 4: On the
fourth day, students should be cleaning up their imagery and putting any final
touches on their creature. As students begin to finish, they should use their
time to begin writing a rough draft of their narrative. As they finish their
creatures, their imagery should be printed in order for their work to be taken
home and all work should be saved onto a flash drive devoted to the project.
Class 5: Day
five is devoted to writing a short story starring their imaginary creatures.
Class 6: On the
sixth day of class, every student will have the opportunity to present their imaginary
creature to the class via the projector. While their image is displayed they
should read their narrative that they composed and a discussion and critique should
take place.
Evaluation/Assessment: A rubric will be used to document the
students' understanding of the assignment, degree of participation, development
of concept and application of technique(s) learned. Also, a critique will
accompany final presentations of work.
DBAE
Checklist:
Art Production:
Students created a fictitious creature collaged from an image bank source.
Aesthetics:
Students developed an image inspired by the history of collage.
Art History:
Students learned about the history of collage and its influence on Dada.
Art Criticism:
Students had the opportunity to discuss their personal artwork, as well as the
work of their peers, in a critique session.
Bibliography:
"Collage." 2009.
Dictionary.com. 12 December 2009. <http://dictionary.reference.com/ browse/Collage>.
"The History of
Illustration." 1997-2008. Society of Ilustrators. 13 December 2009. <http://societyillustrators.org/about/history/283.cms>
Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Person
Prentice Hall, 2008.
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