Art Show with our Elders
| Title:Art Show with our Elders | Author: Lynn Aprill - Remixed from “Art Show with the Masters” by Daniella Garran and Lisa Brizendine - found at http://wlresources.dpi.wi.gov/courses/art-show-with-the-masters/view |
| Subject(s): Art, History | |
| Grade Level(s): Grades 6-8 | Total Time: 11 class periods plus wrap-up |
Overview / Description:
In this remixed lesson plan from “Art Show with the Masters” by Daniella Garran and Lisa Brizendine, students will research information on American Indian artists' lives and works. They will prepare works of art based on their understanding of the artists, their time and place in history (if applicable), and their works. Students then create an art show for to feature their artists and the artists' paintings/sculptures/artwork. Students, pretending to be artists, are interviewed on video alongside their artwork. This video will be shown as part of the exhibition.
Learning goals/objectives:
After completing this activity, students will have:
- Studied a famous artist from the list provided
- Studied the artist's works
- Written a biography of their chosen artist's life
- Chosen one piece of art from the artist's catalog that they want to recreate (paint or sculpture)
- Planned an art show to highlight the created art pieces
- Participated in videotaped interviews as the artists in an Entertainment Tonight™ type of segment
- Participated in an art show
Workplace Readiness Skills:
X Social Skills X Communication
X Teamwork Critical Thinking
Attitude and Initiative X Planning and Organization
X Professionalism Media Etiquette
Content Standards :
Wisconsin Academic Standards for Art and Design
Visual Communication and Expression
- E.8.1.: Students will communicate complex ideas by producing studio art forms, such as drawings, paintings, prints, sculpture, jewelry, fibers, and ceramics
Practical Applications
- D.8.4.: Students will understand basic concepts in art, such as 'form follows function,' 'destruction of the box,' 'less is more,' balance, symmetry, integrity, authenticity, and originality
Visual Thinking
- H.8.3.: Students will be able to draw, paint, and sculpt from life
Personal and Social Development
- I.8.7.: Students will work independently and collaboratively to produce ideas and works of art
Wisconsin State Standards for Literacy in All Subjects
English Language Arts - Writing
- 7.W.7.: Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.
Materials:
- Questions for Viewing
- American Indian Artist Website Info Sheet
- “The Exclusion of Native American art from the art world” TedTalk Video
- Assignments for Group Work
- Assessment Rubric
Step-by-Step LEARNING ACTIVITY with estimated time
(WHO: T=Teacher Focus Lesson, WG=Whole Group, SM=Small Group, I=Independent)
| Before the students enter the room, place large chart paper around the room and pictures from the artists the class will discuss beside a piece of chart paper. Try to have a minimum of ten different American Indian artists whose work will be displayed alongside a piece of chart paper on which notes will be made. | T | 30 min. |
| DAY 1 | ||
| 1. Begin by asking students if they have ever heard of Kim Cornelius Nishimoto, Brooks Big John, Frank Montano or Jennifer Stevens (include other Native artists who are important to, or are more local to, your school district). Hold up reproductions or photos of various works of art by the artists you have chosen and allow the students to comment on the pieces. | WG | 5 min. |
| 2. Distribute the Questions for Viewing worksheet. These questions will help students understand the artwork. They ask themselves the questions and try to answer them to the best of their knowledge. It should help them gain further insight into the painting/sculpture and the artist. | T | 5 min. |
| 3. Have the students use this Questions for Viewing worksheet as they walk around the room and view the pictures. Have the students write comments on the chart paper attached to each picture. The comments should be something they noticed about the pictures/sculptures/artwork immediately, an aspect they liked, colors that drew them into the pictures, a model's pose, the historical time frame, an interesting portion of the picture/sculpture, etc. | WG | 20 min. |
| 4. Have students return to their seats. Start at one end of the room and work your way around from picture to picture, discussing each piece of art and the comments written beside it, one at a time. | WG | 25 min. |
| DAY 2 | ||
5. Read the comments from yesterday and pose the following questions to the class:
| WG | 15 min. |
| 6. Explain to the students that they will choose (as a group) an artist using information from the American Indian Artist Website Info Sheet and write a biography of that person (as a group), recreate a piece of their art (individually), become the artist for an interview, and hold an art show (as a group) | WG | 5 min. |
| 7. Show the video “The Exclusion of Native American art from the Art World.” The video is 5:16 minutes. Artist Jeffrey Gibson asks the art world an important question: What is art, how is it made and who is it made by? His work confronts the exclusion of Native American artists from the mainstream art world. He introduces us to Native American artists and makers we should know and tells stories that speak to their experience. | WG | 6 min. |
| 8. After the video, answer any questions students might have concerning observing artwork. | WG | 5 min. |
| 9. Break the students up into groups of four. Have each group choose the artist they will study. Their groups' names will be the same as the artist they have chosen (i.e., "The Monet group," etc.) | SM | 20 min. |
| DAY 3-4 | ||
| 10. If students didn’t make a decision yesterday, work with groups to choose an artist. Have the students explore materials from the websites on the artists they chose to study and their works of art. Encourage students to search for additional materials or works of art by their artist online. | SM | Full period |
| 11. Continue to explore artists, using the media center and Internet sources. The students may divide up the artist's life and each explore a portion with the works created during that time. Students will come back together and share their information. They should write a biography/ synopsis of the artist they researched. These biographies/synopses should not only be shared with their group verbally, but also printed for each person in the group. | SM | Full period |
| DAY 5-6 | ||
| 12. Have each group choose the work they would each like to recreate to represent their artist’s life. They will then set about recreating a work of art from their chosen artist. | SM | 10 min. |
| 13. Give students at least two class periods to create the work.The point is not to have an exact replica of the artists' work, but to have an interpretive piece based on their feelings about the chosen work of art. Emphasize that it does not have to be a perfect copy. The theme and individual elements will be the same. Walk around while these masterpieces are being created, to help with ideas and guidance. Students may use the same materials the artist used: watercolors, pastels, crayons, acrylic paint (substitute for oil paint), modeling clay, wire, wood or styrofoam. | I | Full period |
| DAY 7-8 | ||
| 14. Distribute the Assignments for Group Work activity handout. Have students meet back in their groups and plan their art show assignments. Some may have more than one assignment depending on the size of the group. Each group will decide: Who will represent the artist? Who will mat the pictures and set up the display? Who will videotape the segment? Who will write the interview questions? Who will be the interviewer? | SM | Full period |
| 15. Once decided, each person is assigned duties relating to their positions. Descriptions of the jobs are as follows:Artists: will answer questions about the artwork (needs to understand his/her own artwork as well as the artwork for others in the group), act, and dress like the artist during the art show and videotaped segments. Framer/Set Designer: will provide appropriate mats for pictures or stands for sculpture and place accordingly for the filming and interview.Camera Person: will film the segments and edit if possible into a video to be shown to the school.Writers: will prepare interview questions based on the artist and the works of art and the time period of the artist.Interviewer: will pretend to be a reporter and ask questions of the artist from a script the writer of the group has prepared. | SM | Full period |
| DAY 9 | ||
| 16. Students will tape and produce the interview segments based on the assigned duties. While one group is taping, others may quietly watch and learn different ways to ask questions and give answers to make their segment stronger. | SM | Full period |
| DAY 10 | ||
| 17. Art Show Prep Day - Have students write invitations for parents/friends or other teachers and their classes. The art show may be held in the cafeteria, hallway, or lobby of the school. Each artist's work is presented and the video will be shown. All artists should be on hand to answer questions about them and their artwork. | WG | Full period |
| DAY 11 | ||
| 18. Hold art show - Have each group prepare a table with artworks from all group members, computer with video cued, and copy of artist biography. As guests arrive, “artist” should answer questions about their art. Teacher will also circulate to ask questions using the Assessment Rubric. Group members should stay at their table to assist artist and answer any additional questions | WG | Full period or longer |
Assessment:
Formative Assessment will include teacher observation and student conferencing about each portion of the final project:
- Biography
- Reproduction Artwork
- Artist depiction during art show
- Interview
- Videotaping
Summative Assessments include the final drafts of each item above, as scored using the Assessment Rubric.
Wrap-Up:
The class period after the art show, debrief with students:
- What worked well
- What could be improved or added for next year
- What changes would they recommend to the project
- What was their biggest take-away from the Art Show with our Elders project
Extension Activity:
- The number of students in a group could increase or decrease to accommodate student strengths and needs
- The jobs assigned and number of jobs per student can be directed by the teacher to accommodate student strengths and needs
- Classroom visits by American Indian artists are strongly encouraged
- Field trips could be arranged to see local American Indian arts
Creative Commons License:
Art Show with our Elders by Lynn Aprill, Daniella Garran, and Lisa Brizendine is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Questions for Viewing
Lesson Connection: Art Show with the Elders
Pretending you are a tour guide or docent, answer the following questions:
1. What is the subject or theme of the painting, sculpture, or artwork?
2. What time period do you think the artwork is set in?
3. Does the artwork tell a story?
4. What specifically in the work of art leads you to believe this?
5. How did the artist depict texture?
6. How is color used? Are there colors that stand out or that you immediately notice?
7. Is there an item or person in the artwork that your eye is drawn to?
8. Can you talk about any of the design elements in relation to the piece of art? (Line, Color, Shape,
Space, Texture, Balance, Shadows, Composition, Perspective)
9. Are there any weaknesses in the artwork? (Things you would like to see changed)
American Indian Artist Website Info Sheet
Search for an American Indian artist from your state or local area using the following websites:
http://www.clayhound.us/index.html
https://www.wpr.org/our-midst-wisconsins-contemporary-native-american-art
https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/blog/james-watrous-gallery/supporting-native-artists
http://www.wisconsinfolks.org/artists.htm#Or%20by%20choosing%20an%20ethnicity:
https://www.woodlandindianart.com/2018-artist-directory.html
https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/tag/wisconsin
https://wisconsinfirstnations.org/wisconsin-life-turtle-clan-art/
https://wisconsinfirstnations.org/wisconsin-life-iroquois-beadwork/
https://wisconsinfirstnations.org/wisconsin-life-native-drummer/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Native_American_artists
Note: These websites feature Wisconsin or Midwestern American Indian artists. If you are located outside of this area, other websites would be more appropriate for your search.
Group Instructions
Meet in your artists group. Assignments must be chosen and you may have more than one
assignment depending on the size of your group .
Each group will decide:
1. Who will represent the artist?
2. Who will mat the pictures and set up the display?
3. Who will videotape the segment?
4. Who will write the interview questions?
5. Who will be the interviewer?
Once decided, each person in the group should be assigned duties relating to their job positions.
Descriptions of the Jobs:
Artists will answer questions about the artwork (needs to understand his/her own artwork as well as
the artwork for others in the group). Act and dress like the artist during art show and videotaped
segments.
Framer/Set Designer will provide appropriate mats for pictures or stands for sculpture and place
accordingly for the filming and interview.
Camera Person will film the segments and edit, if possible, into a video to be shown to the school.
Writers will prepare interview questions based on the artist and the works of art and the time period of the artist.
Interviewer will pretend to be a reporter and ask questions of the artist. Questions will be from a script that the writer of the group has prepared.
Art Show with the Elders
Student Rubric
Student Name __________________________________________
| Thorough Understanding | Good Understanding | Needs Improvement | Comments | |
| Chose an artist from the list and wrote a synopsis of the portion of their artist’s life that was assigned. | ||||
| Chose one piece of art from their chosen artist's catalog and recreated the piece. | ||||
| Helped to plan an art show to highlight the created art pieces. | ||||
| Participated in the videotaped interviews and answered the questions about the artist. | ||||
| Participated in the art show. | ||||
| Understood the connections made from history to artist to artwork. |