Curriculum Unit:

Identity

 

Unit Rationale:

The theme of Identity has been explored throughout the history of art. Artist choose to focus on the topic for a variety reasons. For some it is an exploration an examination of personal identity, for others it is to rationalize existence within society, and for others it is to bring attention to culture, religion, and gender, political or economic identity. The approach to exploring and expressing identity can be literal or abstract and can be manipulated using a variety of different techniques and mediums. Through the topic of Identity, students will be made aware of the fundamental elements of art such as line, color and composition, they will be exposed to artwork and artists working within the theme of identity, specifically the life and work of Louise Bourgeois. By examining her Installation, “I do, I undo, I redo,” students will explore the meaning behind the title and relate it to a series of projects. Students will confidently use a variety of mediums from drawing to fiber, from digital photography to found/recycled material to create, express and reflect on their identity. The principle of design, Balance will be emphasized and be a recurring theme throughout the unit, as its purpose transcends through the artist to the artwork.

 

Grade Level:

High School- Advanced

 

Lessons and Time Frame:

Lesson 1: Historical and Cultural Context                    3-2-hour class periods.      

Lesson 2: Artistic Perception                                3-2-hour class periods.

Lesson 3: Creative Expression- Skill Building                1.5-class periods (3 hours total).

Lesson 4: Creative Expression- Artwork                       3-2-hour class periods.

Lesson 5: Aesthetic Valuing                                  3-2-hour class periods.

 

Focus Artwork:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                   

Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010).                    Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010).

I do, I undo, I redo, 2000, Installation         Rejection, Rejected, Reject, Rebound,

                                                 2005, Thread and pencil on cloth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            

Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010)                     Cindy Sherman (1954-).

Photography                                      Untitled Film Still #58,1980.

                                                 Photography 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            

Cindy Sherman (1954-).                           Guy Denning (1965-).

Untitled Film Still #53, 1980.                   Portrait, Charcoal on Cardboard

Photography                                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giles Oldershaw                                  Teacher Example

Portrait, Cardboard Relief.

 

 

Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to:

• Summarize the life and work of Louise Bourgeois.

• Distinguish and identify different Art Movements.

• Effectively communicate utilizing proper terminology.

• Confidently handle a variety of tools and mediums.

• Apply the techniques associated with balance and line to create well composed compositions.

• Comfortably incorporate the use of technological devices and software as a method to create works of art.

• Explore the theme of identity and interpret its relationship to self and the impact identity has on visual arts.

• Present a critique, based on the Feldman Model, of their work.

 

 

Materials and Resources:                                              

Art Materials and Tools

• Pencils

• Charcoal

• Cardboard

• Fabric

• Thread

• X-Acto Knife

• Cutting Mat

• Glue

• Tape

• Spray Sealant

• Sketch Paper

 

 

Instructional Resources

• Slideshow: Louise Bourgeois

• Video: Art 21 Louise Bourgeois and Louise Bourgeois: The spider, the mistress and the Tangerine.

• Article: Louise Bourgeois: Influential Sculptor, dies at 98 (by Holland Cotter, The New York Times, May 31, 2010).

• Worksheet: Louise Bourgeois

• Article: Understanding Balance in Photography (web).

• Worksheet: Balance and Photography

• Activity: Identity Exchange

• BeFunky photo-editor

• Worksheet: Line (students).

• Worksheet Line (teacher).

• Cardboard relief sample

• Artwork reference images of line

• The Visual Experience (pages 20-27).

• Worksheet: Art Criticism

• Audio Recording Software

• Reference images and print-outs for Louise Bourgeois, Guy Denning, Giles Oldershaw and Cindy Sherman.

• Teacher Example (cardboard portrait relief).

• Teacher audio explanation of Feldman Model.

• Portrait reference images

• Rubrics

• Computer/tablets

• Smartboard

• Digital Camera

• Printer

 

Vocabulary:

• Balance: is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space.

• Symmetrical Balance: the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other.

• Asymmetrical Balance: the sides are different, but still look balanced.

• Radial Balance: the elements are around a central arranged point and may be similar.

• Line: an element of art that is used to define shape, contours, and outlines, also suggests mass and volume.

• Aesthetic: the theory of perceiving and enjoying something for its own sake, or for its beauty and pleasurable qualities.

• Analysis: the explanation of the relationship among the facts (objects, people, shapes, colors) in an artwork.

• Elements of Art: Line, shape form, color, value, space, and texture. The building blocks the artists’ works with to create and artwork.

• Composition: The act of organizing the elements of an artwork into a harmoniously unified whole.

• Principles of Design: Unity, variety, emphasis, rhythm, movement, balance, pattern, and proportion. The effects that may result when the elements of art are structured to achieve successful composition.

• Philosophy of Art: The study of art that involves the asking and answering all kinds of questions about art, how people respond to it, and how it relates to our lives.

• Art Criticism: A systematic discussion of the characteristics of an artwork, usually involving four stages: description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation.

• Feldman Model: A four-step method for critiquing art that was developed by Edmund Burke Feldman. The steps are: description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation.

• Feminist Art: Feminist art emerged in the 1960s and 70s to explore questions of sex, power, the body, and the ways in which gender categories structure how we see and understand the world. Developing at the same time as many new media strategies, feminist art frequently involves text, installation, and performance art.

• Installation Art: Installation art is a genre of contemporary art-making in which two-and three-dimensional materials are used to transform a particular site. Installations may include sculptural, found, sound-based, and performance elements, and can be permanent or ephemeral.

• Cubism: Cubism was developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque between 1907-1911, and it continued to be highly influential long after its decline. This classic phase has two stages: ‘Analytic’, in which form seems to be ‘analyzed’ and fragmented; and ‘Synthetic’, in which pre-existing materials such as newspaper and wood veneer are collaged to the surface of the canvas.

• Impressionism: A movement in painting that first surfaced in France in the 1860s, it sought new ways to describe effects of the light and movement, often using rich colors. The Impressionists were drawn to modern life and often painted the city, but they also captured landscapes and scenes of middle-class leisure-taking in the suburbs.

• Expressionism: Expressionism is the broad term for a host of movements in the early twentieth-century Germany and beyond, from Die Brucke (1905) and Der Blaue Reiter (1911) to the early Neue Sachlichkeit painters in the 1920s and ‘30s. Many Expressionist used vivid colors and abstracted forms to create spirituality or psychologically intense works, while others focused on depictions of war, alienation, and the modern city.

• Surrealism: Perhaps the most influential avant-garde movement of the century, Surrealism was founded in Paris in 1924 by a small group of writers and artists who sought to channel the unconscious as a means to unlock the power of the imagination. Much influenced by Freud, they believed that the conscious mind repressed the power of imagination. Influenced also by Marx, they hoped that the psyche had the power to reveal the contradictions in the everyday world and spur on revolution.

• Relief: to give an impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane.