The Most Parodied Painting EVER

“American Gothic” 

Grant Wood

1930

Oil on Canvas

Farmer and spinster daughter

Models were sister and dentist

Traditional roles: pitchfork – labor, flowers – domesticity. Also traditional dress 19th century Americana

Iowa

Unhappy with depiction of Iowans

Not a caricature of Iowans, but American portrait

Satire of small town rural life

Great Depression – steadfast American pioneer spirit (1929-late 1930s)

Stream of Consciousness...Unit Plan Planning

The purpose of this lesson is to serve as an introduction to a unit plan that incorporates the development of a symbolic language in artmaking with contemporary human rights issues.  

We begin by highlighting points from artist presentation.  Review Ai Weiwei and Jenny Holzer...ask what were the human rights issues they were addressing in their work?  If we can’t remember, go back over an example in detail and let them figure it out again.

Group discussion about human rights issues.  One monitors class/calls on people, other writes on whiteboard.  Name some issues!  Let them come up with what they want to talk about but have all possibilities anticipated.  (Are all issues school appropriate?  Know beforehand what is acceptable and be prepared to explain why)

Possible Human Rights Topics

-Adequate Housing

-Forced Labor

-Child Labor

-Employee Discrimination

-Child Abuse

-Prostitution

-Infanticide (Female Infanticide)

-Religion

-Right to Assemble

-Freedom of Speech/Expression

-Climate Change (tsunami, earthquakes, natural disasters)

-Disability

-Pollution and Public Health

-Poverty

-Famine

-Appropriation of Wealth

-Genocide

-Globalization

-Health Care

-HIV/AIDS discrimination

-Human Trafficking

-Racism

-Terrorism

-LGBTQ Rights

-Abortion

-Cyber Bullying

-Suicide and Assisted Suicide

-Education

-Marriage

-Women’s Rights

After brainstorming a list with the class, supplement it with our list to give a wider range of working options.  Select a topic for class work-shopping (we have one pre-selected or they choose?  I think it would be better to let them pick...give them a sense of ownership...or should it be preselected to ensure that it all works out???)  From here we would come up with a list of words that we associate with our topic.  For this example lets use our example from the artist slide show (Occupy Wall Street) to discuss Appropriation of Wealth.

Notes from Gabby’s sheet:

*6 & 7th grade, but tailored, of course, to our college students

*let’s aim to finish a teensy bit early.  40 mins mark, so we have time to sum up like Gina and Zach were beginning to.  I felt that was super effective, and aaron loved it. also leaves time for questions- BINGO

*Ai Weiwei- uses culture richly, work is direct link between object and action

*Holzer- uses text that she is reappropriating, uses symbolic locations and buildings

*Things we can address:

-Comics as examples

-Artists

-Narrative

-Material exploration (set limits with charcoal and colored pencil, if we meet resistance to charcoal (i.e. the “bad” kid), we can reiterate how experimentation may lead to other ideas and briefly discuss how different materials lend themselves to different aesthetics)

-color emotives (what does red mean, vs. blue?) (chromology as vocabulary word)

-semiotics (how can language be used?)- AdBusters magazine, manipulation of branding (our examples will show this, kind of like how Steven used the Corona bottle to such on alcoholism, but maybe not as literal)

**Maybe we make our display for the unit and give an overview for these things that we plan on discussing further in the unit? Or do you want to use it for teacher examples? What do you think?  Also I’ll start hashing out the time for the lesson but I think we should spend a decent amount working as a class.  Maybe we make them a worksheet to brainstorm on?

A worksheet may be a good idea.  It could be a great jumping off point for potential students who would have difficulty in addressing a visual task right off the bat.

What would we include on it?  Words?  Issues?  Fill in blanks with their own thoughts?

Ask open ended questions like:

What matters to you?

What’s something you’d change in the world if you could?

Etc?

Gabby! Those are all swell ideas.  I’m thinking that maybe we go through the class example together first so that they understand the format. YES. Essentially,

1. Think of issues you relate to

2. Pick ONE to work with

3. Make a list of words you associate with that issue (these could be describing words, nouns, whatever, as long as they relate to the theme. ex. Appropriation of wealth, greed, poverty, starving, poor, etc)

4. Write the names of objects, people, etc (nouns) that you associate with the words you listed in step 3 (Appropriation of Wealth → Greed → Pig)

5. Develop your symbolic language → This is the fun part!  illustrate these words to create your own visual language that gives meaning to your issue. (Illustration of pig)

-We will have a slide with issues on them, or have the students shout stuff out like rapid hot fire and we will jot it down on the white board, so it has more of a physical presence than slides.  I really don’t like using PPoints, by the way.   YES white board think tank session, I even wrote that above :)  Lets only bring up the PPT if we need a refresher on the artists  *Exactly.  We can just pull up the two images... Ai Weiwei breaking pots and Jenny Holzer’s buildings.

Think tank on white board- Check!  How many examples do we want?

We need 3-4

Resources:

Binder with Wikipedia overviews of selected human rights topics.- do we still need this?  our idea has sort of shifted since we originally thought this out.

Probably not, I keep going back to the whole intro lesson thing...they can research their project idea when the have one in future classes but this is just an intro right?

ALSO- what materials should i lift from the supply closet today... in 20 mins?

(what kind?)paper, charcoal, colored pencils, pastels?

something with a tooth to hold that charcoal...and size? medium to large id say

***We can also cut down the big sheets, like what we did for Grodin, so for those who finish early, they can move onto the next practice round.  We won’t have to worry about conserving materials.  They can have at it a little bit.

Have students draw up a schematic using a specific controversial issue and a specific issue written on a distributed sheet.

-base opening discussion on human rights- what is it? define it.

-brainstorm some topics

-try to gauge student’s comments in think tank and synthesize them with what distribution material we have.

-have a few groups

-discuss commonalities in branding/advertising *are we incorporating a discussion about advertising? yes

what makes them recognizable as an ad?

use examples.

examples can be pulled directly from ads

use specific demographics, issues, brands

-sketch round, not a finished product

-crit will be an open discussion

-set up guidelines so that they can determine whether they have met the project’s requirements.

-human rights issue, demographic, known brand/corporation

-groups will discuss topics and use the strategy for developing a symbolic language to brainstorm ideas for individual projects

-throughout group discussion, individuals will generate their own thoughts and opinions.  following the group discussion, each student will create their own approach to the assignment and come up with primary sketch

Lesson Layout:

-Greeting, highlight artist presentation.  You remember the PPT we saw?  Who remembers what contemporary issues these artists addressed with their work? (Show reminder slide)

-Introduce today’s lesson - Today we will beginning a unit of study that is going to bring us deeper into those concepts we we just starting explore...human rights, activism, the publicity of those actions and what they mean to us as artists.  Today is going to be like a big brainstorm, meant to give us a jumping off point for the rest of the unit.  So don’t worry if you don’t have a perfectly finished product by the end of the day, today is a think day to give us tools to use in the future.

-Intro to Developing a Symbolic Language (Bri) - Preface this by saying...We will first be looking at symbols in art making and how we can make our own meaningful symbols that help us create meaningful art.  (Tool kit) It is a challenging topic, but we are all up for it if we work together and stay focused.  on white board, write a central issue.  Use web to construct symbolic language chart with help from class.  Gabby assist in calling on hands and getting more ideas going while Bri is frantically writing.  Show how symbolism can be broken down simply and turned into visual language that we can use.  KEEP this in mind, turn it over to Gabby to tell you about your job today.

-Gabby introduce lesson, bring us out into the hallway to stretch out a bit and look at teacher examples.  Explain what we are going to be doing.

-Lesson- divided into groups of 4  Each group will be given a topic to workshop like the one we did as a group.  They will have time to web it and discuss.  After workshopping as a group, they work individually to create an ad based using all materials given based on their own opinions on the issue at hand.

-Clean up

-Class discussion

First Lesson Thoughts:

Seemed low energy. After talking to Aaron I feel better about it...he explained that it is difficult to talk to students about such tough issues. When faced with difficult issues, students will often resort to joking in order to keep things lighthearted. It is important to maintain a good balance of joking and seriousness...If that's the way kids have to deal with uncomfortable issues, it is okay to laugh with them as long as it is appropriate and you maintain professionalism.

Brainstorm: other ways to discuss challenging social issues while still developing an understanding of constructing a symbolic language.

Should they choose an issue to work on for the entirety of the unit?

-they might want to change issues

research component. Talk about the importance of research and knowledge about you create. Art should come from a place of passion. What do you feel passionate about? What do you question? What things do you want to change? How can you be the beginning of change? Can art do something to make a change?

More artists to talk about.

Community type project?

Lessons on specific human rights issues?

History of symbolism in modern art. How the context of the art “explains” it.

What is art? How can we challenge perception of art?

Marcel Duchamp. What do we think of when we talk about art? Any artists come to mind? Van Gogh, Monet, Leonardo, Michelangelo...paintings. What is good art? Realistic?

Back during the Renaissance, artists were commissioned to make work. If the Pope wanted a painting done for a chapel, he'd get Michelangelo to paint one for him. Sistine Chapel. Artists were hired for their merit, how well they could execute a work of art. How beautiful they could make something. Art was largely about aesthetic, an artist's perception about beauty. Do you think it is still that way today?

There are some people who would say yes, some no.

About one hundred years ago, one artist changed art by challenging what it actually was.

Marcel Duchamp. Crazy guy. French, came to the United States

Conversation about technology – how does it affect our relationships? How do we include/exclude each other with technology (social networking sites, instant messenger, cell phones, etc.)

Technology topics:

-cell phones

-social networking sites

-internet access

-video games

Pre-Unit Survey

What issues interest you most? Group students according to interests to work on projects. Group brainstorms, independent projects.

Day 1: Introduction as class, group discussions. Homework: sketches, research.

Day 2: Meet in groups. Share what you learned/discovered in research and present possibilities for projects. I meet with each student independently for 2-3 minutes to go over idea. (20 kids x 2 min = 40 min class period roughly) After self directed group talks, work on sketches and finalizing project ideas.

Day 3: Independent project work.

Theme Based Lesson Reflection

Overall, I felt the lesson went pretty well. It was difficult to see it at first, considering the class had pretty low energy and was almost strangely obedient. I was prepared to deal with behavioral issues but none really came. The class did as they were instructed and produced some great results. I talked with a few of my peers afterward and got some great input. They said that it was very well structured and there was so much to do that there wasn't even time to get off task. Also the fact that it was the first lesson of the day at 9am might also have contributed to that low energy feeling.

Reflecting on the lesson I am very proud of a few things. The thought and organization into the scaffolding of the plan...first a class brainstorm, then teacher examples, then group work, then individual drawings, then discussion...created a formula for successful strategizing that worked really well. The strict adherence to the time schedule we planned out assured that we got everything done, and even though we had a lot to do that day, we set realistic goals. I also want to comment on the importance of incorporating big ideas like human rights issues into the art room, which I believe we did successfully as well. In follow up to this lesson plan, I interviewed my younger sister, an eighth grader, about how her experiences in school. She told me that there is rarely any discussion of contemporary issues in any of her subjects, which is disappointing because she wants to learn about them. This reinforced my feelings about using art to give students access to the issues they want to explore and I've been working on my unit plan with great enthusiasm.

As far as areas of improvement are concerned, it was noted and I agree that we could have made better use of the bulletin board. Incorporating some real life examples...artist's work, adbusters, etc...would have made it much stronger. I also got the feedback that it looked as though I was standing around with nothing to do at times. While I disagree that listening to a group discussion counts as not doing anything, I will be more aware of engaging students when necessary.

Fieldwork Experience

I had the opportunity to work alongside my partner Gabby in a middle school art room this semester.  We found ourselves in an interesting situation to say the least...the kids were incredible.  Energetic and willing to work with us as we attempted to give them a taste of something new.  They had been working primarily with pencil, pen and marker, so we wanted to give them color and experimentation.  Through our exploration of the supply closest, we began testing out watercolor and marker and had some interesting results.  The markers were waterbased, and when met with the liquid watercolor they bled and flowed outward in spidery patterns.  The kids discovered they could move the watercolor by tipping the page as well as blowing on it.  They got even more creative, getting down on the floor and standing over their papers like little Jackson Pollocks.  They flung the paint, splattered the paing, and mixed vigorously making a constant stream of color.  It was truly inspirational seeing the unleashed potential of these kids.  With something as simple as a little paint, water, and paper, they embarked on an exploration through a playful experimentation of materials.  The greatest part about the workshop was the culmination of finished works, cropped, matted, and proudly displayed outside the administration's office.  Students and teachers alike had wonderful and excited comments, and we felt truly validated in our fieldwork experience.

Blu

As is the case with most contemporary graffiti artists, the Italian born “Blu” remains just out of the public eye while his monumental designs dwell in it. Ever elusive, Blu prefers anonymity as he leaves his mark all over the world. Active since 1999, he has covered the walls of buildings from Berlin to Peru to Los Angeles. However to refer to Blu strictly as a graffiti artist would be a grave misinterpretation of his work. Although he does has a long list of wall commissions in several countries, Blu is best known for his incorporation of his signature massive paintings with stop-motion animation. These animations are several minutes long, with each frame commanding an astonishing amount of adjustment and effort. The sheer size of his compositions are baffling, and those with any inkling of the work necessary to achieve just a single frame of his sometimes ten-minute long videos appreciate even more the labor required of this artist. 

 ...His arguably most famous animation, Muto.

Tim Lefens

Review of Artist Lecture: Tim Lefens

The lecture given by Tim Lefens on Wednesday, November 9^th, was certainly the most controversial, opinionated, and entertaining of the artist lecture series at SUNY New Paltz this season. Aided solely by a recorder with his own voice giving him prompts, Lefens discussed his views on art through several of his theories. Theories the audience was extremely interested in hearing, considering they followed his opening declaration that Duchamp was the beginning of the end of art. How curious that the for the Art Seminar course, Duchamp is the beginning of the beginning...it calls to question what an old school opinion is doing in a line up of current, contemporary, progressive-thinking artists. Did we know what we were getting ourselves into? Lefens, who provided no visuals of his work (and upon further investigation, visuals proved difficult to find) was a rogue presenter who spouted ideas of transcendence and visual aesthetic and condemned social-political content in art. Indeed his definition of art seemed wholly anti-conceptual, anti-academic, and anti-modern which throws up fistfuls of red flags when we consider the context and environment in which he was presenting. It is absurd to suggest to a group of 21^st century art students and professors that they turn their backs on art which does not aesthetically “transcend” and is successfully devoid of all conceptual factors during the making process. This defiance of such art practice is to be ignorant of a century's worth of art history.

While several of his arguments were outrageous, he had the quality of a salesman with his uncanny ability to hold an audience with his eccentric personality and colorful anecdotes that reeked of embellishment. His habit of trailing off into hilarious tangents made it difficult to impose judgement on such a likeable character. It must be said that Tim Lefens is a passionate man, and what he does he believes in. His work with quadriplegics is undeniably fascinating and would have been better served as a lecture all its own. His performance as an entertainer was highly successful and even if you disagreed with everything he said, he has certainly become a topic for conversation and debate. Yet for all of his redeeming qualities it must be said that Lefens was disappointingly single-minded and contradictory and hopefully most folks will have enough sense to not buy too much of what he was selling.

Ai Weiwei

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei creates controversial works of art as statements on human rights issues.  His approach is straightfoward and confrontational.  Take a look at some of his works in the past two decades:

Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1994.

Conversation Questions:

What is happening?  What action is being performed?

What significance is there to the antiquity of the Urn?

What is the significance is breaking it?

What does the artist want us to consider?

Is his message effective?

Forever (Bicylces), 2003

Discussion Questions:

What is going on here?

Why would the artist choose bicycles as a building block?

Are bicycles significant in Chinese culture?

What might the artist be saying with this work?

Is it successful?

 

Sunflower Seeds, 2010

Discussion Questions:

What do you see in the first image?

What do you see in the second image?  Was the first image what you thought it was?

Why sunflower seeds?

(Introduce background)

Does your perception change when you know the history of the artwork?

How important is the background for this artist's work?

What is his message?

Is the piece successful?

Part one of an interview of Ai Weiwei, provides a great overview of some of his other works and gives the first hand perspective of the artist and the controversy that surrounds him.  Links for Parts 2 and 3 below:



Ai Weiwei Interview Part 2

Ai Weiwei Interview Part 3

Marcel Duchamp Handout!

Marcel Duchamp

-Marcel Duchamp's artwork is largely considered to be Dada.  What do you think the style Dada is about?  (Hint: Think of the possible meaning of the word Dada)

-Duchamp was famous for his innovative Readymade artworks, which were simply objects he found and presented as works of art.  The most famous example is...

Fountain, 1917

 

What is it?

Do you think it is art?  Why or why not?

Look at another one of Duchamp's artworks...does it look familiar?

 

What painting is Duchamp making fun of here?

What do you think Duchamp was trying to do by putting his graffiti on this famous painting?

Do you think this is art?  Why or why not?

Here is another one of Duchamp's readymades called Bicycle Wheel:

 
What do you see in this image?

How does the way the two objects are arranged change their purpose/usefulness?

What is Duchamp asking us to consider by putting objects such as these on display and calling them art? 

Do you agree or disagree with his position?  Why?

Duchamp was also a painter.  Here is his most famous painting, Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2:

What is different about this type of work from Duchamp's readymades?

Which do you prefer?  Why?

What sort of choices is Duchamp making in this composition?  (Rhythm, shape, movement, balance, etc.)

Do you think this is art?  Why or why not?

Principles and Elements Book Mod

For my book modification, I combined the postmodern principle of recontextualization with the elements of design provided in the activity.  The first part of the activity is relatively unchanged.  However, once the abstract compostion is complete, the next step is to go back and think of an imaginative way to create a new image using a new material.  A further extension is adding another post modern principle (narrative), to give the image a story by way of writing or story-telling.

Instructions:

Creating the composition:

Choose a single shape. This will bring unity to the piece. Make 3 of these. Unity is created because the same basic shape is repeated throughout the composition; Unity is often created by repetition of art elements.

Make 10 more of your chosen shape. Make these with variations of size or form. Vary the proportions of the sides of the shapes. Make some of the variations as dramatic as possible. Create contrast. Variety and interest are attained by making variations of the basic shape.

Discuss how the arrangement of shapes can create a feeling of movement and rhythm in the composition. Demonstrate possible combinations by moving cut out shapes on paper.

After experimenting with possible combinations, paste the shapes into place. Try to create a sense of movement along the long horizontal page of the accordion book.

Create emphasis by adding one to three shapes in a different color.

Create emphasis and contrast by adding a new kind of shape in the same or a different color. (You may wish to include a few of these, but be careful to maintain a sense of unity or overall style in your composition.)

Recontextualize:

Look at the composition you have created. Notice the elements of movement, unity, and contrast. What images does your abstract composition remind you of? What sort of feeling do you get when you look at your composition?

Using a new source of media (marker, pencil, paint, collage, etc.), create a new image using the abstract composition you have already completed. (This can be done page by page, or using all the unfolded pages together as a whole.)

By adding new marks and images, new meaning can be inferred from the composition.

Use your knowledge of unity and contrast to add color.

Be imaginative and fill the entire composition with color.

For even more fun...

Add a narrative component.

What sort of story could you write or tell about the image you have created?

Teacher Example:

   

Still Life Artists

While coming up with ideas for lesson plans, I found myself employing the still life as a subject matter for a class collaborative.  I know, I know, still life drawing and painting is super outdated and boring.  BUT, there are ways to make it fun and current and accessible to younger students.  So here I am researching some artists for examples, looking for a wide variety of styles and periods.

My intention for this still life activity is to create a sort of perceptual collaborative.  The students will be seated in a row, which is staggered so that each student can only see the next person's paper to their left.  The first one will be the only student who actually sees the still life.  Now, as this student begins to draw, the next one will, and so on until each student has created a drawing based on the perception of the person sitting next to them.  Pretty neat huh?  This will show a method of abstraction, as well as individuality and the effect of looking at their own style compared to others'.  So here are a few still life to give some inspiration, and you can't forget to play a Surrealist game or too first to get the creative juices flowing!


Picasso


 
Frida Kahlo

Roy Lichtenstein

Vincent Van Gogh

Paul Cezanne