Monday, March 30, 2009

art a la carte #5

Friday afternoon, Priscilla Kennedy and Sarah Baker explained the concept of the Still Life to our class. They discussed different examples through the ages and focused on the concepts of subject, medium, focal point, collage, overlap and abstract art. Some of the works they discussed are here. The following is fun site from the National Gallery of Art that allows one to graphically manipulate different still life paintings. This link provides puzzle pieces that when brought to the canvas will fit together to form still-life masterpieces. the children chose one of several examples of still life subjects that were provided (both classic and contemporary), sketched them out and then colored their masterpieces.
If you would like to continue the lesson at home...look through magazines to find pictures that represent them (or let them choose from a large variety of things already cut out). Look for pictures that describe who they are, describe their hobbies, favorite foods, games, animals, colors, clothes, music, etc. Cut out the images and arrange them on the paper to form a still-life collage of objects that reflect who they are or their personalities. Remind them to think about the emphasis of their collage. Try to keep in mind...What is a collage? What does overlap mean? What does this collage say about their personality? If they were going to paint a still life from real objects, what items would they choose and why?
They discussed Cezanne as he is considered to be the perhaps the greatest master of the Still Life Painting of any era. Coincidentally, CBS Sunday Morning featured a Cezanne exhibit opening in Philadelphia today. It sounds like these parents did an amazing job Friday. I know your kids enjoyed Friday afternoon as much as Priscilla and Sarah did!

No comments: