Unit Two

Mini-unit 2: A Sense of Purpose

Suggested Activities	Possible Resources
Sample Theme: Formal Concerns Background The students will: discover a variety of sources of inspiration for visual art begin to develop a general understanding of the ways artists acquire and transform ideas into visual form consider art works in the context in which they were produced when interpreting and evaluating them demonstrate an open-minded approach to diversity of ideas and artistic style and respect informed opinions that differ from their own demonstrate the ability to research materials independently to increase their understanding of visual art.
Many artists make works of art because they are inspired by the elements of art, the principles of design, the materials, the processes, etc. What becomes most important is discovering the reactions or the effects that different colours, shapes, lines, patterns, textures, balance, etc. have upon each other, or the expressive qualities inherent in non-representational forms. Many artists want to simplify their work down to its purest form, while others may rely on the process of creating rather than on representing any form of reality. Art to these artists is about invention and not copying. Many of these works are the art works that the general public has difficulty accepting because they may have difficulty understanding the artist's purpose in creating the work. Students can gain a greater understanding of the ideas behind these art works by researching such types of art as cubism, abstract art and abstract expressionism, neo-plasticism, modernist architecture, postwar sculpture, colour field, hard edge and minimalism. Two-dimensional Art and Formal Concerns The students will: begin to develop the ability to suspend judgment and actively participate when viewing art works begin to reflect on and discuss the intentions, development and the interpretations of their own and their peers' art works begin to examine how artists' views about visual art have changed over time and will continue to change begin to develop an understanding of the different concerns and purpose in representational and non-representational art works.	Art history references, such as The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern by C. Strickland and J. Boswell, A Basic History of Art by H. and F. Janson
Look at examples of cubism in art history books and research the artists' intentions (Picasso and Braque, for example) in making their art works. In cubism, the artists wanted to give a more genuine interpretation of the whole object by presenting it from many view points. In so doing, the form was often virtually destroyed. Have students observe a still-life object and make multiple drawings of it on one sheet of paper. Be sure to encourage the students to overlap in many areas. Add tones, textures and found materials to some of the spaces to complete the drawing or to help suggest what the object was initially.	Art history resource books
Look at D. Chester's painting "Samiel" and O. Rogers' painting "Untitled". Discuss how the artists have arranged the three shapes within the paintings. Which do you notice first? How is texture used? What elements have the artists repeated? How does size affect our reaction to the image? Ask the students to set a problem for themselves where they use three or four shapes, colours, textures, sizes, etc. to compose a work of art. Students should be thinking about which shape will be seen first, second, etc., whether the shapes will be of equal importance, what direction the eye will travel within the composition, etc. When the images are complete, reflect upon the results and the effects which were achieved by using different combinations of the elements of art and principles of design. Teacher Note Activities on the elements of art and the principles of design are best taught within a meaningful context. Integrate these suggested activities on the elements of art and principles of design with other suggested activities. See Appendix A for further information on the elements of art and principles of design.	Saskatchewan Art Works slides #4, 37
Have each student find a painting which appeals to his or her taste. Ask the student to reduce the painting to shapes of colour used in the work. Use the colour wheel as an aid in mixing the colours as closely as possible to the artist's colour selection. (See Appendix B for more information on the colour wheel.) Discuss how the artist arranged the colours on the canvas and the colour schemes used. How does the colour scheme support the image depicted? Are the works still pleasing as non-objective works? Reduce the previously selected painting down to one or two colours and compare it to the original. Discuss the results. Three-dimensional Art and Formal Concerns The students will: challenge themselves to solve visual art problems in a variety of new ways increase the variety of ways they use the elements of art and the principles of design in their own art work continue to determine and explore appropriate media, technology, forms and methods for visual expression.	Art books, magazines, picture files where students can access visual art works
Look for examples of lines and shape in architecture. Buildings are often made up of repeated basic lines and shapes. For example, Buckminister Fuller used the triangle to create his geodesic domes; many vertical lines were used to construct the Parthenon in Greece; the cone is used in tipi design; etc. Design a structure using very simple shapes repeated in different ways. This structure will probably be symmetrical and regular in order to have strength to support itself. When finished, ask the students to design another structure which is asymmetrical and more random in the rhythms used. Look at sculptures such as J. Nugent's "Farlow" and D. Bentham's "Cathedral Evening". Students should decide upon their own materials for constructing their sculptures, but some that are readily available and easy to access include drinking straws, bamboo, toothpicks, cardboard, rolled paper, styrofoam, wood and doweling, elastic, wire, etc.	Amazing Buildings by P. Wilkinson
	Saskatchewan Art Works slides #68, 3
Have students look at stained glass rose window design in the community and art history books. Discuss the significance of the circular design, the motifs used, the reason for their construction, etc. Have students design a circular radial design by repeating the same pie slice pattern many times within the circle. Experiment with a variety of geometric and organic patterns as well as colour harmonies. Compare student non- objective images to examples of radial balance used in more realistic images, such as W. Perreault's "Fresh Start" or V. Cicansky's "Saskatchewan".	Saskatchewan Art Works, slides #69, 5
Further explore balance in art works by experimenting with computers. Students can experiment with different shapes, sizes, textures, etc. within an image using symmetrical or asymmetrical balance as well as radial balance.