Unit Three:Traditions and Innovations

Mini-unit 2: Artist Study

At each grade, students should experience a mini-unit of study that uses the work of an artist as a focal point. The artist selected will depend on what resource material the teacher has access to. The teacher could select a local artist, an artist from the Saskatchewan Art Works Kit, or an artist of historical significance; Picasso, for example. The teacher should choose an artist whose work will be of interest to the students, or have students choose from a selection presented by the teacher.

Remember that, although resources at hand might be limited, this unit should include research. Consult with the school library staff. The class can write to art galleries for information and order books on inter-library loan. Some art galleries have slides that can be sent out on loan to teachers and inexpensive exhibition catalogues can be purchased.

The following is a suggested way that an artist study can be conducted. This suggestion uses the work of Saskatchewan artist McGregor Hone. The teacher should study the method, then substitute an appropriate artist.

Suggested Activities	Possible Resources
Artist Study: McGregor Hone Positive and Negative The students will: continue to hone skills of observation and image-making in order to become more aware of the detailed information and stimuli in the visual environment discover a variety of sources of inspiration for visual art. Discuss going to the doctor. Talk about fears (small waiting room, stranger, needles, etc.).
Bring a doctor or nurse to the class and discuss the tools and equipment used in medicine or tour a Medi-Centre. Do sketches of these objects in a very large format.	Resource personnel
Do research on the x-ray or the ultra sound. Study the x-ray pictures and discuss how they are a negative image. Have each student make a painting using black paint to paint the negative space and allowing the paper to be the positive space, or by looking at photographic negatives and painting them as they appear.	Reference materials on x-ray technology X-ray prints
Look at R. McLellan's works from the slide kit and discuss the use of positive and negative in his work, as well as in the students' works.	Saskatchewan Art Works slide #64 and Arts Education Curricula cover design image "Power Play"
Symbols The students will: begin to develop an understanding of how visual artists use symbols and other means to convey meaning . Discuss the symbol "x". List things x can mean (wrong, unknown quantity, unknown person, roman numeral for 10, mark a spot, a kiss, signature for someone unable to write his or her own name, rating for mature materials, no, railroad, etc.). Find examples of artists' work where the x is used, such as R. Cuthand, B. Boyer, C. Farrero, L. Lebrecque, architecture. Discuss its usage. Look for x's in the natural and constructed environment and draw images using scratch board or some other drawing surface where the image can be scratched away using cross-hatching. Secrets The students will: examine the role and influence of visual images in their daily lives, including mass media and popular culture discover a variety of sources for inspiration in visual art.	Reference books on symbolism, including Indian and Métis symbolism Saskatchewan Art Works slides #54, 26, 75, 78
X-rays show secrets within. What kinds of secrets have you had to keep at one time or another? Discuss difficulties, fun, etc. in keeping a secret. Play a game with wrapped boxes. Try to guess what is inside. Students will enjoy the challenge and the surprise when they see what actually was in the box.	Wrapped boxes of small objects
Look at other artists' works and the media to find examples of representation of the interior of an object. Examples of artists could be M. Hone's "A Small Chest", N. Morriseau, B. Reid, D. Jensen, T. Hunt and R. Davies. Draw an image of a person or animal and expose the innermost qualities through the x-ray technique. The students will: examine a variety of new and non-traditional art forms.	Saskatchewan Art Works slide #61
Some people have a special place where they like to go, like the cat in M. Hone's print who likes to go under the table. Read about special places of others. Have the students write about a special place. Have them build a "special place" for the class by creating an environment in the school, or have each student design a small environment within a box which would be the kind of place that would appeal to the student as a secret place.	Books and stories written about special places, such as Your Own Best Secret Place by B. Baylor and P. Parnall
The students will: continue to perceive, describe, analyse and interpret art works and make informed judgments about art works using increasingly appropriate vocabulary understand that visual art is a means of communication and continue to appreciate the importance of non-verbal communication.
View films which relate to secrets in nature. Why do we think of them as secret worlds? Discuss parallels between these worlds and ours.	Films about the secrets of science, such as films about butterflies or the insect world
Discuss other kinds of secrets, such as the secrets to success, happiness, health, etc. Do you know people who seem to understand these secrets and others who don't? Why? Conduct a survey for answers. Look at portraits where the subjects seem to have all of the above or none of the above. Discuss the reasons which may have led the students to each conclusion. Have students write a short story about one of the individuals in the works reviewed or write a dialogue between themselves and the individual in the art work.	Saskatchewan Art Works slides #36, 43, 57, 60, 62 Art works and illustrations
Humour and Art The students will: generate ideas for art works and manipulate these ideas to achieve meaning and personal expression increase their understanding of the contributions of various artists, past and present, to the field of visual art increase their understanding of the contributions of Saskatchewan and Canadian artists, including Aboriginal artists, to the field of visual art begin to examine how artists' views about visual art have changed over time and will continue to change demonstrate an open-minded approach to diversity of ideas and artistic style and respect informed opinions that differ from their own.
"Chest" can symbolize "secret treasure" but it also refers to a body part. Look at M. Hone's "A Small Chest" to see how he uses the "chest" both ways. Think of other words that have two meanings (e.g., pant can mean breathe heavily or it can refer to an article of clothing). Make riddles using the list. Have students draw a picture to illustrate one of their riddles.	Saskatchewan Art Works slide #61
Find examples of some riddles and puns used in the media. Riddles and jokes are always fun to tell and to hear. Make up jokes and riddles to tell to the class. Illustrate jokes and riddles or make an art work which is a joke or a pun; for example, orange crush -- a squashed orange. Look at examples of humour in the clay sculpture of the 1960s.	The Creative Cartoonist by D. Gautier
Find examples of humourous literature, films, Indian legends, poetry, etc. Discuss why some people like dramas or documentaries while others prefer humour. In their journals, ask students to compare and contrast two different kinds of films. Look at how the elements of art, principles of design, the music, the lighting, the body langauge, etc. are stressed differently in each.
Look at the print by M. Hone again. Discuss the artist's choice of subject matter and style. He appears to be having fun and enjoying himself. Look for examples of art works in the community, where people have had fun making the objects. Examples could be beautiful gardens and yards, unusual sculptures, wind mobiles, etc. Interview some of these creative individuals.	Saskatchewan Art Works slide #61 Expressions -- ...The Great Effect of the Imagination on the World..., Brenda Pelkey, photographer (video)
Perceptions The students will: begin to recognize that cultural background and experiences affect their responses to art works and their understanding of meaning and symbol within the work. When we perceive things, we often will see things differently from others. A Swiss psychiatrist named Rorschach used ink blots and asked patients to interpret what they suggested to them. Many images can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending upon individual interests and the contexts in which they are presented. Make ink blots or multi-coloured paint blots, and look for images in the shapes. Add extra detail to the shape to make the image clear or use the shape as a background for an unusual environment, etc. Play a game where students put a word under a certain heading; their word should be different from all the other students' answers. For example, a super hero could be Hercules, Wonderwoman, or a sandwich. Reflect upon some of the different perceptions which artists use and try to understand why we see things the way we do.	Resources on perception
The students will: develop co-ordination and skills for using appropriate tools, technology, materials and techniques increase their understanding of the contributions of Saskatchewan and Canadian artists, including Aboriginal artists, to the field of visual art.
Have students discuss what M. Hone says in the second paragraph of his artist's statement in the guide for Saskatchewan Art Works (p. 97) before beginning to work on their own print. Look at prints that other artists have made. Discuss why prints are made. Discover different processes that are used. Visit an artist's studio or bring in a resource person to demonstrate a technique. Discuss the numbering of original prints.	Saskatchewan Art Works slides #12, 53, 61, 76, 77 (different kinds of prints)
Design and make prints. Be sure to stress that the image must be backward, especially if there are any letters used. Lino, styrofoam or collagraph prints can be easily made and printed. Use one of the drawings from previous activities in this mini-unit as an idea for this project.	Books on print-making; for example, Stencil It! by S. Buckingham