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Seeing and experiencing
art is a powerful tool for considering the role of language and
communication in the classroom. Contemporary artists use visual
art as a language to tell stories that are both personal and universal.
Often equally engaged in the process of writing as they are in
painting, drawing, or sculpting, contemporary artists are inspired
by both visual and literary sources. The work of contemporary artists
can be used to enhance skills in visual and oral literacy, self-expression,
problem solving, writing, and critical thinking.
NATIONAL
STANDARDS |
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describing
the real
Topic: Abstraction
& Realism
Artists: Antin,
Ford, Herrera, Kelley, McElheny, Murray, Osorio, Pettibon, Puryear,
Ritchie, Rothenberg,
How do the terms abstraction and realism relate to the literary
terms fact and fiction? Contemporary artists commonly draw inspiration
from past eras, mass media, and the world around them to assert
their own particular points of view. This lesson will look at how
historic events or facts are reconceived and recontextualized through
point of view. The non-fiction essay, memoir, epic will be explored
through the visual counterparts of the self-portrait and the tradition
of history painting. (Updated for Season
Three!) |
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understanding
home
Topic: Home
& Displacement
Artists: Marshall,
Osorio, Suh, Zittel
By creating an oral and written history of their home, this lesson
will give students the opportunity to explore the idea of home with
family and friends from their community. Students will look at the
work of a diverse range of contemporary artists who suggest different
perspectives about the feelings, appearance, memories, and organization
of home. The concept of home will be explored as a physical place
and as a set of dynamic relationships between people. |
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characters & caricatures
Topic:
Individuals & Collectives
Artists: Antin,
Charles, Hancock, Kilgallen, Walker
This lesson will explore the similarities and differences between
characters and caricatures in art and literature. Drawing from the
work of contemporary artists, poets, and playwrights, students will
create their own cast of characters and bring them to life through
a screenplay that illuminates their individuality and their relationships
to each other. The resemblance of characters to historical figures
and heroes as well as contemporary stereotypes will be explored. |
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dictators,
collaborators, managers & soloists
Topic: Labor
& Craftsmanship
Artists:
Ali, Antin, Barney, Celmins, Herring, Lin, Pettibon, Pfeiffer,
Puryear, Ritchie, Serra, Smith, Stockholder, Wilson
This lesson explores the many different methods of realizing a
creative idea. Students will consider the positive and negative
aspects of collaboration, assistance, and autonomy in the creative
process and will engage in different methods of making art as
a group and as individuals. Students will consider the myth of
the 'lone artist,' work together semi-cooperatively in a Surrealist
game, and lastly compose a group narrative. (Updated
for Season Three!)
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ode
to a view
Topic:
The Natural World
Artists: Celmins,
Horn, Mann, McElheny, Orozco, Pfeiffer, Schorr, Stockholder, Sugimoto,
Turrell, Tuttle
Artists, writers, painters, sculptors, and filmmakers have all paid
tribute to landscape and nature in different media. This lesson
will have students choose a favorite landscape or place and write
and illustrate an ode to represent the feelings and significance
inspired by that place. The history of the ode in literature and
the pastoral in art will be explored, as well as the role these
forms have in shaping modern attitudes towards nature. (Updated
for Season Three!) |
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personal
stories in the public
Topic:
Public & Private Space
Artists: Janine
Antoni, Charles Atlas, Pepón Osorio, Collier Schorr
Many artists incorporate the intimate stories and objects of other people in
work that is exhibited in a public forum. In writing, authors have often revealed
the intimate details of real lives. This lesson will look at the way private
stories interface in a public arena. Students will look at the way ordinary people
contribute objects, stories, and their own likeness to the creation of a work
of art, poetry, or story. Relics, keepsakes, and artifacts will be explored for
their emotional and inspirational qualities. |
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remaking
myths
Topic: Ritual
& Commemoration
Artists:
Hancock, Ritchie, Sikander, Smith, Wilson
Often inspired by the stories that surround them, visual artists
create new narratives using a variety of media and materials.
This lesson explores how artists are influenced by and re-interpret
world myths, religious stories, and historical tales to create
new stories, events, and characters representing a contemporary
perspective. Students will look at the imagery and symbolism used
in traditional myths and create their own mythological characters
and stories based on the events in their own lives. (Updated
for Season Three!)
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systems & styles
Topic:
Technology & Systems
Artists: Celmins,
Gallagher, Nauman, Orozco, Pfeiffer, Ritchie, Zittel
Working within systemic constraints is what often leads to innovation,
and artists often organize their work into systems or groups to
categorize and sort their ideas. This lesson will explore the ways
that creative writing relates to this visual style of making work.
Students will compare and contrast the working styles of contemporary
visual artists to literary styles like Concrete Poetry, conceptual
writing, visual poetry, and typographic poetry. (Updated
for Season Three!) |
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wartime
voices
Topic: War
& Conflict
Artists:
Antin, Schorr, Suh
Using visual and written narratives that represent multiple perspectives
and points of view surrounding particular wars, the ways in which
soldiers and citizens prepare, participate, and remember war will
be addressed through personal memoirs, letters, songs and poems.
Students will create new narratives from the point of view of
participants in particular conflicts or wars representing their
roles and emotional involvement in the events surrounding them.
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National
Standards for Language Arts
#1 Students will read a wide range of print and non-print texts
to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures
of the United States and the world; to acquire new information;
to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace;
and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and
nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
#2 Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in
many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g.,
philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
#3 Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret,
evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience,
their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge
of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies,
and their understanding of textural features (e.g., sound-letter
correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
#4 Students adjust their use of spoken, written and visual language
(e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively
with a variety of audiences for different purposes.
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use
different writing process elements appropriately to communicate
with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
#5 Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions
(e.g., spelling, punctuation), media techniques, figurative language,
and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
#6 Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating
ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate,
and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print
texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways
that suit their purpose and audience.
#7 Students use a variety of technological and information resources
(e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather
and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
#8 Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity
in language use, patterns, dialects across cultures, ethnic groups,
geographic regions, and social roles.
#9 Students whose first language is not English make use of their
first language to develop competency in the English language arts
and to develop understanding of content across curriculum.
#10 Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative,
and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
#11 Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish
their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and
the exchange of information).
State Standards for Language Arts
Find out if this lesson plan correlates to your
state's education standards! On PBS
TeacherSource do a search for "Art in the 21st Century" and
click on the Standards Match icon. |
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