An exploration with it's roots in Cubism
Cubism was my inspiration for this exploration. The idea of fracturing an image and seeing multiple points of view at the same time. Though I wanted students to be aware of Cubism and it's history, I also wanted them to investigate other artists, historical and contemporary, who shattered the portrait both literally and figuratively. I created this slideshow as a point of inspiration but gave my students editing access to my Google Slides to add images they found as well. You can download a PDF of the slideshow we created below.
| Slideshow as PDF of Fractured Faces Lesson |
Our first step was to take a day to photograph each other against a plain wall to remove distractions. We did a profile, a three-quarter view, and another image facing forward. Students could do more, but we needed 3 images cropped closely to the face. These were uploaded to a Google Document that I gave the class editing rights to. Adding images was graded as a classwork assignment.
I then printed these in black and white, running 5 sets of copies of each, then 3 more sets on tabloid paper at 150% (11 x 17 inches) hand-fed into the photocopier. This way, when students finished their small experiments, they could use the larger format images for their “final” artworks. To extend this assignment, these images could be the basis for a painting on canvas if that were desired.
When the initial “experiments” were completed, we did a gallery walk, sharing what we discovered, and students paired up for formal mid-project written critiques. I used my samples as a point of discussion. What worked well, what could be pushed even more, what techniques could be combined? We all noted that the photocopies were predominantly gray, so using charcoal, pen, or other media to enhance contrast would be important. We also discovered that erasers could actually pull off toner from the photocopies to enhance highlights.
I then printed these in black and white, running 5 sets of copies of each, then 3 more sets on tabloid paper at 150% (11 x 17 inches) hand-fed into the photocopier. This way, when students finished their small experiments, they could use the larger format images for their “final” artworks. To extend this assignment, these images could be the basis for a painting on canvas if that were desired.
When the initial “experiments” were completed, we did a gallery walk, sharing what we discovered, and students paired up for formal mid-project written critiques. I used my samples as a point of discussion. What worked well, what could be pushed even more, what techniques could be combined? We all noted that the photocopies were predominantly gray, so using charcoal, pen, or other media to enhance contrast would be important. We also discovered that erasers could actually pull off toner from the photocopies to enhance highlights.
These are a sampling of our experiments
You can see in the final images there were a broad array of approaches. Some perhaps more visually compelling than others but each unique and highly personal. Student completed index cards to explain their work for display to our school.
This was my opening assignment for my art 3 students, though I think any grade 4 and up could handle this though perhaps later in the year.
This was my opening assignment for my art 3 students, though I think any grade 4 and up could handle this though perhaps later in the year.
If you find open-ended lessons like this appealing, I have put more than 50 into THIS book organized by elements and principles. (A second edition is HERE.) I also use THIS workbook for my advanced classes to document their work. As always ALL of the material in these books comes from this blog, which you are free to use. The books just organize them in a way that is meant for a classroom setting and come with the right to make copies for students.
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