Name: Jill Vyverberg
Course: ART333 W10
Date: 3-16-10
Community
An Artmaking Unit for Grade: 6-8
Conceptual Framework:
Community is location or group of people having common interests or goals. Here are some examples of community art:
A Sunday on the LaGrande Jatte by Georges Seurat, The Heidelberg Project by Tyree Guyton, Home Visit by Pepon Osorio,
and Seoul Home/L.A. Home/New York Home/Baltimore Home/London Home/Seattle Home by Do-Ho Suh. These four
different artists show us what community or place means to them in their work. When we look at our community, what
do we see? The artist statements below include their take on community.
A Sunday on the LaGrande Jatte - Seurat spent two years painting this canvas, concentrating on the landscape of the park before focusing on the
people; Individuals did not interest him, only their formal elegance. There is no untidiness in Seurat; all is beautifully balanced. The park was quite
a noisy place: a man blows his bugle, children run around, there are dogs. Yet the impression we receive is of silence, of control, of nothing disordered.
This that makes La Grande Jatte so moving to us who live in such a disordered world: Seurat's control. There is an intellectual clarity here that sets
him free to paint this small park with an astonishing poetry. Even if the people in the park are pairs or groups, they still seem alone in their
concision of form - alone but not lonely. No figure encroaches on another's space: all coexist in peace.
The Heidelberg Project, bearing the name of the street on which it exists, was started in 1986 by Tyree Guyton. Tyree was raised on
Heidelberg Street and, at the age of 12, witnessed the tragic effect of the Detroit riots - from which he claims the City of Detroit never recovered.
Though once racially integrated, many neighborhoods have become segregated; urban ghettos characterized by poverty, abandonment, and despair.
Armed with a paintbrush, a broom, and neighborhood children, his former wife Karen, and his dearly beloved Grandpa, Guyton, began by cleaning
up vacant lots on Heidelberg and Elba Streets. From the refuse they collected, Guyton began to transform the street into a massive art environment.
Vacant lots literally became “lots of art” and abandoned houses became “gigantic art sculptures.” Guyton not only transformed vacant houses and
lots, he integrated the street, sidewalks, and trees into his mammoth installation and called his work, "The Heidelberg Project.” Despite numerous
awards, the city demolished parts of the Heidelberg Project installation in 1991 and again in 1999. Still, the Heidelberg Project continues to exist,
evolve, and grow - providing hope and inspiration to the local community and the community of the world. The Heidelberg Project is recognized
as one of the most influential art environments in the world. http://www.heidelberg.org/history.html
"Home Visit" 1999-2000 Details of "Tina's House." Mixed media, 20 x 28 x 17 inches. "'Home Visit' is rooted in a very religious tradition in Latin
America and Puerto Rico...of the visiting saint...I was interested in restoring faith at some point... Somehow coming to terms with the idea of living
in a place for 25 years- I've been in New York City and then I just moved to Philadelphia- I needed to somehow believe that it was going to be
okay. And what a clever way to do it...(LAUGHS)...to have 'Home Visit' going from one home to another, and visiting different places and getting to
know all the people." - Pepón Osorio
"Seoul Home/L.A. Home/New York Home/Baltimore Home/London Home/Seattle Home" 1999 Silk, 149 x 240 x 240 inches. "I think
that by measuring and scrutinizing and investigating everything possible you really consume the space and it becomes part of you. Now you feel like it’s
in you and you feel comfortable. That’s why I did my first site-specific installations, and I did the same thing with my Korean house project. But
once you take that piece down from its site and transport it and display it in a different place, the idea of site-specific becomes highly questionable
and refutable. That’s what I was really interested in because I think this notion of home is something you can repeat infinitely." - Do-Ho Suh
Key Concepts for the Unit
Community is a place that people gather with common interests. Community is groups of people with common interests.
Community is where you live. Community is where you grew up. Community is the street your house is on. Community
is the school you went to. Community is what you share with people who have not been to your town. Community is a
unified body of individuals: as state, commonwealth. Community is people with common interests living in a particular
area; broadly: the area itself. Community is an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a
common location. Community is a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a
larger society. Community is a group linked by a common policy. Community is a body of persons having a common
history or common social, economic, and political interests. Community is a body of persons of common professional
interests scattered through a larger society. Community is society at large. Community is joint ownership or
participation. Community is common character: likeness. Community is a social activity: fellowship. Community is social
state or condition.
Essential Question for the Unit
1. What does community mean to you?
2. What makes your hometown/community special to you?
2.a. What are the attractions in the community?
3. What would make a tourist stop in your community to take a photograph?
4. What is the appeal to living in this community? What is unappealing about the community?
5. How would you share your community with others whom have never been there?
Project #2 Community – Gathering Visual Culture
Key Concepts for the Project:
Community is groups of people with common interests. Community is the school you went to. Community is a unified
body of individuals: as state, commonwealth. Community is people with common interests living in a particular area;
broadly: the area itself. Community is an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a common
location. Community is a group linked by a common policy. Community is a body of persons having a common history
or common social, economic, and political interests. Community is joint ownership or participation. Community is
common character: likeness. Community is a social activity: fellowship.
Essential Question/s for the Project:
What makes your community different than another community? How does your community identify itself? Does your
community have a logo or iconic symbol? Are there areas in the community that exhibit things we see in everyday
advertising and marketing?
Objective/s for the Project: Photography
Students will take a walking tour of area near the school, and eventually going as group to the downtown/town center
of the county seat. Students will take photographs of their community using digital cameras. Videos and sketches may
be captured at the same time (To use on a later project). They will be allowed to use their own cameras (cell phone, mp3
players with camera or any other digital camera). Additionally; they will take pictures on their own to share with the
class. The students will be given a guideline of what images to seek out.
Required Knowledge, Skills: Students will share their photographs of the community with the class. They will display
them by making a PowerPoint photo slideshow. (Lessons in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, and PowerPoint
will be included.) Students will gain knowledge of how to look for unique things in their community; specifically their
hometown/community. They will be able to utilize Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver and PowerPoint as a means
of presentation. They will share new imagery with peers.
Motivational activity and introduction: (artists, artifacts, teacher made example, etc…)
-This lesson will be gathering photography for the entire theme of place and community. We will discuss what makes a
community? Is it the people, attractions, sporting events, schools, festivals or all of this combined? We will take a
walking field trip to look around the community. (If funds available: Trip to Heidelberg Project)
Community is location or group of people having common interests or goals. Examples of community art: Guyton
Teaching tools and material:
Teacher: Get permission to take students on a walking tour of the neighborhood, and then to the town center or
downtown area within the community. Prepare a slide show of images that show the students communities that have a
theme/similar plan to them. Samples to include: Guyton-Heidelberg Project. Have students asking themselves what
image does their community project? Is it good or bad?”
Students: look at images collected of their community- from their field trips. Students are given time to create their
community of visual culture slideshow on the computers.
Activity Procedure:
Day 1: (45 min) Teacher will show samples of artist: Guyton – The Heidelberg Project. We will openly discuss what
makes the Heidelberg Project a community? Does it have a theme? What does it mean to have a town icon or theme?
Heidelberg Project video from Guyton website to be presented
In-Class Worksheet: Does our Community have a theme or iconic symbol?
Students will write down iconic images of their community. They will also be given guidelines for the photography
walking field trip for next class.
Homework: Students will collect their photographs and begin bringing to class. Sketchbooks will require 5 dedicated
pages from the walk.
Day 2: (45 min) Teacher will remind students of rules, expected behavior and manners before going on our walk around
the community. Remind students to take pictures and sketch ideas they may use as themes.
Homework/Worksheet/Sketchbook Activity: Students will take photographs during class walk. Students will take many
more photographs of their community over the course of a week.
Day 3-4-5: (45 min) Teacher will explain how to use slideshow programs (such as PowerPoint). Students share their
share their photographs by making a PowerPoint or similar slideshow of images with the class.
Homework/Worksheet/Sketchbook Activity: Students will be given time in class to create slideshow. They will be instructed
to use different images that will make their presentation unique.
Day 6-7: (45 min) Teacher will have students present images to the class. They will show any and all photographs they
took of the community, good or bad, as well as sketchbook related imagery.
Benchmarks:
ART.I.VA.M.1
Select materials, techniques, media technology, and processes to achieve desired effects.
ART.I.VA.M.2
Use art materials and tools safely and responsibly to communicate experiences and ideas.
ART.I.VA.M.3
Select and use the visual characteristics and organizational principles of art to communicate ideas.
ART.I.VA.M.4
Be involved in the process and presentation of a final product or exhibit.
ART.II.VA.M.2
Employ organizational principles and analyze what makes them effective or not in the communication of ideas.
ART.II.VA.M.4
Use subjects, themes, and symbols that communicate intended meaning in artworks.
ART.III.VA.M.1
Form and defend judgments about characteristics and structures to accomplish commercial, personal, communal, or other
purposes of art.
ART.III.VA.M.4
Describe and compare the characteristics of personal artwork to the artwork of others.
ART.IV.VA.M.2
Describe and place a variety of art objects in historical and cultural contexts.
ART.IV.VA.M.3
Analyze, describe, and demonstrate how factors of time and place (such as climate, resources, ideas, and technology) influence
visual characteristics that give meaning and value to a work of art.
ART.V.VA.M.1
Analyze personal, family, and community connections that involve work by visual artists.
Closure:
Students will learn to look at their community from a new perspective. They will gain knowledge of their community
and be able to share what makes it special through the photographs they display.
Assessments: Student understood the gathering visual culture project. Student finished worksheet, returned worksheet
to teacher. Participated in class by sharing photographs about their community. Student behaved appropriately for field
trips. Students have also shown understanding of gathering visual culture by showing drawings in their sketchbook.
Assessment Rubric: Community - Gathering Visual Culture
Community
Community
Photography
Required Elements
Subject matter
(Community)
Work Ethic
Excellent - 25
Student understood the
gathering visual culture
project.
Excellent - 25
Presented Subject matter
clearly (Community)
Captured images
according to guidelines
Excellent - 25
Student stayed on time
with all tasks
Good - 20
Student understood
project but forgot
some required
elements
Good - 20
Subject Matter
(Community) was
not presently clearly
using the guidelines
Fair - 15
Did not have proper
images of community,
and didn’t include
required elements
Fair - 15
Subject Matter
(Community) was not
clear or understood, had
minimal images.
Needs work - 5
No images of community,
and required elements
were not included
Good - 20
On task but not
moving to next step
when teacher moved
Fair - 15
Student was not
prepared to move to
next step but was
Needs work - 5
Final
photograph/slideshow
were never produced or
Needs work - 5
Subject Matter
(community) was not
present at all
Notes
Sketches/Notes
100 Total Points:
Excellent - 25
Student has many
sketches and notes of
work in progress.
Excellent - 25
on
Good - 20
Student sketches
were not detailed,
notes were not clear
Good - 20
working
Fair - 15
Sketches were missing,
notes were missing or
not clear
Fair - 15
presented to class
Needs work - 5
No sketches or notes
were ever turned in.
Needs work - 5
Tyree Guyton – The Heidelberg Project
Unit: Community - Gathering Visual Culture
Does your community have a theme or iconic symbol?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sketch community theme or iconic symbol below:
Tyree Guyton – The Heidelberg Project
Unit: Community - Gathering Visual Culture
Guideline for Photographs/Field Trip
**BRING CAMERA (or any device that takes pictures of reproductive quality)
Must have:
___ 5 images of downtown/town center of community
___ 5 images of school within community
___ 5 images of social/political/governmental places within community
___ 5 images of your favorite place within the community (ie: your own neighborhood)
___ 20 images of your choice – but they must be representations of community
Things to consider:
___ Creative camera angles
___ Subject matter is appropriate for school
___ Permission to capture images from non-public areas of the community
Name: _________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________