MADISON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Art Appreciation (MJS)
Authored by: Stacy Snider
Reviewed by: Lee Nittel,
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Stacy Snider,
Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts
Adopted by the Board: January, 2013
Members of the Board of Education:
Lisa Ellis, President
Patrick Rowe, Vice-President
David Arthur
Kevin Blair
Shade Grahling
Linda Gilbert
Thomas Haralampoudis
James Novotny
Superintendent: Dr. Michael Rossi
Madison Public Schools
359 Woodland Road, Madison, NJ 07940
www.madisonpublicschools.org
I. OVERVIEW
This one semester course covers the fundamental building blocks of Art: line, color, shape, space,
form, color, texture and proportion. Students have been exposed to these fundamentals in their elementary
Art training but this more concentrated class is designed to reinforce concepts already learned, intensify
them and build upon them. Its purpose is to make all students more keenly aware of aesthetics in the visual
world around them. It will also identify the students with particular artistic abilities at an earlier age so that
these talents might be encouraged.
II. RATIONALE
Student production of art will expose them to the materials and techniques of making art.
Constructive critique of their own work and other artists will make them more discerning consumers of art.
They will expand their knowledge of Art history, learning the importance of great figures in the history of
art and learn of the cultural and societal influence of artists living and working in the world today.
Students will be encouraged to work collaboratively as well as use the internet and digital imaging
where appropriate. Emphasis will always be placed upon individual response to creative problem solving.
III. STUDENT OUTCOMES (Linked to NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards)
1. Students will gain a greater awareness the role that art plays in their daily lives (1.3, 1.4)
2. Students will develop skills to identify the design fundamentals that exist in all art (1.1, 1.3)
3. Students will become aware that indentifying these design fundamentals will strengthen their own
artistic abilities (1.2, 1.3)
4. Students will be able to indentify renowned historical and contemporary artists and identify
characteristics of their styles (1.3, 1.4)
5. Students will demonstrate a growth in appreciation for individual, personal expression (1.1, 1.2)
6. Students will expand their art vocabulary (1.3)
7. Students will manage their time effectively both working independently as well as collaboratively
(1.2)
8. Students will be able to use a variety of materials safely and appropriately (1.2)
9. Students will learn proper methods and descriptors for critique (1.4)
IV. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND CONTENT
All units of study will utilize the following general activities:
• Teacher introduction including reference to and examples shown of appropriate artists that have
relevance to the unit.
• Further investigation into these artists might be done by students using 1) the internet, 2) text
assignments, 3) teacher hand outs, 4) library research, 5) student oral reports.
• Instructional demonstrations of materials and techniques.
• Group discussion and brainstorming sessions.
• Student production of art utilizing the design element of the unit of study.
• Assigned projects might be individual activities or combined collaborative efforts.
• Student involvement in the classroom and school display of artwork.
Unit 1: Line
Objective:
At the end of the unit the student will be able to produce and identify a line that:
• Is calligraphic
• Is expressive
• Defines contour
• Shows direction
Suggested Activities:
Lettering quill pen drawing of sunflowers “Art Talk” reading on expressive line followed by line
“experiments”
Round-robin timed drawings of still life objects in contour line
Overlapping ad background line to direct the eye in composition
Materials:
Artists: O’Keefe, Van Gogh, Monet, Pollock, Rouault
Drawing ink, assorted nib lettering pens, pen and ink paper, sharpies, colored markers, still life
objects
Unit 2: Shape
Objective:
At the end of the unit students will be able to define shape and identify the characteristics of:
• Geometric shapes
• Amorphous shapes
Suggested Activities:
Demonstrate use of materials and tools
List on board appropriate vocabulary
Design an imaginary land vehicle using geometric shapes (color with primary colors)
Create a tessellation using geometric shapes.
Create a tessellation using amorphous shapes.
Draw popcorn and transform it into an imaginary animal.
Materials:
Artists: Mondrian, Leger, Matisse, and Escher
Triangles, rulers, templates, self-contained pens, markers, drawing paper
Unit 3: Form
Objective:
At the end of the unit students will:
• Understand the difference between shape and form
• Be able to define relief and in the round
• Be able to make a three dimensional work of art
Suggested Activities:
Demonstrate qualities of clay and appropriate tools.
Define ceramic terms and vocabulary.
Students choose to make either a relief tile or a freestanding work.
Create a freestanding stable sculpture or relief assemblage.
Materials:
Artists: Nevelson, Moore, Calder, Greek friezes, reliefs of Benin
Clay, tools, decorating wheel, foam core board, cutting tools, glue
Unit 4: Space
Objectives:
At the end of the unit students will:
• Be able to identify positive and negative space in an artwork.
• Be able to produce artwork that shows the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat
picture plane using linear perspective.
• Use position on the picture plane to show distance.
Suggested Activities:
Demo one and two point linear perspective boxes (drawing the box and finding the visual center)
Hand out instruction sheet for student guided practice.
Demo drawing the interior of a “box” or room
Create an imaginary interior space for a person or animal.
Materials:
Artists: de Chirico, Utrillo, Dali, Leonardo, Andrew Wyeth
Drawing paper, pencils, straight edges, colored pencil
Unit 5: Color
Objectives:
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
• Identify opposite colors
• Identify warm and cool colors
• Identify analogous colors
• Define the difference between hue and value
• Mix paint and produce shades and tints of different hues
• Demonstrate how colors of less intensity appear to recede
Suggested Activities:
Produce a radial balance design in the configuration of a color wheel
Paint a mobius strip using analogous colors
Create a single hue painting with a full range of tints and shades using an image that is indicative
of that hue.
Create a cityscape in warm or cool colors diminishing in intensity higher on the picture plane.
Materials:
Artists: Matisse, Gauguin, Picasso, Rembrandt, Leonardo, Janet Fish
Water color paper, temper, color wheel
Unit 6: Texture
Objectives:
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
• Describe various textures
• Reproduce a variety of textures by changing values
• Express a feeling through the use of texture
Suggested Activities:
Create a collage of an imaginary animal applying real textural materials.
Make a sampler of rubbings of collected textures.
Produce w weaving using a variety of textured papers.
Create a drawn cubist collage.
Materials:
Artists: Faith Ringgold, Braque, Van Gogh
Assorted papers of different texture, glue sticks, thin white drawing paper, paper cutter, scotch
tape, ebony pencils
Unit 7: Proportion
Objectives:
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
• Use proportion and distortion to create meaning
• Understand how we perceive proportion and scale
• Draw the human face and body in correct proportion
Suggested Activities:
Working from a girded photo that is taken by the student, paint a larger than life size reduced value
portrait.
Create and all-over design using the image of Vitruvian Man.
Assemble a magazine cut out collage using unrealistic scale.
Create paper mache “food”.
Paint a mask using realistically drawn facial features drawn in disproportion.
Materials:
Artists: Botero, Magritte, Oldenburg, Leonardo, Chuck Close
Digital camera, computer, canvas board, acrylic paint, matte board, glue sticks, paste
V. STRATEGIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Teacher demonstrations
Guided practice
Posting of visual aids
Multi-media presentation
Short readings about artists
Individual projects
Class discussion
Group critique
Written self-evaluation
VI. EVALUATION
Art Assessment Rubric:
Students in Art Appreciation are assessed through formal and informal measures. Frequent informal
assessment and feedback are provided on a daily basis by the teacher. Primary Categories Assessed:
Technical skill including:
• Attention to detail
• Craftsmanship
• Use of materials
Originality/ Creativity including:
• Uniqueness
• Personal expressiveness
• Personal involvement
Degree of Accomplishment:
Use of element
of Art
Skill
Risk Taking
1
2
3
Lack of
application of the
element of art
No evidence of
skill
Some evidence of
art but not
effectively used
Limited use of
manipulative skill
Effective use of
element of art
No evidence of
risk taking
Minimal risk
taking
Evidence of
willingness to
take risks
Good use of
manipulative skill
4
Very effective use
of the element of
art
Consistently high
level of
manipulative
ability
Very effective risk
taking
Methods of Evaluation and Assessment:
•
•
Observation
Individual critique
•
•
Participation in class activities
Self evaluation
VII. REQUIRED RESOURCES
Discovering Art History—3rd edition, Gerard I. Brunner, 1994, Davis Publications, Worcester, MA
History of Art—3rd edition, H.W Janson, 1986, Harry N. Abrams, New York, NY
Art In Focus, Gene H Mittler, Ph. D., 2000, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, New York, NY
A Biographical Dictionary of Artists, Sir Lawrence Gowing—general editor, 1995, Andromeda
Books, Oxford, England
A History of Western Art, Laurie Schneider Adams, 1994, Brown and Benchmark Publications,
Madison, WI
The History of Painting, Sister Wendy Beckett, 1994, A DK Publishing Book, New York, NY
Architecture from Pre-History to Post-Modernism, Marvin Trachtenberg and Isabelle Hyman,
1986, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, NY
VII. SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
Unit 1: Line (2 weeks)
Unit 2: Shape (2 weeks)
Unit 3: Form (3 weeks)
Unit 4: Space (2 weeks)
Unit 5: Color (3 weeks)
Unit 6: Texture (3 weeks)
Unit 7: Proportion (3 weeks)