Welcome to Class!
Think about something fun or
important that happened to
you.
Activity- Part 1
~On the paper on your table paper, you will
be doing a simple drawing that will show the
others at your table 1 thing that you did this
summer. Draw with the crayons.
~The catch is, you may NOT use any kind of
words in your drawing.
~You will have 10 minutes to finish your
drawing. Then, you must “sign” your
drawing without using any words or letters!
Activity Part 2
~ Now, look at everyone's drawings at your
table.
~If your neighbor can't tell what your drawing
is about, add something to it. They should
eventually be able to figure out what it means.
~We'll discuss how easy or difficult this was
to do.
Art is About Questions
~Why did we do this activity??
~How can you sign your name without letters?
~How can you communicate information to
another person and have them understand
what you're trying to say??
Art is about
communication!
First, we will be talking about ancient art.
Here's what the abbreviations by the dates mean:
The first cave art is thought to have been created
around the year 32,000 BCE. BCE means “Before
the Common Era”. This means before the year
1 on the Julian calendar, which is the calendar we
still use today. After the year 1, the date is shown
as CE. CE means “Common Era”. We are living
in the Common Era.
Why did people living approx. 34,000 yrs ago
(32,000 BCE) take time to paint pictures of animals
inside caves, when every day was a struggle to
survive?
Cave drawing of
hyenas at Chauvet,
France. Created
approx. 32,000 yrs.
BCE
To get an idea how long ago this was,
think about this:
The Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt was built about
2,700 BCE. That's about 29.000 years after the cave
art you just saw was drawn!
Great
Pyramid,
approx.
2,700 BCE
Stonehenge was built about 2,000 BCE.
That's about 30,000 years after the hyena cave art was drawn...
These iron tools and weapons were created
and used in about 1,200 BCE.
That's about 30,800 years after the cave are was drawn...
So,
Here's the question again...
If you were having to hunt and gather
every bit of food you ate, create all of the
clothing and stone tools you possessed,
protect yourself and others from wild animal
attacks……..
Why would you draw pictures in
caves?
Altamira cave art of bison, 15,000 BCE in northern Spain .The paintings in
this cave were discovered by a small girl and her father in 1870.
This photo shows the opening of a replica of the cave
ceiling and King Juan Carlo & Queen Sophia of Spain.
Since 1963 the caves at Lascaux have been closed
because the humidity from thousands of visitors'
breathing has damaged the cave paintings.
These visitors are looking at a replica of the cave art.
Spotted horses at Pech Merle cave with stencil hand print of the artist. The
art is dated at 25,000 BCE, and the cave was discovered by 4 teenagers in
1922, but the cave art wasn't seen until 1949.
Cave art is stylized. That means that it is a very
simplified way of drawing the animal. Yet, we
recognize what type of animal the artist was trying to
communicate to us.
How did the cave artists see to make their
pictures? They carved stone lamps and used
animal fat
as fuel to
burn so they
could see.
How can you sign your work without using
letters?
What are some other ways you can identify yourself without
writing your name?
Now, look at the photos
on your table.
Work with your group to put these items in
the correct chronological (time-line) order
the oldest would be first, etc. Create a time-line
on the paper you are given.
There are several ways to do this correctly. It
is very important to start at the date that is the
farthest back in history. Label each date!
The following slides are examples of historic art that
has pictures of horses on them.
The story, “Wild Horses” is from Scholastic magazine,
Sept./Oct. 2014.
Cave painting of horse in Lascaux, France. About 15,000 BCE
600 BCE Greek amphora of couple who were just married.
Horse drawing “A Rearing Horse”, 1503 CE, Leonardo Da Vinci
“The Large Blue Horses”, Franz Marc, 1911
Archaeologists working
in S. Africa have
found a shell,
rocks and minerals
they think is the oldest
art materials ever found....
They are dated
at 100,000 years
ago. The set consists of a shell,
some small bones
red & yellow ochre
pigments, a grinding
stone.