Art: A Visual Journey
2011-2012
How is art used to communicate?
Designer: Laurie Sweet
Development Team: Fine Arts Department
Instructor: Robin Christopher
lsweet@rsd6.org
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Art Making: Students will conceive and create original works of art that demonstrate a
connection between personal expression and the intentional use of art materials, techniques and
processes.
Visual Organization: Students will learn to judge and discuss the effectiveness of different ways
of using visual characteristics (principles and elements of design) in conveying ideas.
Art Expression: Students will use visual expression through the use of subject matter, symbols,
ideas, and themes that demonstrate knowledge of contexts and cultural aesthetic values to
communicate intended meaning.
Art Interpretation and Presentation: Students will learn to discuss their own works of art in a
written format: Describe, Analyze, Interpret, and Judge, including oral classroom
presentations/discussions.
Art History and Culture (contextual meaning): Students will create art using characteristics of
the visual arts within a particular historical period or style with ideas, issues, or themes of that
period or style.
Course Essential Questions:
1. How does history play a role in art?
2. Why do artists use different media?
3. How does art tell a story?
4. How does art express ideas and feelings?
Art Introduction:
5 days, 48 minute periods
Introductions, expectations, grading policy, review the room, drawing warm-up and survey.
What is Art?
Share sketchbooks examples. Decorate sketchbook covers and binders. Distribute handouts (Sketchbook
rubric, syllabus).
Unit 1: Cave Painting
4 days, 48 minute periods
Discuss finding earth pigments, charcoal, and tools to use for cave painting.
Where do we find pigment, and how is it used?
Enduring Understandings
The visual representation/imagination of an idea is
a powerful (and often unique) form of expression.
Essential Questions
How does history/culture influence art?
How does art influence history/culture?
Invention/innovation in art requires both a vision
for a new way of working and the perseverance to
respond to feedback.
HW Journal: Go on a nature work. Collect dirt, sand, charcoal, clay or something of your own
discovery. Jot down notes and sketches of your walk.
HW: Bring in found or homemade brushes (example: pine needles, small branches, newspaper
cut and taped to make a brush.
Unit 2: Ancient Egypt--Hieroglyphics, Mummies, and Pyramids
8 days, 48 minute periods
Discuss how art tells a story using words and pictures. Illustrate a story. How did Egypt worship
the dead? How is Egyptian history portrayed in art? Where else can you find pyramids besides
Egypt? Create a sarcophagus cover using a fictional ruler (work in teams).
How are symbols used in art?
Enduring Understandings
The visual representation/imagination of an idea is
a powerful (and often unique) form of expression.
Essential Questions
How does history/culture influence art?
How does art influence history/culture?
The context in which a piece is/was created
impacts the audience’s reception/perception of the
piece.
What does this work/process make me see, hear,
and/or think about?
HW Journal:
1. Look up and write down the definition of hieroglyphics.
2. Create your own hieroglyphics based on a future civilization.
3. Write a one-page story about your future civilization (illustration done in class).
5. Look up words: sarcophagus, pyramid, canopic jars, and stele. Include definitions and small
sketches.
4. Find five sources/places that you can find a pyramid (other than Egypt).
Unit 3: Chinese Art
6 days, 48 minute periods
You will create a scroll based in the manor of a Chinese painter (watercolor). Meditation and art:
In-class object observation exercise with bamboo pens, brushes, and litho crayons.
Chinese Festival: Make a kite.
How does an artist observe an object?
Enduring Understandings
The visual representation/imagination of an idea is
Essential Questions
How does history/culture influence art?
a powerful (and often unique) form of expression.
How does art influence history/culture?
The context in which a piece is/was created
impacts the audience’s reception/perception of the
piece.
What does this work/process make me see, hear,
and/or think about?
HW journal:
Nature walk: Observe mood, type of day. Is it raining? Is it sunny? Warm? Cold? Cloudy?
Draw small sketches of your observations (examples: rocks, grasses, trees, cloud shapes, feathers
water).
Unit 4: Japanese Exploration
10 days, 48 minute periods
Exploration: Rubber (linoleum) block printmaking and decorative design (Kabuki headband) of
Japan. You will look at photographs of Japanese architecture, gardens, and paintings for
inspiration.
Where do you find pattern(s)?
Enduring Understandings
The instruments you use and the way you use them
affect your ability to communicate an idea.
Essential Questions
How does history/culture influence art?
How does art influence history/culture?
What does this work/process make me see, hear,
and/or think about?
HW Journal: Find ten different examples of patterns and glue them into your sketchbook. Include
sources of patterns (examples: clothing, architecture, tile, wallpaper).
Unit 5: Inner Self Masks
7 days, 48 minute periods
You will design an Inner Self Mask based on a creative writing piece. Examples of masks, from
different cultures, will be shown in class.
How do you express your inner self?
Enduring Understandings
The visual representation/imagination of an idea is
a powerful (and often unique) form of expression.
Essential Questions
How do I express ideas, experiences, and emotions
as art?
The context in which a piece is/was created
impacts the audience’s reception/perception of the
piece.
How does art help me discover who I am?
HW Journal: Research different uses for masks. Write down your findings. Include small
sketches/pictures of these masks.
HW: Write a story/play about your Inner Self Mask). Be sure to invent a character(s) that is the
center of your story. You will read and act out your story or play aloud in class using your mask.
Unit 6: Classical Greek and Roman Architecture
7 days, 48 minute periods
You will be able to identify contributions of the ancient Greeks and Romans (Parthenon and
Acropolis). The focus will be on different aspects of architecture (Ionic, Doric, Corinthian,
triumphal arch). You will design a clay frieze, a triumphal arch, and make a painting of a Greek
vase of your own design.
What is the name on the Wamogo yearbook cover?
How do you decide what kind of symmetry is found in art or architecture?
Enduring Understandings
The quality of a piece is determined based on the
application of an established set of criteria with
which an artist may or may not agree.
Essential Questions
How does history/culture influence art? How does
art influence history/culture?
When do I need to stay within established
rules/guidelines/conventions? When am I free to
do my own thing?
HW Journal:
1. Write one or two sentences reflecting on ways people celebrate triumph today.
2. Architectural sketches: Draw details of windows, arches, doorways, columns or other found
architectural elements.
3. Draw patterns and a symmetrical shape for a Greek Vase.
Unit 7: Medieval and Gothic Times
6 days, 48 minute periods
The focus will be on life during the Medieval and Gothic periods. Gargoyles, cathedrals, rose
windows, pointed arches, flying buttresses, Coat of Arms, and a modified medieval feast will be
part of your journey. Create a Rose Window. Design your own Coat of Arms.
What is stain glass?
Enduring Understandings
The quality of a piece is determined based on the
application of an established set of criteria with
which an artist may or may not agree.
Essential Questions
How does history/culture influence art? How does
art influence history/culture?
When do I need to stay within established
rules/guidelines/conventions? When am I free to
do my own thing?
HW Journal: Write down the definition of gargoyle. Include a small illustration of a gargoyle.
HW Research: What kind of food was eaten during medieval times?
Unit 8: The Renaissance “rebirth”
10 days, 48 minute periods
You will learn about the development of oil paint and scientific perspective during the
Renaissance. You will also research the Renaissance period as a team (3-4 students) and create a
mural from your findings. In learning about the Renaissance, you will explore Michelangelo’s
working conditions while he was painting the Sistine Chapel. Activities will include painting
upside down and making your own frescos. What is the Renaissance, and why was it such a
protocol period in history?
Why is rebirth relevant in art?
Enduring Understandings
The process of imagining/translating/
representing an idea requires constant reflection
and experimentation.
The context in which a piece is/was created
impacts the audience’s reception/perception of the
piece.
Essential Questions
How does history/culture influence art? How does
art influence history/culture?
How des the context of the work give insight into
what the artist was trying to express? How does
knowing that information affect me?
HW: Renaissance research (pick a theme).
HW: Write a two-page paper on a Renaissance artist. Include a cover sheet of an artwork done
by that artist. Paper must be typed.
MID-TERM EXAM:
PART I (20 pts): Short answer questions on vocabulary, materials, and art history elements.
PART II (60 pts): Hands-on drawing/painting examples incorporating various units, techniques,
and materials.
PART III (20 pts): Examining your art through the art criticism process to Describe, Analyze,
Interpret, and Judge.
Unit 9: Native American Art
6 days, 48 minute periods
Native Americans of the Great Plains painted tales of their battles on skins. You will explore Inuit
and Native American art: engravings, pueblo dwellings, weavings, and totems.
What makes the Inuit culture unique, and what can we learn from it?
What is the significance of animals for the Native American?
What is the purpose of a totem?
What other cultures have similar artifacts to Native American Art?
Enduring Understandings
The context in which a piece is/was created
impacts the audience’s reception/perception of the
piece.
Essential Questions
How does history/culture influence art? How does
art influence history/culture?
What motivates me to keep creating? What do I do
when I get stuck?
HW Journal: Look through the newspaper or magazine for coverage of an important news event.
In your sketchbook, draw an illustration of this event. Include as much detail as possible.
HW Journal: Glue magazine photos in your sketchbook of animals that appeal to you.
Unit 10: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
5 days, 48 minute periods
There will be a discussion on Impressionistic artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste
Renoir, and Berthe Morisot and their works. You will create your own impressionistic painting.
All work will go on hall exhibit. You will use experimentation of painting with small dots,
swirling and twisted lines, and painting flat colorful shapes.
What makes Impressionism different from other art forms?
What is Post-Impressionism?
How did the Salon influence or hinder the development of painting in the 19th C.?
Enduring Understandings
The context in which a piece is/was created
impacts the audience’s reception/perception of the
piece.
Essential Questions
How do I express, ideas, experiences, and
emotions as art?
How does the context of the work give insight into
what the artist was trying to express? How does
knowing that information affect me?
HW: Select a landscape photograph of your own or from a magazine. Bring it to class.
Unit 11: Fauvism, Expressionism, and Cubisim (Art of the Early 20th C.)
5 days, 48 minute periods
In-class projects will include: Point-of-view drawing (Cubist), an intense wild color combination
using watercolor and oil (Matisse), and a mosaic paper collage of a street scene.
How are the movements Fauvism, Expressionism, and Cubism different?
How does breaking up a subject, as in a mosaic, help us see differently?
Enduring Understandings
Essential Questions
The instruments you use and the way you use them
affect your ability to communicate an idea.
What does this work/process make me see, hear,
and/or think about?
Invention/innovation in art requires both a vision
for a new way of working and the perseverance to
respond to feedback.
How do I express ideas, experiences, and emotions
as art?
HW Journal: Dream collage
HW Journal: Map of myself
Unit 12: Surrealism (Creating Fantasy)
8 days, 48 minute periods
Imagination is used to create and invent new forms of poetry, music, dance, painting, and
sculpture. (Example: When you were a small child, you could transform a box into a castle or a
stuffed animal into a living/talkative friend. Use the same imagination to unlock the door to
creative ideas). Create a diorama based on fantasy.
What are Miro and Dali’s contribution to Surrealistic art?
What is fantasy?
Enduring Understandings
The visual representation/imagination of an idea is
a powerful (and often unique) form of an idea.
The context in which a piece is/was created
impacts the audience’s reception/perception of the
piece.
Essential Questions
When do I need to stay within established
rules/guidelines/conventions? When am I free to
do my own thing?
What does this work/process make me see, hear,
and/or think about?
How does the context of the work give insight into
what the artist was trying to express? How does
knowing that information affect me?
HW Journal: Create a fantasy storm using shades of one color (example: blacks, grays or shades
of blue).
HW: Bring a shoebox to class.
HW Journal: Write a descriptive fantasy paragraph, which includes a character(s) and a setting
that you will use in your diorama, Include detailed sketches.
CMTs (early March)
Unit 13: Abstract Expressionism
3 days, 48 minute periods
DeKooning, Pollack and Frankenthaer . . . artists of Abstract Expressionism. While listening to
music, draw with oil pastels what you are feeling (focus on the abstract and not realistic objects).
Now make a swirling painting while standing up.
How do you express yourself in abstract art?
What is free-form shape?
Enduring Understandings
The visual representation/imagination of an idea is
a powerful (and often unique) form of an idea.
Essential Questions
How does art help me discover who I am?
HW Journal: Fill an entire page with random thoughts (stream-of-conscience). Do not allow
yourself to think about what you are writing, but write as thoughts come to mind.
Unit 14: Celebrating a Role Model—A Tribute
8 days, 48 minute periods
There may be someone whose footsteps you would like to follow. Is it a sibling, a parent, a
friend you admire? Do you have a hero? You will create a three-dimensional mixed media tribute
that honors a person whose life or work inspires you. Your masks will go on display for Project
Poetry Live (see PPL unit).
Why is a hero important?
How do your choices of media connect to make an interesting design?
Enduring Understandings
The visual representation/imagination of an idea is
a powerful (and often unique) form of expression.
Essential Questions
How do I express ideas, experiences, and emotions
as art?
The instruments you use and the way you use them
affect your ability to communicate an idea.
How does art help me discover who I am?
HW Journal:
1. Write down five names of people that have influenced you or who you think is your hero.
2. Bring in stuff to use for your role model (photos as reference, magazine cutouts, buttons,
Unit 15: Project Poetry Live
8 days, 48 minute periods
The 7th grade will partner with other area schools in Project Poetry Live. Your role as an artist is
to write and illustrate a poem that will be displayed at Naugatuck Community College. Also, you
will participate in transferring a small drawing onto 5’ x 15’ canvas that will be used as a
backdrop for the Project Poetry Live Performance.
What is poetry?
How do your choices of media connect to make an interesting design?
Enduring Understandings
The visual representation/imagination of an idea is
a powerful (and often unique) form of an idea.
Essential Questions
What does this process me see, hear, and/or think
about?
How do I express ideas, experiences, and emotions
as art?
HW Journal:
1. Write a poem based on a favorite hobby, color, shape, animal, hero . . . you decide!
Unit 16: A Peek at Connecticut and Local Artists (Calder, Rockwell, and Sloane)
9 days, 48 minute periods
Connecticut and nearby states are filled with local artists past and present. Sample artists:
Alexander Calder (sculptor), Eric Sloane (Americana art), and Norman Rockwell (portraits).
Select one of the artists that appeals to you. For a final project, create a reflective artwork in the
style of that artist. You may create artwork 2-D or 3-D.
Why do we study artists?
Enduring Understandings
The instruments you use and the way you use them
affect your ability to communicate an idea.
Invention/innovation in art requires both a vision
for a new way of working and the perseverance to
respond to feedback.
Essential Questions
How does the context of the work give insight into
what the artist was trying to express? How does
knowing that information affect me?
When do I need to stay within established
rules/guidelines/conventions? When am I free to
do my own thing?
HW: Select one of the artists listed for your final project. Map/sketch out how you are going to
tackle your reflective artwork. What materials are you going to use?
FINAL EXAM:
PART I (20 pts): Short answer questions on vocabulary, materials, and art history elements.
PART II (60 pts): Hands-on drawing/painting examples incorporating various units, techniques,
and materials.
PART III (20 pts): Examining your art through the art criticism process to Describe, Analyze,
Interpret, and Judge.
Grading:
Major projects: 50%
Minor projects: 30%
Sketchbook/written work/participation: 10%
Homework: 10%