zaterdag 18 januari 2020

The fall of Icarus - like Matisse


You need:
  1. dark blue construction paper
  2. black construction paper
  3. leftovers of construction paper in several colors
  4. scissors
  5. glue
In this lesson students cut a performance out of paper just like Matisse did with his work: The fall of Icarus. 
Matisse (1969-1954) was a French sculptor and painter. He is seen as the founder of fauvism. In his last years of life Matisse wasn't able to paint anymore. A pair of scissors was the tool he used to transform painted papers (painted by assistants) into a world of plants, animals, shapes and figures. 
One of these cut-outs is the artwork Icarus (1947). 

Read the myth of Daedalus and Icarus. 

Then look at the original artwerk Icarus.
What do you see? At what time of day were  Daedalus and Icarus flying and how can you see that? (at night - dark blue paper, stars). What do you notice about the body of Icarus?  (limbs have different thicknesses) What can you deduce from that? (no drawing in advance but cut out of the hand) What could be the red dot? (heart)  How do you know Icarus is falling? (arms spread, head not straight on the body) Can you see that Icarus is falling into the see? (no) What else could he fall in?

Task
The real Icarus fell into the sea, but our Icarus falls into something else ... and you  decide for yourself into what! Trees? A city? On a church?
Cut a falling human out of black construction paper.  You're not allowed to make a drawing in advance, just cut 'out of the hand'. If the first time fails, you take a new black sheet. Cut some stars. Cut a surface: in what is Icarus falling?  Place the loose parts on a blue sheet and stick all of them.

All artworks made by students of grade 3. 

donderdag 7 november 2019

Transport - like Hundertwasser


Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) was an Austrian artist and architect who is best known for the colorful buildings he designed, built with attention to the environment and natureThe buildings of Hundertwasser are very recognizablestraight lines are missingthere is use of bright colors and many of his buildings have typical turrets. The influence of architect Gaudi is obvious.
The paintings of Hundertwasser have exuberant colours too and mainly undulating lines.

Show buildings of Hundertwasser on the digital board. Discuss the salient  features: bright coloursundulating linesThen show some paintings and discuss the things that stand out:

 the use of small areas outlined with black
 no straight lines, usually parallel lines
 recurring spiral shapes
 bright colours

Tell students they are going to draw means of transport in the style of Hundertwasser. 

You need:
  1. drawing sheet
  2. pencil
  3. markers
Draw a car, plane, boat or something you think is a mean of transport. Fill it with lines and patterns like Hundertwasser did. Cut your drawing and paste all means of transport on a great colored sheet. 

Source: Dutch website Laat maar zien. 

woensdag 6 november 2019

Op art - like Henrique Matos

You need:
  1. white drawing sheet A4 size
  2. liquid water colour
  3. jar with water
  4. compasses
  5. ruler
  6. pencil
  7. black waterproof markers
Henrique José Teixeira Matos is a Portugese painter. He is born in 1961 in Oporto.  Matos painted landscapes, portraits and abstract works, but is best known for his op-art work.
Show pictures of Matos's work on Wikimedia Commons. Look especially the op-art works and discuss what you see.

More op-art lessons on this blog can be seen following the link Op-art.

Paint a white sheet of paper with liquid watercolour and a lot of water a plain background.


Drip some liquid water colour on the surface while it is still wet. Use more water if the colours won't flow. Leave the sheet to dry.


Use compasses to draw some small circles (2 cm average) on the sheet. Draw wider circkels around them. Fill the sheet with those circles and half ones near the edges.


Draw lines from the middle of the circles to the edges. Be sure it's an even number of lines and  Kkeep the lines as much as possible equidistant from each other. Color the squares alternating with a black marker or pencil.