Artist Statement

When I first started this project I wanted to show opinions on the presidential debate. While working on that original idea it started to change into how the public expresses ideas about the government. I originally was going to interview people but I found out when I did that it didn’t seem to really go with my idea of expression. I wanted to focus on what people say vs. what they really know as fact. I was very interested in the idea that we all have opinions but with politics it isn’t moral or right to talk about it in public. I want to show the importance of having opinions and voicing them. Also I want to show how making a good opinion or argument requires research and proof of credible knowledge.

I showed this in my imovie by taking videos and pictures of advertisement and things that people see in their every day lives. I then chose to have just one voice opinion on the government to show the viewers maybe how they can relate or how their thoughts are different. I chose some music that maybe be mysterious in a way that I hope people would think about their opinions vs. other peoples opinions.

Lesson Plan

Claymation Community

Grade level 8^th. Ceramics and Imovie integration.

This lesson integrates visual arts with digital media. A power point and video of William Kentridge will be shown to start out the lesson. The medium of clay will be integrated with the I movie program on to create a Claymation. It is based for 8th grade level classes. This lesson is made as a group project of three students.

LESSON OVERVIEW

This lesson will create a sense of community in many ways. By doing this lesson students will be learning about the medium of clay and how to create nonfunctional objects through clay. Also they will be learning the I movie program and how to create a video, or Claymation. They will be taught how to make a stop motion film with clay as the form of illustration in the video. This lesson will be a good lesson to start out the class so that they work as a team getting a sense of community among each other along with the BigIdea of community in the video art that they make.

2. BENCHMARK (MICHIGAN STATE VISUAL ARTS STANDARDS AND BENCHMARKS (ex.ART.I.VA.EL.1) 3. OBJECTIVES

Upon the completion of the course, student will have learned the technical skills of clay as an art medium and how to record film and transfer that to make a fluid video in the I movie program. At the end of this lesson students will be able to tell the difference between functional art from nonfunctional art. They will know the technical skills of clay, for example slipping and scoring. On top of knowing now how to treat clay, they will be able to record video and make a production on the computer. These skills can be applied to the students future art making they will be able to recognize clay as a medium in art and in the future develop their clay building skills. Also they can apply this to advertisement and video production skill building. This lesson incorporates two very different types of art and combines them to create one art piece.

4. ART CONTENT KNOLWEDGE/ARTIST/ARTMAING STRATEGY/ART ACTIVITY BIG IDEA (THEME):

KEY CONCEPT:

The key concept of this lesson is to show the students community through the creation of clay objects. Each individual student, even though they are in teams, will have to create a nonfunctional object that represents themselves. Then they will join two other classmates and have to make a film by bringing together each individual object and make a storyline with those objects. They will then have to make motion and manipulate the clay while videotaping the movement to create a short film.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

How do you see yourself as an individual? What makes you different than others, and what do you have in common with others? What influences do others have on you?

ARTIST: William Kentridge: KEY ARTWORK:

•      The artist’s background (personal, artistic, and social contexts)  William Kentridge was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He attended the University of the Witwatersrand. He studied mime and theatre.

•   The big idea and key concepts (what is the work about?)                                His work incorporates a lot of political symbols and figures, while also representing events in the world we live in.

•      Boundaries (Media, subject matter, visual form, techniques)                  He uses film, drawing, sculpture, animation, and performance. His subject matter often is human figures and he uses a lot of movement in his pieces. One technique he uses is drawing with charcoal and photographing those works as he proceeds to change and manipulate them, making movement.

•   The key artwork(s) (include title, year, medium, and insert links if needed)      “9 Drawings for Projection ( 1989-2003): Feliz in Exile,”  1994 Production stills                              

•   The artist’s artmaking practices

•   Knowledge (how does the artist acquire knowledge?)  

He acquires knowledge by experimenting with many different types of media and combining them.

•   Technical strategies (i.e., limit color choices or only use secondary colors)
o Conceptual strategies (i.e., play as a conceptual strategy for experimenting, pretending,and risk taking)

William kentridge uses a lot of risk taking to express his ideas behind his work. He uses a lot of black and white and grays. He has many strategies for making his art the way he wants it to be seen. He draws over already existing drawings and films the changes he makes

ART ACTIVITY: Digital Media Integration

STUDIO ACTIVITIES (PROVIDE WORKSHEETS TO DEVELOP STUDENT’S ARTMAKING PROCESS):

•   Description of the activity: before making their individual clay characters they will have to fill out a workseet and sketch drawings from the worksheet

•   Choice of media, subject matter, formal limitations: clay as a medium, subject matter will be individuals in a sense of community

•   Personal connections: they will make personal connections with themselves and identifying themselves with others.

•   Development of student ideas for expression: they will learn how to develop their own ideas while working with others and developing a new expression by combining their art with others.

        

·      Technical and conceptual strategies for artmaking:
CONCEPT MAPPING: Please provide a Map how you will teach the big idea (theme) or understand the key concept.

 5. ANTICIPATORY SET

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS:

For this lesson I will need:

Access to the internet

Clay, clay bags, water spray bottles

Clay tools like, needle tool, tooth picks, wires, rib tools. Etc. 

Approximately ten video cameras, depending on size of class.

Approximately ten mac computers with the Imovie program.

PROCEDURE AND PREPARATION FOR ART LESSON:

Day 1 and 2

Introduce the artist William Kentridge and show how he makes his short films by using charcoal and changing his art while recording his changes on film.

Give the students clay and ask them to create an object that represents themselves that they will be able to manipulate and change like William Kentridge does with his drawings.

Day 3 and 4

Form groups of three students and tell them to create a storyline that incorporates all three of their objects.

Then they will start to act out the storyline and experiment with filming it.

Day 5 and 6

They will film the movement of their clay pieces and finish the story.

Day 7 and 8

They will experiment with their film on the Imovie program and make sound of voiceovers to finish their films.

Day 9 and 10

Presentation of their video

Writing of artist statements

VOCABULARY:

Functional art- functional objects such as dishes and clothes that are of a high artistic quality and/or craftsmanship; art with a utilitarian purpose

Nonfunctional art- Non-functional art refers to paintings and such pieces of art that are created to view and contemplate.

Identity- The fact of being who or what a person or thing is; the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another.

Community- a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.

6. ASSESSMENT /EVALUATION/RUBRICS:

Following the guidelines given

Participating in individual artmaking process

Participating in group filming

Is there a story line in their video

7. CLOSURE AND FOLLOW-UP

How does your video presentation represent individuals and community?

Write an artist statement about how you see your group work and your individual work of art.

8. EXAMPLE OF STUDIO PRODUCTION:
Please provide an example of this intended lesson outcome (e.g., photo of your own creation)

9. WORKSHEET OF STUDIO ACTIVITY

Worksheet Supporting Individual clay making Activity

1. What does community mean to you?

2. Explain your individual identity? What makes you different? And in what ways are you similar to others?

3. How was community shown in William Kentridges works, and how was the individual shown?

4. What material objects are important to you, that you think represent you?

5. Who has influenced you in your life? How?

Evaluation: (Rubric)            Did not do               Lacking Effort         Full filled Tasks well

Participation in                    0-3                               4-6                               7-10    

Power point

                                                0-4                               5-10                             11-15

Completion of

Individual clay making

Activity Worksheet

                                                0-7                               8-14                             15-20

Craft in I Movie

                                                0-7                               8-14                             15-20

Craft of clay piece

                                                0-7                               8-14                             15-20

Completion and effort

Of writing artist statement

                                                0-4                               5-10                             11-15

Participation in

Final critique.

SCORE:

TOTAL: ____/ 100