Artist: Thomas Hart Benton & Diego Rivera
Studio-Murals or Collage
Artist: Faith Ringold
Studio: Story Quilts Watercolor
Artist: Jean Shin
Studio- Mini Sculptures from found objects
As Bang(2000) says"It is these 'emotions attached to remembered experiences' that seem largely to determine our present responses" (p. 73). I found this unit to be very imaginative and flexible. In so many cases, a piece of art was telling more than one story, and the way we interpreted in part was due to our own experiences. The first piece was a political statement and it took me awhile to think of something. But once I thought about something that really bothers me in society today is the dependence on technology. I actually used this piece of art to tell a story in my literacy class. So this was a very successful piece for me. It reminds me of the types of art we used in the classroom when I was younger, the Public service announcement posters about drugs, saying no, reading, etc. They all told a story. This is something I definitely plan to incorporate into my classroom because of the message it sends and how effective it can be!
The second studio was one that I loved, I had so much fun recreating one of my favorite stories. And the use of texturizing was something that came very naturally and created a wide array of beautiful products. I chose this story because it was one that meant a lot to me, I can still remember my parents reading me and my brothers this story before bed. So I did my best to recreate it in a way that was just as lively and colorful as I remember being the story told. This is something I would consider giving to my parents just as a gift to remind them of how they read this story to us. I think this could be incorporated into the classroom after we read different books. The students could choose a highlight of the story, their favorite part, or just how they visualize the story. This will create a wide range of art all telling different stories!
The third studio was difficult at first. Me and Ashtin partnered up with our found objects. She had thumbtacks and I had soda cans. At first we knew we wanted the soda can to represent a being, and that we wanted to add the thumbtacks at the top to weigh it down. Amber however thought this was a form of voodoo, so we changed our approach! We looked at the soda can as each of us in Red Block and the thumbtacks as assignments. time constraints, pressures, illness, etc, we feel that add up over time that weigh us down from reaching our goal. However, we wanted to show that even though these things were weighing us down, we were still reaching towards our goal of becoming elementary school teachers! Bang (2000) states "do not worry about whether the picture is pretty" but "worry about whether it is effective" (p. 94). And yes this may not be the most pretty picture, it still has an effective message behind it! I really enjoyed this unit because I feel that we really got to show who we are, and this unit tied in identity, relationships, and stories all in one. It's almost as if we are layering units because they all tie in together from this point. Pink (2006) states that stories provide "context enriched by emotion, [and] a deeper understanding of how we fit in and why that matters" (p. 115)
Bang, M. (2000). Picture This: How pictures work. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC.
Pink, D. (2005). A whole new mind. New York: Riverhead Books.
The second studio was one that I loved, I had so much fun recreating one of my favorite stories. And the use of texturizing was something that came very naturally and created a wide array of beautiful products. I chose this story because it was one that meant a lot to me, I can still remember my parents reading me and my brothers this story before bed. So I did my best to recreate it in a way that was just as lively and colorful as I remember being the story told. This is something I would consider giving to my parents just as a gift to remind them of how they read this story to us. I think this could be incorporated into the classroom after we read different books. The students could choose a highlight of the story, their favorite part, or just how they visualize the story. This will create a wide range of art all telling different stories!
The third studio was difficult at first. Me and Ashtin partnered up with our found objects. She had thumbtacks and I had soda cans. At first we knew we wanted the soda can to represent a being, and that we wanted to add the thumbtacks at the top to weigh it down. Amber however thought this was a form of voodoo, so we changed our approach! We looked at the soda can as each of us in Red Block and the thumbtacks as assignments. time constraints, pressures, illness, etc, we feel that add up over time that weigh us down from reaching our goal. However, we wanted to show that even though these things were weighing us down, we were still reaching towards our goal of becoming elementary school teachers! Bang (2000) states "do not worry about whether the picture is pretty" but "worry about whether it is effective" (p. 94). And yes this may not be the most pretty picture, it still has an effective message behind it! I really enjoyed this unit because I feel that we really got to show who we are, and this unit tied in identity, relationships, and stories all in one. It's almost as if we are layering units because they all tie in together from this point. Pink (2006) states that stories provide "context enriched by emotion, [and] a deeper understanding of how we fit in and why that matters" (p. 115)
Bang, M. (2000). Picture This: How pictures work. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC.
Pink, D. (2005). A whole new mind. New York: Riverhead Books.