Layered Illusion Sculpture

LESSON OBJECTIVE: Students will learn how the Op Art Movement effects the works of art and the viewer. 

Plan and create a wire sculpture from layered transparency with a social/political/emotional meaning. 

CA Art Standards

1.1 Identify and use the principles of design to discuss, analyze, and write about visual aspects in the environment and in works of art, including their own.

1.3 Research and analyze the work of an artist and write about the artist's distinctive style and its contribution to the meaning of the work.

2.5 Create an expressive composition, focusing on dominance and subordination.

2.6 Create a two or three-dimensional work of art that addresses a social issue.

3.3 Identify and describe trends in the visual arts and discuss how the issues of time, place, and cultural influence are reflected in selected works of art.

4.1 Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social, economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the meaning or message in a work of art.

4.5 Employ the conventions of art criticism in writing and speaking about works of art.

5.2 Create a work of art that communicates a cross-cultural or universal theme taken from literature or history.

Key Vocabulary: 

Op Art Kinetic Optical Illusion Chromatic Achromatic Complementary           Neutral         Contrast                        Value

Emphasis Subordination Free Standing

MATERIALS: 

Wire

Transparencies

Sharpie Markers 

Modifications: 

English Language Learner: Handout for project, project samples, Powerpoint with visuals, Critique for additional understanding, Demonstration of techniques, group activities to check for understanding

Special Needs: Handout for project, project samples, Powerpoint with visuals, Critique for additional understanding, Demonstration of techniques

Accelerated Learner: Expand on skills learned to create a unique project. 

Advanced art students will be asked to increase the difficulty of their final sculpture They will also be expected incorporate more details and principles into the final project

Scaffolding adaptations: 

Students will revisit  Color, Repetition, and Pattern from the earlier learning. We will use similar visuals to refresh earlier learning.  Notes on Art history, Key Vocabulary and artists will be taken throughout discussions for added understanding. Creating sketchbook plans and Constructing final sculpture will be demo started in class using guided instruction. 

DIRECT INSTRUCTION:

Day 1: Power Point Presentation Op Art

Opening: Art Link: Gerhard Richter 

Pre-assessment: Sketchbook: 

How does this art effect you? 

Review: Describe, analyze, interpret, Evaluate 

 ART HISTORY: Gerhard Richter

Version VII—of Richter’s kaleidoscopic work, 4900 Colors (2007) in this new venue of Beijing. Composed of 196 panels, each consisting of 25 colored squares that can be arranged in 11 core configurations, this work pursues the artist’s early investigation of color field paintings which he began creating in 1966 by replicating, in large-scale, industrial color charts produced by paint manufacturers. It epitomizes Richter’s practice, and his constant quest to ultimately “desubjectivise” painting. 

Discussion: Op Art

History

Impact on culture

Objective of Op Art

Requirements to be considered Op art

• Short for Optical Illusion Art 
• 1964 Time Magazine article gives the art form its name Optical Art (Op Art)
• Op Art:  appears to be moving due to the precise, mathematical composition
• 1965 exhibition Op Art
• Entitled, The Responsive Eye
• Artists: Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley and Frank Stella
• 1965 art exhibition starts a huge fashion and advertising trend
• Op Art exists to fool the eye
• Creates a visual tension between the eye and mind of the viewer
• Geometric 
• Non-representational
• Art elements are chosen to achieve maximum effect
• Line
• Shape
• Color
• Critical Techniques
• Perspective
• Juxtaposition of color
• Chromatic (hues)
• Achromatic (black, white, gray)
• More then any other art movement, positive and negative space are of equal importance

In visual art, the term kinetic art refers to works that incorporate real or apparent movement. 

Op art paintings & drawings 'motion' is merely an optical illusion.

ART HISTORY: Jesus Rafael Soto
1923-2005

Born Venezuela

Kinetic Sculpture and painter

founder kinetic art

1950-1955 experiments with geometric forms

Turns Op art from 2D to 3D with large plexiglass sculptures

Influenced by Braque

1950 he moves to Paris. There he associated with Yaacov Agam, Jean Tinguely, and Victor Vasarely, as well as artists connected to Galerie Denise René and the Nouveau Réalistes (New Realists). 

Soto started out as an illusionistic painter, in 1955 he participated in Le mouvement (The  Movement) the exhibition that effectively launched Kinetic art. 

• Kinetic Art: is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or depends on motion for its effect.
• Emphasis: principle of art 
• One element of an artwork is given dominance by the Artist. 
• The artist makes a part of the work stand out to draw the viewer's eye there first.
• All worthy works of art employ emphasis
• Without this principle: the art piece seems monotonous and boring to the eye.
• Subordination:  minimizing or toning down other compositional elements in order to bring attention to the focal point.
• Emphasis: an area that the artist wants to draw attention to as the most important aspect. This area has dominance. 

Check for Understanding: 

Monitor room during Pre-assessment in sketchbook

Monitor throughout discussion to be sure notes are being taken 

Presentation assessment

FINAL PROJECT

• Student will create a layered 3D art project in the style of Jesus Rafael Soto and/or Gerard Richter 
• Student must incorporate the principle of emphasis and a social/political/emotional issue
• Student will create an free standing interior  structure to place layers
• Student will use a minimum of 5 transparent layers to create one art project
• The size of the project may not exceed 10”x10”
• The final project must include color choices

Scale Dwelling Model

Lesson Plan Nest Dwelling Model  

OBJECTIVE: 

Design and create an architectural model of a dwelling for a specific species of bird of your choice.

MATERIALS: 

sticks, wooden matches, toothpicks, dowel rods, straws, mat board, cardboard, paper, Foam Core, wire any combination of the above, or similar materials of your choice.

CA Advanced Art Standards

1.3 Research and analyze the work of an artist and write about the artist's distinctive style and its contribution to the meaning of the work.

1.4 Analyze and describe how the composition of a work of art is affected by the use of a particular principle of design.

2.1 Solve a visual arts problem that involves the effective use of the elements of art and the principles of design.

3.3 Identify and describe trends in the visual arts and discuss how the issues of time, place, and cultural influenc

4.1 Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social, economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the meaning or message in a work of art.

4.5 Employ the conventions of art criticism in writing and speaking about works of art.

5.2 Create a work of art that communicates a cross-cultural or universal theme taken from literature or history.

DISCUSSION: 

• An architectural model is a type of scale model - a physical representation of a structure - built to study aspects of an architectural design or to communicate design ideas.
• Architectural models are a good way of presenting a 3D version of your architectural design, interior design, or urban design project. 
• They give you a sense of how the different elements will feel in reality combined together
• SCALE: In art the size relationship between an object and the human body is significant. In experiencing the scale of an artwork we tend to compare its size to the size of our own bodies. 
• Proportion refers to the relative size of parts of a whole (elements within an object, i.e.: your face). 

ARTIST: 

Tim Prythero

• Creates miniaturized structures that record nostalgic moments in time
• Small worlds are simple but powerful and dramatic 
• Favorite subjects include gas stations, trailer parks, diners, and architectural kitsch. 
• He researches his subjects and spends hours carving and assembling and hand painting his environments.  

ARTIST:

• M. Pei was born in China on April 26, 1917. 
• In 1935 he began studying architecture in the United States 
• He earned his B.A. from MIT and his M.A. from Harvard. 
• He started his own architectural firm in 1955, Pei designed such well-known structures as the Kennedy library, the glass pyramid at the Louvre. 
• Pei continued to design impressive buildings during the 1990s, including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Now in his nineties, Pei continues to design innovative structures throughout the world. 
• He has countless honors for his work within the field of architecture.
• In December 1992, Pei was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS:

Student will research a bird of their choosing

Based on that specific species birds habits, needs, etc., student will design (sketchbook) and build a scale architectural model of the bird's habitat. 

This habitat should not be traditional. Be creative. 

In the design, include a visual reference to at least one characteristic of the bird AND an element that references a specific human-made architectural structure. 

Additional Resources

You may want to explore the work of  Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Moshie Safdie

Repeated Paper Modules

Repeated Paper Modules 

PROJECT OBJECTIVE: 

Create a repeated Paper Module Sculpture inspired by origami

Fold, curl, twist or crumple paper (magazine pages, printed out photos, maps, book pages, etc.) and create 30-60 of the same form (they can be different sizes). Glue the papers into either a 3D-sculptural form or a relief sculpture on painted cardboard. This piece should emphasize unity/variety and balance.

PRESENTATION: 

Critical to 3-D production, students must consider presentation: 

• Freestanding
• Suspension
• Relief
• Pedestal
• Consider the environment

CA ART STANDARDS

1.5 Analyze the material used by a given artist and describe how its use influences the meaning of the work.

2.1 Solve a visual arts problem that involves the effective use of the elements of art and the principles of design.

3.4 Discuss the purposes of art in selected contemporary cultures

4.1 Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social, economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the meaning or message in a work of art.

4.4 Articulate the process and rationale for refining and reworking one of their own works of art.

5.2 Create a work of art that communicates a cross-cultural or universal theme taken from literature or history.

DISCUSSION: 

• Origami historians argue that since the invention of paper is credited to Ts'ai Lun of China in A.D.105, paper folding must have been invented soon after. 
• Paper was then introduced to Japan in the late sixth century by Buddhist monks, and paper folding was brought along with it. 
• In Japan, paper was considered an expensive commodity, and it was used in many aspects of Japanese life, most notably in architecture. 
• Historians claim that origami is definitely a Japanese invention. 
• Regardless of its ultimate origin, Japan is recognized as the country that most fully developed the traditional art of origami.
• The Japanese transmitted their designs via an oral tradition
• Recreational designs being passed from mother to daughter. 
• Because nothing was ever written down, only the simplest designs were kept. 
• The first written instructions appeared in AD 1797 with the publication of the Thousand Crane Folding 
• The name origami was coined in 1880 from the words oru (to fold) and kami (paper). Previously, the art was called orikata ("folded shapes”).

Origami generally involves folding a square piece of paper into a two or three dimensional object. 

Folding paper in origami is typically performed by hand only on a smooth surface, but can include tools: including a scorer, embosser, paper clips and tweezers.

Origami has a strong link to mathematics, and can be seen used in practical solutions such as airbags in vehicles

Origami has been a common subject of copyright issues, as designs have been often stolen and republished.

ARTIST: 

• Richard Sweeney was born in Huddersfield, England in 1984. 
• He discovered a talent for sculpture at Batley School of Art and Design in 2002
• He studied Three Dimensional Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University, 
• He concentrated on the hands-on manipulation of paper to create design models, which ultimately developed into sculptural pieces in their own right.
• Richard’s practice combines the disciplines of design, photography, craft and sculpture, resulting in a varied output of work including graphic design and public sculpture commissions. 
• Richard seeks to maintain an experimental, hands-on approach, utilizing the unique properties of often mundane materials to discover unique sculptural forms. 
• He regularly holds workshops to share his knowledge of paper folding and construction techniques

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: 

• Create a repeated paper modules sculpture
• Fold, curl, or origami paper (your choice of paper: magazine pages, printed out photos, maps, book pages, etc.) 
• Create min: 50-100 of the same form (they can be different sizes). 
• Sculpture should emphasize unity, variety, and balance.
• Student must consider presentation: suspension, relief or free standing on floor/base