Unit Plan I: Holes Christopher Lee Mayfield

ENDURING IDEAS - Throughout time and across cultures artists have used and encountered holes in artwork and in everyday life. In this lesson, artists will use their creativity to fill holes. COURSE - Foundations (beginning level) ELO - Analyse ways in which artists interpret ideas, solve problems, reflect and lend relevancy to their times [this will occur when the students view appropriated work and when they synthesise their understanding during assessment]. Demonstrate creative problem solving skill through art production, analysis, and discussion [the primary mission in this assignment is to solve the problem of holes through the use of creativity and art materials]. Compose an artist statement that reflects æsthetic choices and personal direction developed over a period of time. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - What new meaning is created through appropriation? How does your own imagination naturally attempt to fill holes? EXEMPLAR ARTISTS - Modern/Contemporary images of Appropriated art (parody, homage, et cetera). Most examples are not attributed to post-modern artists, but are anonymously posted on the internet. OBJECTIVES - Artists will be able to: 1) decide (within reasonable limits) what can be placed in an empty space left in an artwork, 2) create meaning through direct appropriation and the use of juxtaposition, 3) explain the meaning that they had created (and express the difference between the original meaning when the source artwork is revealed to them. MATERIALS - Printed images with holes cut in them. Canvas or Paper. Acrylic Paint, Graphite, or Coloured Pencil. PROCEDURES - Each artist will be given a (decent quality) printout of an artwork with some historical significance (id est: Guernica, the Last Supper, et cetera) with holes cut in it. The artists will paste the images on another piece of paper (or canvas) and proceed to fill the holes with what they think should be in them (or perhaps, what they would like to be there). ASSESSMENT AND CULMINATING ACTIVITY - The artists are successful, in this lesson, if they are able to articulate (in writing) their processes and difficulties as well as the meaning they creating in their work in contrast to the original piece. The culminating activity in this lesson/unit will include artist statements, but will also include a show of the artists work juxtaposed next to similarly scaled prints of the reference material (appropriated from). The artists will look at each piece in relation to its master-work and will discuss them with one another. PRIOR KNOWLEDGE - A lot of the early drive towards being an artist comes from experiencing success in the creation of work. Finding interesting ways to tie historical artwork to engaging and non-complex art projects is both important and challenging. With projects like this one, the student is subliminally guided into pre-established historical context as well as æsthetics creating an event of both discovery and success. The artist will associate the historical work with their own.