Communication in the form of Art

1.d.

Communicating to one individual:
Create a work of art that is dedicated to a specific person and utilizes a theme, materials, and a manner of expression that are so individualized that they constitute private communication.

My lesson consists of having students choose an individual that represents something important to them- someone whom has given them inspiration or has had an effect on the student’s life. After the student chooses their individual, they will brainstorm and sketch what it is about that individual that is so meaningful to them and what represents this individual. This could include things such as smells, items, memories, etc. Once the student has written down at least ten things, they can start to draw upon them for ideas.
My goal is to have students create a piece of art that is specific to the individual of his/her choice. The student can bring in objects that represent the individual, objects that the person used, etc. The final art project can be done in the form of a collage, in which the student draws from the objects important to the identity of the individual. It can also be developed into a kind of sculpture, or any form of art that is related to the individual and the student. Because I would only teach this to an upper level class, I feel that the openness of this project can be handled by the students. If students do run into problems with coming up with ideas or brainstorming, I would assist the student and have him/her work on many sketches to strike up their creativity. Skip Schukmann was my artist of choice for this project. His pieces work directly with the individuals he is making the art for. Environment and the space he works in also play a large roll. The artwork is specific to the individual, which is what I want students in my classroom to base their art from.
I chose this lesson because I feel that when a student gets to choose what their artwork is about, they become more intimate with it. When I was in high school, I really enjoyed working on things that were important to me or about someone I cared about. I hope that students will learn more about the individual of their choice, themselves, and their relationship with the individual. Students will also gain expansion of knowledge of materials, processes, and resources. One of the biggest difficulties I foresee with this project is the ability to figure out a way to deal with materials in a way that shows the relationship between themselves and the individual. Writing out ideas, experimenting with materials and processes, and looking at other artist’s work will hopefully help students better grasp the idea.