In this Instructional Resource, Denmead and Brown consider how "Ruffneck Constructivists," an exhibition curated by Kara Walker at the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA), University of Pennsylvania, can disturb and provoke young creatives and art education more broadly. For this exhibition, Walker draws on the figure that MC Lyte…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

Long before children enter school, it is their imagination that informs their play. Their drawing, too, relies heavily on their natural, unfettered ability to portray both the world around them and their own experiences within that world, without the conventional boundaries between "real" and "imaginary." Surrealism then, is an art movement and…

Dada, an art movement that became well known in the late 1910s and early 1920s, challenged traditional notions of art and aesthetics. Dada artists, for example, tossed colored scraps of paper into the air to compose chance-based collages, performed sound poems devoid of semantic value, and modeled a headpiece fashioned of sardine cans. To most art…

Chess is one of the world's oldest games, invented in India before 600 AD. The original pieces were inspired by the infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots of the ancient Indian army. The design of chess pieces changed when the game spread to the West, reflecting the society of medieval Europe. The king remained, pawns were the foot soldiers,…

This article describes how the author exposes her students to the world of Jackson Pollock, the artist who brings to mind dripping, meandering, splashing puddles of paint. Pollock's action paintings of the late 1940s-'50s call out for unfettered movement, fluidity, and freedom of application. Is it even possible to capture the action, rhythm and…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

The artist and scientist have been depicted as polar opposites since Michelangelo claimed that Leonardo da Vinci was wasting time with foolish inventions while his art suffered. However, the artist taking on the role of the researcher has precedent. In the 1960s, Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), led by Bell Labs' engineer Billy Kluver,…

Presents a lesson in which students created three-dimensional self-portraits, using papier-mache, clay, and plaster, designed to develop their modeling skills as they learn about art history. Discusses how the students created their sculptures, offering detailed directions on creating the three-dimensional heads. (CMK)

Discusses art work that uses exotic decoration, and the problems with viewing examples of these types of art work due to the types of materials used. Offers examples of exotic decoration to help students create their own works of art. (CMK)

Provides information on Willie Bester, who lived under Apartheid in South Africa and used his art to bring public attention to the plight of persecuted people. Includes a reproduction of Bester's collage, "Crossroads." Discusses the history and social message of "Crossroads." (CMK)

Describes a lesson plan designed for first- through fifth-grade students in which they made their own impressionist-style artworks. Explains that the lesson was introduced with a discussion on Claude Monet, his many art prints, and the impressionist genre. Explores the differences between things of nature and man-made objects. Notes materials and…

Discusses the presence of ordinary people in art. Features four sculptors and examples of their work: (1) "Janitor" by Duane Hanson; (2) "The Red Light" by George Segal; (3) "The Sodbuster" by Luis A. Jimenez; and (4) "The Driller" by Mahonri Young. (CMK)

Describes an assignment that was used in an advanced drawing class in which the students created self-portraits, breaking up their images using planes and angles to suggest their bone structure. Explains that the students also had to include three realistic portions in their drawings. (CMK)

Presents an art lesson for fifth- and sixth-graders where they create a translucent design of colored cellophane on black paper inspired by the stained-glass windows of the Middle Ages and the artwork of Lewis Comfort Tiffany. Enables the students to become crafts people rather than just observers of the past. (CMK)