Constructing Your World Unit Design by Christine Cover
grade level hypothetical class This unit is designed for a high school class with intermediate to advanced experience. This could be an intermediate studio class or an AP level class. Most students have taken a couple art classes previously and have been exposed and engaged in the principles and elements of design.
Goals & Rational This unit is designed for students to recognize and express three areas of Intellectual Construction: Memory, Perception, and Systems. Students will view and analyze photographs, short films, and mixed media works through the lens of understanding these big ideas. Students will reflect on their own forms of memory, perception, and systems that allow them to understand the world around them. Students will respond by creating artwork representing these areas of intellectual construction and the way in which they inform and transform an individual’s Identity.
National standards • They should be able to communicate proficiently in at least one art form, including the ability to define and solve artistic problems with insight, reason, and technical proficiency. • They should be able to develop and present basic analyses of works of art from structural, historical, and cultural perspectives, and form combinations of those perspectives. This includes the ability to understand and evaluate work in the various arts disciplines. • They should be able to relate various types of arts knowledge and skills within and across the arts disciplines. This includes mixing and matching competencies and understandings in art-making, history and culture, and analysis in any arts-related project.
Show me standards Goal 1: Students will demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability to • Develop questions and ideas to initiate and refine research • Conduct research to answer questions and evaluate information and ideas • Discover and evaluate patterns and relationships in information, ideas and structures • Organize data, information and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation
Show me standards Goal 2: Students will demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability to • Review and revise communications to improve accuracy and clarity • Exchange information, questions and ideas while recognizing the perspectives of others • Present perceptions and ideas regarding works of the arts, humanities and sciences • Perform or produce works in the fine and practical arts
Show me standards Goal 3: Students will demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability to • Identify problems and define their scope and elements • Develop and apply strategies based on one’s own experience in preventing or solving problems • Reason inductively from a set of specific facts that deductively from general premises • Examine problems and proposed solutions from multiple perspectives Goal 4: Students will demonstrate within and integrate across all content areas the ability to Explain reasoning and identify information used to support decisions
Grade level expectations Strand I: Product/Performance Demonstrate proficiency using a one or more drawing media Sensitivity and subtlety in use of media Engagement with experimentation and/or risk taking Informed decision making Create or modify an image using art software (Adobe Photoshop) Create original artwork that communicates ideas through themes (e.g., national identity, spirituality, vision, progress, human condition, narrative) Strand II: Elements and Principles Strand III: Artistic Perceptions Discuss how personal and cultural beliefs influence the interpretation of the meaning, message, or value of a work of art
Enduring big ideas Throughout time and across cultures artists have created meaningful work depicting aspects of Identity. Everyone has an identity. Therefore, it is one of the most complex ideas, while also the most accessible. Individuals have an identity, social groups have an identity, and cultures have an identity. It is a broad topic that serves as an over-arching umbrella covering many big ideas. In this unit students will be exposed to the big idea of identity and dissect it into three main parts: memory, perspective, and systems.
Investigative essential questions • • • • •
What parts make up a whole identity? What are memories? How do they work? What is perception? How does it relate to memory? What is reality? Does it exist? What is a system? How do they help us make meaningful connections in order to understand our world? • How do systems relate to perception and memory?
Key concepts Students will investigate the topics including • Identity • Memory • Perception • Systems • Reality • Mapping • Senses
Key concepts Students will investigate techniques and artistic concepts including • Visual imagery/representation • Perspective • Lighting • Tone • Line • Space • Color • Texture
Key concepts Students will enhance their skills in mediums including • Film • Photography • Drawing • Painting • Mixed media
constraints • Materials for students – cameras, computers, Photoshop, studio lights, etc. • Studio space – to build models • Student understanding of big, complex ideas
Integrative options cross curricular correlations Identity A student’s identity exists in every area of school. It may fluctuate in different environments, but it always exists. Therefore, the topic of identity inevitably spans across every discipline. Memory • Science – the way in which our brains capture, process, recall, and create meaning from memories • A memory can be personal, social, spanning across different relationships and aspects of experiences at school as a whole
Integrative options cross curricular correlations Perception • History/Social Studies—Different accounts and perspectives of same event • English—Different writing styles, genres, opinions, etc. Systems • Science—ecological systems, biological systems, anatomical systems • Math—Mathematical systems, everything in math follows a system • History/Social Studies—Government systems, class systems, social systems
HISTORICAL, CRITICAL, AND AESTHETIC STUDENT RESPONSES All of the artists used as examples in this unit have made work within the last 30 years. So, while students may not be looking at “historical” artwork, they are most certainly discussing historical concepts. The main ideas of identity, memory, perception, and systems have been expressed and evaluated in art for centuries. The artists used in the curriculum are building on historical notions of identity. Students will be asked to critically view artists’ artwork by investigating essential questions, discussing the work with other students, and interacting and responding through their own work.
Assessment strategies & evaluation criteria • Journals—Students will process, list ideas, sketch, reflect and respond in their journals throughout the unit. There will be scheduled time once a week for students to make entries in addition to several entries made on their own time. Students should see their thoughts and discoveries building on each other, allowing them to make meaningful connections between projects. • Group Discussions—Throughout the unit, students will discuss the big ideas of each lesson in small groups, as well as have a critique at the end of each lesson discussing student work (positive and constructional feedback). • Artist Statements—At the end of the unit, students will write an artist statement covering their body of work. They will connect the lessons with the cohesive theme of identity and address how their work pertains to their individual identity. • Culminating Activity: Gallery Exhibition—At the end of the unit, students will display their work as a whole class in a gallery. The work will include film stills and photographs from lesson 1, black and white photos from lesson 2, and mixed media pieces from lesson 3. In this way, students will view their classroom identity.
Unit evaluation and assessment • Artwork as evidence—I believe I will know if students grasped the concepts by their artwork. Did they incorporate the big ideas and techniques proposed? Did they challenge themselves conceptually and visually? • Questionnaire as evidence—I would have students fill out a questionnaire at the end of the unit presenting questions including: • Did you enjoy this unit? • Were you excited about your work? • Were you challenged? • Did you learn something new? What? • Were there aspects of the unit you did not like? Which parts?
Lesson sequence
Lesson 1
Intellectual Construct: Memory High school, grade levels – 11, 12
Rational & Goals This lesson is designed for students to recognize and express the concept of memory and how it relates to and defines their identity. Students will critically view and analyze a short film by the artists Hubbard and Birchler. Students will reflect on their own form of memory and how that allows them to understand the world around them. Students will respond by creating artwork representing memory and the way in which it informs and transforms an individual’s Identity. I believe it is important for students to understand how to make connections between that which identifies them as individuals. Through the use of art, students can reflect on their fluctuating identities and visually process this big idea by making meaningful art.
Essential questions 1. What are memories? How do they work? 2. How can memories be shared? 3. How are memories documented? 4. How can they be translated into visual form?
Key concepts Through this lesson students will learn: The definition of memories Forms of documentation of experience (memories) -Photographs -Video -Drawings and Paintings -Writing -Oral Storytelling • Techniques and artistic concepts including -Visual imagery/representation -Composition -Symbolism -Lighting -Tone -Narrative • Image Literacy: -How to view an image critically, by analyzing and responding Filmmaking—Video • Photography—Film or digital
Artist & artwork Hubbard & Birchler: “Hubbard and Birchler make short films and photographs about the construction of narrative time and space, without the context of a traditional story line; their open-ended, enigmatic narratives elicit multiple readings.” --Art 21 In the short film, Night Shift: Gone, Hubbard and Birchler create a two-minute video in which a memory-like narrative is depicted by creating visual representations of the senses. For example, the sound of crickets and cars driving by, the steam from hot coffee hitting your face, the bright neon lights of a gas station, etc. These are all parts of an event or memory that is perceived through our senses. Our interaction through the senses is what allows us to “remember” the essence of a specific memory. Hubbard and Birchler successfully create a scene evocative of a dream or memory.
Artist & artwork In order to process and engage with the first area of intellectual construction, memory, students will imitate Hubbard and Birchler’s short film by creating one of their own. They will also be presented with an alternative option of telling a story through a series of photographs. For the main part of this project students will choose a memory that elicits specific physical and emotional sensations. They will use visual imagery to represent the sensations and ultimately, the memory’s essence.
objectives The student will Investigate how memory works: Memory, the first part of intellectual construction, is simply ways we store and recall things we’ve sensed. “Recalling memories re-fires many of the same neural paths we originally used to sense the experience and, therefore, almost re-creates the event. Memories of concepts and ideas are related to sensed experiences because we extract the essence from sensed experiences to form generalized concepts.” Nerve cells in our brain communicate by sending electrical signals, which trigger the release of chemicals across tiny gaps called synapses. When a few signals are sent over a short period of time, temporarily, this creates part of our short-term memory. When signals are continuously sent, this creates part of our long-term memory. First, we break these new concepts into their composite parts and store the memory by attaching it to related memories. When we retrieve this concept through various triggers, the brain is decoding the stored information to regain meaning. In short, memories capture and maintain the essence of an event.
objectives The student will Discuss essential questions in small groups • Examine and analyze a short film by Hubbard and Birchler, Night Shift: Gone. • Focus on storytelling through visual representations of the senses (see, touch, hear, smell, taste) in order to better depict the essence of an experience • Discuss how the short film explored the idea of memory • Discuss why they think the artists chose the specific setting, characters, dialogue, imagery, etc.
objectives The student will •  Make a rough sketch in the form of a blueprint on graph paper of the space where they grew up as a child from memory. They will label the location of specific memories within the childhood space.
objectives The student will • Choose a memory from the blueprint that elicits specific physical and emotional sensations. • Complete a see/hear/taste/feel/smell chart about that specific memory • Using this memory, they will then create a short film (approx. 2 minutes) or series of photographs that use visual imagery to represent these sensations and the essence of the memory as a whole.
assessment • Artwork as evidence—I believe I will know if students grasped the concepts by their artwork. Did they visually investigate the big idea of memory? Are their short films and photographs conceptually driven and technically sound? • Journals—Students will process, list ideas, sketch, reflect and respond in their journals throughout the lesson. There will be schedule time once a week for students to make entries in addition to several entries made on their own time. Students should see their thoughts and discoveries building on each other, allowing them to make meaningful connections. • Group Discussions—Students will discuss the big idea of memory in small groups near the beginning of the lesson, as well as have a critique at the end of the lesson discussing student work (positive and constructional feedback).
materials • • • • •
Cameras Adobe Photoshop Film editing program Computers Paper
Teacher reflection Questionnaire as evidence—I would have students fill out a questionnaire at the end of the lesson presenting questions including: • Did you enjoy this project? • Were you excited about your work? • Were you challenged? • Did you learn something new? What? • Were there aspects of the lesson you did not like? Which parts?
Lesson 2
Intellectual Construct: Perception High school, grade levels – 11, 12
Rational & Goals This lesson is designed for students to recognize and express the concept of perception and how it relates to and defines their identity. Students will critically view and analyze photographs by artist James Casabere. Students will reflect on their own perceptions and how those perceptions allow them to understand the world around them. They will discuss how memory influences perception to build on lesson 1. Students will respond by creating artwork representing perception and the way in which it informs and transforms an individual’s Identity.
Essential questions 1. 2. 3. 4.
How does perception relate to memory? How does perception compare to reality? What is reality? Does it exist? What is reliable?
Key concepts Through this lesson students will learn • The definition of perception • Techniques and artistic concepts including -Composition -Lighting -Tone -Form -Space -Scale • Image Literacy: -How to view an image critically, by analyzing and responding • Photography—Film or digital • How to construct a 3D space
Artist & artwork James Casebere “Casebere has consistently devised increasingly complex models and photographed them in his studio. Based solidly on an understanding of architecture as well as art historical and cinematic sources, Casebere’s abandoned spaces are hauntingly evocative. His tablesized constructions are made of simple materials, pared down to essential forms.” --Artist’s Website
Artist & artwork Students will use the same memory they chose from lesson 1 and construct a small-scale 3D model of the space in which their memory occurred. Like Casebere, students will reduce the recognizable space to form, stripping the objects of their content. The space becomes unidentifiable yet relatable. It becomes architectural while denying access to inhabit the space. The location of the memory is reduced to the essence of the space: form. To apply these notions, students will use paper and foam core to construct their model. Once they have completed their model they will set up a “studio� for their space including lighting to create shadows and well lit spaces. Students will then photograph their spaces in black and white to emphasis the form of the space.
objectives The Student will • Critically view and analyze photographs by James Casebere • Focus on the form of the objects, rather than the content of the objects • Discuss how Casebere’s constructions (his small-scale models of a space and his photographs of the spaces) seem familiar and yet deny the access to inhabit the space they represent. • Discuss how the photographs are evocative of a memory, portray the essence of something that once was • Using the same memory as in lesson 1, students will sketch out a drawing of the particular space in which their memory took place • Create an abstract representation of that space by capturing the spaces’ essence through form • Using white paper and foam core, students will construct a small-scale model of this space. • Set up a “studio” with lights and darks and photograph the space from different perspectives • Have a 3D model of this space as well as a black and white photograph of it, both from different perspectives and dimensions
assessment • Artwork as evidence—I believe I will know if students grasped the concepts by their artwork. Did they visually investigate the big idea of perception? Are their 3D models and photographs well crafted and technically sound? • Journals—Students will process, list ideas, sketch, reflect and respond in their journals throughout the lesson. There will be schedule time once a week for students to make entries in addition to several entries made on their own time. Students should see their thoughts and discoveries building on each other, allowing them to make meaningful connections. • Group Discussions—Students will discuss the big idea of perception in small groups near the beginning of the lesson, as well as have a critique at the end of the lesson discussing student work (positive and constructional feedback).
materials • Paper • Foam core • Cardboard • Hot glue – some type of adhesive • Studio lights • Cameras • Computers • Adobe Photoshop
Teacher reflection Questionnaire as evidence—I would have students fill out a questionnaire at the end of the lesson presenting questions including: • Did you enjoy this project? • Were you excited about your work? • Were you challenged? • Did you learn something new? What? • Were there aspects of the lesson you did not like? Which parts?
Lesson 3
Intellectual Construct: Systems High school, grade levels – 11, 12
Rational & Goals This lesson is designed for students to recognize and express the concept of systems and how they relate to and define their identity. Students will look in particular at the system of maps. They will critically view and analyze mixed media work by Julie Mehretu. Students will reflect on their own forms of systems and mapping and how that allows them to understand the world around them. They will build on the ideas of memory and perception from lessons 1 and 2, discussing how they relate to systems. Students will respond by creating artwork representing mapping and the way in which it informs and transforms an individual’s Identity.
Essential questions Before Art 21 Video 1. How do we document experience? How do we make a tactile, physical manifestation of an experience? 2. If this experience is based on your perception and your memory, will others read the physical representation of this experience differently? After Art 21 Video 3. How does Mehretu’s maps differ from the maps we have used?
Key concepts Through this lesson students will learn • The definition of a system • The definition of a map – adding another form of documentation of experience (to lesson 1) • Techniques and artistic concepts including -Visual imagery/representation -Composition -Symbolism -Tone -Narrative -Texture -Line -Space • Students will enhance skills in areas of -Drawing -Painting -Mixed media •Image Literacy: -How to view an image critically, by analyzing and responding
Key concepts A system can be defined as: “A set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, in particular.� This could embody belief systems, political systems, social systems, etc. A system is the way in which we process and understand our world. One representation of a system is a map. Julie Mehretu uses the language of a map to comment on the history of a specific location and the social temperature of its culture. For students to interact with Mehretu’s work, they must understand what a map is: a rational, systematic construct of understanding the experiential space we inhabit. In other words, it is a physical manifestation of an experience. A map changes our perception from the particular to the abstract.
Artist & artwork “Mehretu’s paintings and drawings refer to elements of mapping and architecture, achieving a calligraphic complexity that resembles turbulent atmospheres and dense social networks. Architectural renderings and aerial views of urban grids enter the work as fragments, losing their real-world specificity and challenging narrow geographic and cultural readings.” Her work poses “Contemporary questions about the relationship between utopian impulses and abstraction.” –Art 21
Artist & artwork The final project for this lesson, as well as the culminating piece for the unit, is a memory map. Students will, again, use the same memory from Lesson 1 and 2 as a base for the project. They will build on the ideas of memory (the senses, the essence) and perception (form vs. content, the access to inhabit and experience a space) and merge them with the third idea of systems, in particular a map (physical manifestations of experiential space). A memory map will be a mixed media (drawing, painting, photography, etc) piece in which students will map out their particular memory focusing on techniques including, perspective (2D and 3D), light, space, line, color, and layers.
objectives The Student will • Critically view and analyze Julie Mehretu’s mixed media work through watching the Art 21 video • Discuss the similarities and differences between Mehretu’s work and the maps we have used • Create a web map, using the same memory as lesson 1 and 2, to bring all thoughts on paper and make connections, relationships, and turn the memory into a map, a physical form
objectives The Student will • Use the web map as a source—its content and composition—to begin final mixed media piece • Create a Memory Map —map your memory, your perception, and your experience, into a physical representation (Combining all lessons)
exemplar System A Christine Cover Watercolor, acrylic pen, pencil This is an example of a memory map. Through the use of line and the form created by the watercolor, this map depicts the space between abstraction and architecture. The image juxtaposes hard, systematic line, with fluid, colorful form, representing the rational construct vs. the particular experience.
assessment • Artwork as evidence—I believe I will know if students grasped the concepts by their artwork. Did they visually investigate the big ideas of systems and mapping? Are their Memory Maps well crafted and expressive? • Journals—Students will process, list ideas, sketch, reflect and respond in their journals throughout the lesson. There will be schedule time once a week for students to make entries in addition to several entries made on their own time. Students should see their thoughts and discoveries building on each other, allowing them to make meaningful connections. • Group Discussions—Students will discuss the big ideas of systems and maps in small groups near the beginning of the lesson, as well as have a critique at the end of the lesson discussing student work (positive and constructional feedback).
materials • • • • • • • •
Large Canvas (or any other surface student would like to work from) Acrylic paint Watercolor paint Charcoal Graphite pencil Colored Pencils Photographs (paper) Found objects
Teacher reflection Questionnaire as evidence—I would have students fill out a questionnaire at the end of the lesson presenting questions including: • Did you enjoy this project? • Were you excited about your work? • Were you challenged? • Did you learn something new? What? • Were there aspects of the lesson you did not like? Which parts?