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Altered Art- Visual Arts

Education Resource Kit Prepared by Harbourfront Centre School Visits Educators

School Visits Programme

Grades 5-12

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Welcome to Harbourfront Centre! Thank you for choosing to visit Harbourfront Centre! We offer programmes that are interactive and fun, and that appeal to a variety of learning styles. Harbourfront Centre is an innovative, non-profit cultural organization which provides internationally renowned programming in the arts, culture, education and recreation, all within a collection of distinctive venues in the heart of Toronto's downtown waterfront.

We trust that you will enjoy your stay with us, and that we will see you again in the future, whether for another school visit, or for one of our many other exciting events.

The Structure of Your Visit

When you arrive at Harbourfront Centre, you will be greeted by one of our representatives. At this time, payment will be taken care of. You will then be introduced to your instructors for the day, and taken to your “classroom.” Your class will receive a brief introduction to Harbourfront Centre and your program will begin.

Altered Art- Visual Arts During this visit, your students will learn how a self-portrait can be much more than a literal image of themselves. Students will be introduced to alternative methods of creating a self-portrait and challenged to alter their image to find new ways of self-expression. Students will have a chance to view and discuss artwork created by contemporary visual artists that use unique methods to approach the concept of portraiture, collage, and altered art. Students can use these images, as well as instructor demonstrations as inspiration for their own

At the end of the trip each student will have completed an artwork that has undergone stages of development and deconstruction to produce a unique self-expression. How to use this Kit This kit has been created to complement our program and give you an opportunity to extend your classes’ learning across the curriculum. This kit includes: Pre-Visit Activities: The pre-visit activities are useful for activating your students’ prior knowledge of the topic of your visit. They will introduce your class to some of the topics that will be covered in order to make some of the discussions even richer. On-Site Assessment Tools: During your visit you will have the opportunity to stand back and observe your students. We have provided some tools here to help you assess their learning. Post-Visit Activities: These activities will give you the opportunity to capitalize on the excitement that your students will feel towards the topics explored during their visit to Harbourfront Centre. The activities will make a number of cross-curricular connections, and will provide further opportunity for assessment. Links to Learning: This section will provide you with a variety of resources that will be helpful to you should you decide to continue exploring the topics covered in your visit.

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altered image

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Pre-visit Activities The following lessons are for use before your visit to Harbourfront Centre. The intention of these lessons is to activate the prior knowledge of your students and to briefly introduce some of the ideas that will be covered during your session. These activities, of course, are not mandatory, but will enrich the discussions that your students will engage in with our instructors, and the overall Harbourfront Centre School Visits experience. Activity #1 Objectives

• Students will learn about the art of self portraits. • Students will be introduced to self portraits by famous artists. • Students will create an abstract self portrait.

Curriculum Links • Art- Media Art

Resources

• Photo of student • Photocopies of student photo (2-3 copies) • Examples of famous self portraits- see appendix

Activation

1. Discuss with students how a self-portrait can be more than literal representation (a photo of them). They can also represent themselves abstractly through a variety of ways.

• Colours (i.e. their favorite colour, temperature of colour: warm or cool, colour symbolism: green could mean new or fresh or envious, etc).

• Words (i.e. word they may use to describe themselves) • Shapes, patterns, textures, etc.

Activity 2. Have students bring in one photo of themselves. 3. Photocopy 2-3 b/w copies of the photo. 4. Ask students to alter and combine these 2-3 photos. This can include, but is not limited

to: • Cutting up their photo and rearranging the pieces. • Colouring the photos. • Adding words to the photos, either written or pasted on. • Adding other found items to the photos, i.e. mementos, additional photos,

drawings, etc. Closing

5. Have students present their finished pieces and explain their working process and why they chose to alter their image in the way they did.

Assessment

• Assess participation in beginning discussion- ability to discuss and understand alternative ways of representing themselves.

• Assess participation in activity- ability to create a self-portrait through altering their image.

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Onsite Assessment Tools The following rubric will provide you with an opportunity to observe and assess the participation level of your students during your visit to Harbourfront Centre, as well as to assess the work that they have completed. Take a chance to observe how well students are picking up on the concepts and techniques that are being covered.

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Altered Art- Visual Arts Rubric

Criteria

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Interaction in

Group discussion

Never able to respond to direct questions; never volunteers point of view

Rarely able to respond to direct questions; rarely volunteers point of view

Responds occasionally to questions; occasionally volunteers point of view

Responds frequently to questions; routinely volunteers point of view

Listening Skills

Student does not listen when others talk, and follows few of the instructor’s directions.

Student does not listen when others talk, and sometimes follows the instructor’s directions

Student listens when others talk, and often follows the instructor’s directions

Student listens when others talk, and always follows instructor’s directions

Use of Techniques

Applies few of the skills, concepts and techniques taught.

Applies some of the skills, concepts and techniques taught.

Applies most of the skills, concepts and techniques taught.

Applies all (or almost all) of the skills, concepts and techniques taught.

Use of Materials

Uses tools, equipment, and materials correctly only with assistance

Uses tools, equipment, and materials correctly with frequent assistance

Uses tools, equipment, and materials correctly with only occasional assistance

Uses tools, equipment, and materials correctly with little or no assistance

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Appendix 1 Support Images for Altered Art Programme Image 1

Pablo Picasso. Self-Portrait. 1907. Oil on canvas. Narodni Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic.

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Image 2

Chuck Close

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Post-Visit Activities______________________________ The purpose of these activities is to extend on the learning that took place during your visit to Harbourfront Centre. They are a great opportunity to capitalize on the excitement and passion that your students are likely feeling about the topics they have experienced. Here you will find some structured activities, as well as extension ideas. Activity #1

• Objectives • Students will learn about the process professional artists use to title their work. • Students will learn about artist’s statements. • Students will title their own work and write an artist statement explaining their methods

and motivation Curriculum Links

• English- Writing • Art- Visual Arts

Activation

1. Discuss with students how professional artists title their work. The titles can range from describing the subject, the emotion in the piece, or calling it Untitled.

2. Discuss also how artists write artists statements that describe what their work is about and how they created the work.

Activity 3. Have students title their work. 4. Students then can write an artist statement about their artwork. 5. Students can volunteer to share their artist statements with the class.

Assessment • Assess participation in activity- participation in evaluating their work and being able to write about their artistic process.

Activity #2 Objectives

• Students will discuss new ways of expressing themselves visually using words. • Students will use the collage process to create an image using words.

This activity challenges students to express themselves through words then arranging the words into an image. Curriculum Links

• English- Writing • Art- Visual Arts

Materials Needed

• Magazines and/or newspapers, scissors, glue, and paper.

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Activity 1. Ask students to cut out words from magazines and/or newspapers that they feel

represent themselves. 2. Encourage students to find words in different sizes and fonts for variety. 3. Have students arrange the words into an image that also represents themselves (i.e.

their face, a hobby they enjoy, their sports number). Closing

4. Discuss with students how they can represent themselves through a variety of mediums (altered digital photos, words, etc.) and how each holds a unique message about each student.

5. Students can also title their work and write an artist statement. See previous activity. Assessment

• Assess participation in activity- the number and variety of words they find. • Assess participation in activity- the altering of words to create an image.

Links to Learning Internet Arcimboldo Giuseppe http://www.giuseppe-arcimboldo.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Arcimboldo Hannah Hoch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_H%C3%B6ch Books Collage: The Making of Modern Art Author Taylor, Brandon. Publisher: Thames & Hudson (2004) Hannah Hoch: Picture Book Gunda Luyken (Editor), Hannah Hoch (Illustrator), Brian Currid (Translator) Publisher: Green Box (November 2010) Extended Learning: If you or your students are interested in continuing to work with print media and digital manipulation, check out the camps, course, and workshops that are offered here at Harbourfront Centre. Courses and Workshops: www.harbourfrontcentre.com/learn/courses Camps: www.harbourfrontcentre.com/campsw/summer