art…naturally

8th graders, your Dada Head sculptures are due to be finished and photographed before the end of the day on Tuesday, January 6th.

We will have a group critique on Wednesday, so your work must be ready.

http://search.saschina.org/maddock/akristithornbury.html

“METAL MASKS” by 7th grade.

Enjoy!

http://woodgears.ca/eyeball/

Try this game to test your skills!  Try to beat your friends’ high score.

Please let me know if you score better than 3.0 overall, but don’t expect it to be easy!!!

I was so thrilled with the well-informed and well-written answers from Noah, Sally J. and Katrina (8th grade) about Dadaism that I had to share some of their work with you.

Here, Noah explains Dada Art…………………

“DADA art was about the war. It was about protesting against the kind of thinking that had started it and was causing it to continue. It was also about changing the way people viewed art and what their perceptions of it were. It was about making people more open minded and helping them to see that art was not set in stone, that nothing was set in stone, and that things could be changed no matter what anyone else said. Finally DADA was about changing society so that it would not try to start and prolong wars like the one they were experiencing at that time ever again”.

Sally and Katrina answer the question, “Dada - Is it Art?”

Sally J.

“Dada is art. Although it looks just like a big jumble that has no meaning, it is how they expressed themselves and it includes elements that can be found in art. Even if some people said it wasn’t art, it is now known as art. I agree with the artists of dada that art shouldn’t always be beautiful. I think art should be something anyone can do and is something that is creative or different in its own way. I personally prefer arts that break out of the fixed mold just like dada”.

Katrina

“I think Dada is art because it has expression. It is expressive of the state of the society at that time. It deviated from the normal convention of art but I think art can express anything, even if it is nonsensical. Art is the freedom of expression, and the Dada artists expressed what they had in mind, protesting against war and barbarism in Europe”.

Brilliant! A proud moment for an Art teacher

Hi explorers!

Did you have fun on your virtual tour of the caves in Lascaux, France?

Now, based on what you’ve learned about ‘Cave Art’, answer these questions in your own words.

microsoft-word-cave-art-questions.pdf

8th graders are beginning a new unit on Dadaism and Dada Art. It promises to be a bit bizarre, imaginative, funny, expressive, liberating………..

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Check out the links to learn more

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadaism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadaism

All masks will need to be finished and photographed by the end of class on Thursday, November 20th.

Tuesday will be the first day for students to begin working on their Sm’Art’ Goals. (7F will begin on Wednesday).

Last week each student identified personal goals for Art. They include things like improving painting or drawing skills, experimenting with certain Art media, or learning to emmulate the style of a favorite artist. Every two rotations of the schedule, each student will put their current Art project aside and use the class to work toward their personal Art goal.

If students take this independent learning seriously and value the opportunity to be in charge of their own learning, then I expect it to be a very rewarding and empowering experience!

oil on canvas, 2008

This work symbolizes the connection between oceans, rivers, and water in general and our bodies. Our blood’s level of salinity is similar to that of the salt water in the world’s oceans.  Rivers snake through the land toward the ocean like the veins that are visible just beneath the skin on their way to the heart.

The nautilus shell symbolizes a perfect spiral that is created by nature and has been repeated throughout nature billions of times with amazing mathematical precision and no use of tools or formulas.  It represents the mysterious and awe inspiring cycle of life that connects all things living on the Earth with one another and with the Earth itself.