Meet the Artist, by John W. Healy
This interdisciplinary lesson is a great way to introduce art history and have your students step into their favorite artist's shoes
Artists learn from those who have come before them. What ever our interests, we are well served to take note of those who, through their unique contributions and achievements, broaden the boundaries of what can be done. Art History is an integral part of an art education curriculum. What becomes most obvious in art history is that there are many kinds of art and many ways to create art. It's these seemingly endless choices that makes art so appealing to all of us.
Uncovering unique personalities
Recently, I was teaching a sixth grade art class and proudly held up a newly-received selection of posters of famous artists' work. Every time I mentioned a particular artist such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Georgia O'Keefe, Maxfield Parrish and others, the students in this particular class would associate each artist with a particular classmate. They then became quite vocal and offered a great deal of useful information about each artist. I was very impressed and asked, "Who was your art teacher who taught you so much?" They told me their fifth grade teacher, Mrs. McManus, was responsible. I invited Mrs. Bernadette McManus, a fifth grade teacher at the McVey Elementary School in East Meadow, NY to share with me this curriculum area project which demonstrated such wonderful and successful outcomes.
One of Bernadette McManus' (pictured left) students chose to step into the shoes of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (right).
When starting this lesson, Mrs. McManus began with addressing New York State Standards in Language Arts including research of technology. "Meet the Artist" became the interdisciplinary vehicle that engaged children to embrace writing, research, computer skills and the creation of art. She wanted her students to know that famous artists are real people who have created art that endures long after their time. In their research, the students were encouraged to uncover the unique personalities of the artists that make them in some ways similar to us.
Steps to take
For your first lesson, assign each student an artist.
A handout is given to each student on a particular artist. The handout is a brief biography about the artist to generate the student's initial interest.
An artist is assigned by the teacher for each student. An outline should be included for this report. Some items in the outline should be dates of importance in the life of the artist, schools attended or other developmental learning experiences such as apprenticeships and family background.
The research process will help the class brainstorm the following:
K: What do you know about the artist? Refer to the handout given about a particular artist.
W: What do you want to know? Look for research which makes the artist a unique person. What universal human traits do we share with the artist?
L: What did I learn?
With the second lesson, assist the students in developing an outline. Items in the outline should include dates of importance in the life of the artist, schools they attended or other learning experiences. Apprenticeships and family background are ideal to look into.
Embracing style
Create an assignment that would have your students embracing the style of the famous artist, but not copy a particular work by that artist. This will enable each student to express his or her own ideas. Learning the style of historical artists can function as their growing artistic vocabulary.
Choose similar subject matter such as landscapes, portraits, designs.
Identify the characteristics of a particular artist such as brush strokes, preferred colors and general technique.
The students should frame the painting in some way for exhibition. A museum will then be created to show the original student art at a location of importance in their school.
High point of the year
The parents of the students are sent an invitation to view the Museum Art Show and watch their child make a presentation on their selected famous artist, as that artist. Mrs. McManus also does all of the children's make-up and helps them to design their costumes. The children practice for the big day by breaking into rotating pairs of famous artists who interview one another.
To make a record of all that this student report encompasses, on the next school day, the students return to the school computer lab where they create a PowerPoint demonstration.
Mrs. McManus spends six to eight weeks with this block of instruction. You may choose to use all or part of this curriculum to meet your particular needs. Mrs. McManus, through her initiative and creativity, establishes this interdisciplinary research project as the high point of the school year.
Here are some more ways to get your students interested in art history:
Ask your school librarian to establish a section on biographies appropriate for this grade level.
Ask your students to use note cards and write a third person bibliographical essay which follows their outline. Each student then rewrites this essay into the first person and memorizes the important facts.
Dr. John W. Healy teaches art at Woodland Middle School, East Meadow, NY.
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