Joe's Corner: This part of the web site is devoted to lessons that get weird. Contemporary art encompasses so many different viewpoints of art making that it is extremely difficult to narrow down a wrong approach. In this series of lesson plans, I have used inspiration from contemporary artists to create prompts and lesson plans that are sure to inspire students exploration of contemporary art, their identity, and most importantly, creativity.
In this lesson, students create drawings from looking through a pin hole cut from a black piece of paper. The lesson is inspired by James Turrell's manipulation of light and space. Link to Short James Turrell YouTube. Pin Hole Lesson Prompt. Link to Images of Artist's Using Light to Create Art.
Collaborative Wall Drawing:
In this lesson, students create a Stop- Motion Video inspired by Sol LeWitt's wall drawings. Lesson Guide. Examples of Artists Who Draw on Art. Link to Sol Lewitt YouTube.
In this lesson, students collaborate to create a contemporary work of art using a variety of media and technology to achieve a conceptual expression of the group as a whole. The final product will map the history of student personal emotions throughout the time spent together. Link to Body Maps as Art Website.
Shadows as Art:
In this lesson, students are grouped to create a collaborative work of art using a flashlight, a pencil, a piece of paper, and the shadows they create. Link to Examples of Shadow Art. YouTube on Shadow Art. Link to Lesson Prompt.
Working within the Shadows:
In this lesson, students will create a work of art using an object and several adjectives to create an environment on a 2-D surface. Link to Lesson Prompt.
Marlene Dumas Inspired Portrait:
In this lesson, students create a portrait by relating their personal identity with an animal. Students exchange both human qualities and animalistic qualities within their work to create a portrait expressing their most natural characteristic. Link to Examples. Link to Lesson Prompt.
Mapping as Art:
In this lesson, students create a map telling their personal migration story. By creating this map, students are expressing their identity and sharing with the world in a visual language their personal story of how they became a student in your classroom. Link to Lesson Prompt. Link to Examples.
Tattooing as Art:
In this lesson, students create a work of art from their own exposure to tattooing. Link to Lesson Prompt. Link to Tattoo Examples. Link to History of Tattooing YouTube.
Searching for Community:
In this lesson, students go out into their own community and photograph it for reference material to use in class. Link to Lesson Prompt.
Warm Ups for Art Class:
This is a link for writing warmups in my class based on certain styles in art. Link to PowerPoint.