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Pop Culture Influenced Sculpture

(Abstract/ Non-Objective)

By Hannah Steiner

Essential Understandings:

Visual arts can be a means to express a personal idea or feeling about current issues or culture. Creating three-dimension artwork is a series of processes. Abstract and non-representational artwork are two different types of art but the lines between the two can be blurred as well as interpreted differently from viewer to viewer.

  • Art and design have purpose and function
  • Assess and produce art with various materials and methods
  • Make judgments from visual messages
  • Commutation through advanced visual methods is a necessary skill in everyday life
  • Interpretation is a means fur understanding and evaluating works of art
  • A personal philosophy of art is accomplished through use of sophisticated language and studio art processes
  • Visual art has inherent characteristics and expressive features

Objectives:

  1. Students will be able to identify the works of Sarah Sze, Judy Pfaff, Ming Fay, Henry Moore, Anish Kapoor and Joana Vasconcelos and determine if the artist’s work is Abstract or Non-representational. (Understanding; Comprehend: Art and design have purpose and function)
  2. Students will be able demonstrate the techniques of wire and stockings, newspaper pulp and wheat paste, and plaster relief to create a sculpture from each. (Applying/Creating; Create; Assess and produce art with various materials and methods)
  3. Students will be able to use an armature and report its function for their sculpture. (Applying/Creating; Make judgments from visual messages)
  4. Students will be able to defend and explain their emotional response to current pop culture and how it translates into their sculpture. (Understanding/Evaluating; Transfer: Commutation through advanced visual methods is a necessary skill in everyday life. Reflect: Interpretation is a means fur understanding and evaluating works of art)
  5. Students will be able to define Abstract and Non-representational artwork. (Remembering; Comprehend: Visual art has inherent characteristics and expressive features)
  6. Students will be able to create an abstract or non-representational sculpture that represents an emotional response to current pop culture. (Applying/Creating; Reflect: A personal philosophy of art is accomplished through use of sophisticated language and studio art processes.)

Pre-Assessment:

  • Can students identify the artworks of Sarah Sze, Judy Pfaff, Ming Fay, Henry Moore, Anish Kapoor and Joana Vasconcelos and determineif the artist’s work is Abstract or Non-representational?
  • Can the students demonstrate the techniques of wire and stockings, newspaper pulp and wheat paste, and plaster relief to create a sculpture from each?
  • Can the students use an armature and report its function for their sculpture?
  • Can the students defend and explain their emotional response to current pop culture and how it translates into their sculpture?
  • Can the students define abstract and non-representational artwork?
  • Can the students create an abstract or non-representational sculpture that represents an emotional response to current pop culture?

Accommodations and modifications:

Students will be challenged by having to interpret their response to current pop culture into one emotion then be able to translate that emotion into an abstract/non-objective sculpture. This process with in itself can be challenging for most, especially since most of the class is 2D oriented. To accommodate those who are struggling to translate their emotion into visual features, I will pose extra questions to push along brainstorming.

Materials:

  • Plaster
  • Clay
  • Wire (copper and black) and chicken wire
  • Sand
  • Mixing bowls/Water cups
  • Newspaper
  • Newspaper pulp
  • Wheat paste
  • Masking tape
  • Water color paint
  • Shoe polish
  • Acrylic Paints
  • Palettes
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • Pedestals
  • Cardboard
  • Found objects
  • Stockings
  • Spray paint
  • Buckets
  • Relief Containers
  • Note cards with assessment
  • Power point
  • Examples
  • Pencils and Notebooks
  • Paint brushes
  • Pliers/Gloves
  • Face masks
  • Wax paper
  • Popsicle sticks

Resources:

  • Sarah Sze, “unknown title”
  • Anish Kapoor, “Cloud Gate” and “Orbit”
  • Henry More, “Reclining figure”
  • Judy Pfaff, “installation”
  • Ming Fay, “Canutopia”

Preparations:

  • Write news letter and give to students
  • Create a power point with images
  • Create examples of each sculpture (plaster relief, wire sculpture and wheat paste and pulp)
  • Set up work stations/ put out materials
  • Set up Gallery with pedestals for the exhibition
  • Wash/cover pedestals
  • Create assessment note cards with assessment inquiry question
  • Write on white board cleaning duties along with the goal for the day

Safety:

Students need to be aware that the plaster particles and spray paint can be harmful when inhaled thus they need to be wearing a face mask when working with these materials. Students also need to know that plaster cannot be dumped down the drain because it will destroy the piping system. When cutting or working with wire, the students should know it could have sharp edges that can cause small cuts. The wheat paste is not to be ingested because of pesticides in the make up of the wheat paste.

Motivation/Anticipatory Set and Ideation/Inquiry:

  1. Start with discussion on the definition of “abstract” artwork in groups
  • We’re going to start with a discussion. I want you and your group mates to discuss the meaning of abstract sculpture and come up with a definition and possibly an example.
  1. Come back together as a class and have each group share their definitions of “abstract”.
  2. Then we will look at the actual definition and compare our answers to it.
  • What do you think about the “actual” definition to “abstract”?
  • Do you agree or disagree? Why ?
  1. Next go on to a discussion on Non-representational art?
  • Now do the same thing that we did for “abstract” discuss in groups and come up with a definition and possibly an example of a non-representational artwork.
  1. Come back together once more and share our definitions of “non-representational or objective” artwork.
  2. Look again at the “actual” definition of “non-representational” artwork and compare and contrast our answers
  • What do you think about the definition of non-representational artwork?
  • Do you agree or disagree? Why?
  1. Start the class to think about the differences between the two (abstract and non-representational artwork)
  • So, now that we know the differences between abstract and non-representational artwork, what are you own opinions on this?
  • Do you really think they are that different?
  • What is the major difference between the two?
  • Can an artwork be viewed as one and not the other depending on who is viewing the artwork?
  • Where does the line get drawn from bring abstract or non-objective?
  • Do you think their needs to be a huge difference? Why?
  • Do you agree that it should be left up to the viewer to decide which one it is?
  • Do they even need to decide or put a label on it?

Procedures:

Day 1:

1.Begin with Motivation. (Have students take out sketchbook to take notes)

  1. Start with discussion on the definition of “abstract” artwork in groups
  • We’re going to start with a discussion. I want you and your group mates to discuss the meaning of abstract sculpture and come up with a definition and possibly an example.
  1. Come back together as a class and have each group share their definitions of “abstract”.
  2. Then we will look at the actual definition and compare our answers to it.
  • What do you think about the “actual” definition to “abstract”?
  • Do you agree or disagree? Why ?
  1. Next go on to a discussion on Non-representational art?
  • Now do the same thing that we did for “abstract” discuss in groups and come up with a definition and possibly an example of a non-representational artwork.
  1. Come back together once more and share our definitions of “non-representational or objective” artwork.
  2. Look again at the “actual” definition of “non-representational” artwork and compare and contrast our answers
  • What do you think about the definition of non-representational artwork?
  • Do you agree or disagree? Why?
  1. Start the class to think about the differences between the two (abstract and non-representational artwork)
  • So, now that we know the differences between abstract and non-representational artwork, what are you own opinions on this?
  • Do you really think they are that different?
  • What is the major difference between the two?
  • Can an artwork be viewed as one and not the other depending on who is viewing the artwork?
  • Where does the line get drawn from bring abstract or non-objective?
  • Do you think their needs to be a huge difference? Why?
  • Do you agree that it should be left up to the viewer to decide which one it is?
  • Do they even need to decide or put a label on it?

2. Move into Artist Presentation

  • Now we’re going to look at some famous sculpture artists who create artwork that is abstract or non-presentational
  • Joana Vasconcelos
  • Contemporary Artist who works in London, with all types of materials mostly textiles
  • Would you consider this piece an abstract artwork? Why?
  • I would because it is slightly abstracted from its original form.
  • “The nature of Joana Vasconcelos’ creative process is based on the appropriation, decontextualisation and subversion of pre-existent objects and everyday realities. Starting out from ingenious operations of displacement, a reminiscence of the ready-made and the grammars of Nouveau Réalisme and pop, the artist offers us a complicit vision, but one which is at the same time critical of contemporary society and the several features which serve the enunciations of collective identity, especially those that concern the status of women, class distinction or national identity.”
  • *Would you consider her work abstract or non-objective?
  • Ming Fay
  • Contemporary Artist, works with Wax, glass and other materials
  • “The creation of gardens is an elaborate display of human control over its surroundings. Gardens are also a reflection of paradise, the location for the ultimate desirable state of being”
  • Abstract because it is an abstracted representation of a garden setting, which is visible.
  • Henry Moore
  • Contemporary Artist, Figural bronze sculptures
  • "In my opinion, everything, every shape, every bit of natural form, animals, people, pebbles, shells, anything you like are all things that can help you to make a sculpture." ~ Henry Moore
  • Would you consider his work abstract? I would because this piece in particular is an abstracted form of a reclining person.
  • A key note to remember, an artist can give information through the title of a work, especially sculpture.
  • Sarah Sze
  • Contemporary Artist, Boston, works with found objects
  • “Sze builds her installations and intricate sculptures from the minutiae of everyday life, imbuing mundane materials, marks, and processes with surprising significance. Combining domestic detritus and office supplies into fantastical miniatures, she builds her works, fractal-like, on an architectural scale. Often incorporating electric lights and fans, water systems, and houseplants, Sze’s installations balance whimsy with ecological themes of interconnectivity and sustainability.
  • I would consider her non-representational because her works are based on conceptual ideas as well as feed of themselves to create content and meaning.
  • Anish Kapoor
  • Can any one identify this artist? * Show “Orbit”
  • Next slide, “How about now?”
  • Anish Kapoor, contemporary artist who looks with large scale sculptures and is known for his reflective surfaces
  • Can anyone give me the actual name of this piece?
  • “Cloud Gate”
  • It’s the idea of distorting the image of the viewer, which explores the boundary between limit and limit ness”
  • Very much Non-objective because the object itself is unrecognizable but lives within its conceptual construction.
  • Judy Pfaff
  • Contemporary Artist, works with 2D-3D works of art
  • Pfaff synthesizes sculpture, painting, and architecture into dynamic environments, in which space seems to expand and collapse, fluctuating between the two- and three-dimensional. Pfaff’s site-specific installations pierce through walls and careen through the air, achieving lightness and explosive energy. Pfaff’s work is a complex ordering of visual information, composed of steel, fiberglass, and plaster as well as salvaged signage and natural elements such as tree roots.
  • Non-representational Artwork because of its reliance of concepts that are represented through her sculpture.
  1. Transfer into the conceptual theme of the project:
  2. We’re going to talk about the conceptual idea of your sculpture that you will create, which is: Pop Culture.
  3. What is pop culture? Can anyone give me examples or explain pop culture?
  4. What aspects create pop culture?
  5. is the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are preferred[citation needed] by an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century. Heavily influenced by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of the society.
  6. Can we name some aspect of today’s pop culture? (These will be written on the board as a means of brain storming)

4. Your personal reaction to pop culture

  • Think about today’s current pop culture, what do you think about it?
  • How does that make you feel?
  • Pick three different emotions that pop culture evokes onto you
  • Write these down in your sketchbook.

5. Explain to the students what we are going to be doing.

  • What we are going to do is create an abstract or non-objective sculpture that represents your personal emotional reaction to today’s current pop culture.

6. Visual features of your emotion

  • Now that you have your one emotion, I want you to think about different characteristics of that emotion
  • What expressive features does it have; line, shape form, volume, pattern, repetition?
  • Specific characteristics; Texture, movement?
  • Recognizable aspects; color?
  • List these next to your emotion

7. Sketches (5-10 mins)

  • I want you to do at least two different sketches that represent your emotion that will be translated into a sculpture
  1. After the students have created 2 different sketches in their sketchbooks, I will transition into doing demonstrations of the different materials they will be using.
  • Since everyone is about done sketching, we’re going to move into the other room so I can go over some materials you will be working with.
  • Everyone gather around the wire table and bring a sketchbook to take some notes.
  • Oh yes, before we get into the demos, I want to tell you that we will be having a gallery exhibition with our sculptures and they will be displayed on pedestals. In this gallery exhibition, art critics will be giving your constructive criticism on your sculptural piece.
  1. Wire Demonstration:
  • Before I get started I want to mention that creating sculpture is a process. Sculptors plan a lot before they get started but doesn’t mean they don’t improvise during the creation process. A sculptural process usually involves 5 steps. Planning, creating, improvisation, finishing and display. All of these are so incredibly important a successful sculpture.
  • Step 1. First I will explain the different materials. This station you will be expected to create a wire sculpture with stockings. The materials at this table are; wire (two types, you can experiment with both), stockings and glue.
  • Step 2: To create your sculpture you will have to create an armature. Does anyone know what an armature is? Can you give an example of one? An armature is the or a structure that the sculpture is either build off of or around. It offered strength and stability. A create example of an armature is a cake pan. A cake pan offers a structure for the cake batter until it is cooked. After the cake is cooked the armature or pan can be removed. But remember some armatures are incorporated into the piece and cannot be removed.
  • Step 3: Cut the wire to length that you think you will need. You can do this with the wire cutters. * Remember be careful because the wire ends can be very sharp and can cut you very easily. If you want to you can always sand down the edge to create a blunt surface.
  • Step 4: Bend the wire to desired shape. This is where your features of your emotion come into play. Think about those features you wrote down and how they can be translated into the wire materials to best represent your emotional response to current pop culture. Be thinking about how this is also going to be displayed.
  • Step 5: Now that you have your shape, you are going to cover it with your leggings or stockings. I have two types, knee-highs and full stockings. Completely cover your armature with the stockings to create your sculpture.