Paper image

secondary: 30 students of secondary 3&4 between 15 and 17 years old | John F Kennedy High School (Montreal) | January to April 2011

SEC 3& 4

GOAL: HOW CAN YOU USE PAPER AS A PAINTING OR SCULPTURE MATERIAL?

PROJECT: PAPER COLLAGE

DURATION: 3 to 4 sessions

TEAMS: individual work

KEY CONCEPTS: shape, layer, juxtaposition, composition, mosaic, color scheme

MATERIALS:

´        Paper

´        Scissors

´        Glue

´        Magazines, images, books, photos, etc.

´        Pencil

´        Ziploc bag or container to keep your pieces of paper safe

FEATURED ARTISTS

´        Richard Hamilton

o       Interior II (1964)

o       Fashion Plate (1970)

´        Vik Muniz

o       After Van Gogh (2002)

o       Self portrait (2005)

´        Hannah Hoch

o       The Beautiful Girl (1920)

´        Romare Bearden

o       Mecklenburg Autumn (1981)

´        Derek Gores

o       Blowing Bubbles (2009)

o       For all Americans (2009)

´        Joanna Livesay

o       Culture Shock (1994)

STEPS

1. Exploration

Part 1: The difference between a painting and a drawing is the use of shape rather than line. A collage is exactly that: space filled out by shapes of colored paper to create a certain image. You’ll be making a collage out of pieces of paper. Look at the artworks in the FEATURED ARTISTS section above and see the different shapes and sizes that the paper is cut out of. Some use bits of flat color, others cut out full images. Notice the subjects that each of the artworks are about; feminism, consumerism, fear, hope, etc. Think of what theme you would like to do your artwork about and sketch 3 different images you could use for a final collage, then pick your favourite or make a combination of your favourite parts to create a whole image.

Part 2: You’ll have to create a color scheme for your collage. Make sure to start by making a complete color wheel with the primary colors and the secondary colors. Then, choose one main contrast plus one main harmony that you will be using for your collage. Think about the colors you are using: contrasting colors lead the eye to focus on certain elements (ex: a pumpkin in the dark night), while harmonies create a pleasant theme to link all elements together. Start cutting out or tearing your bits and pieces of paper in the right colors. Keep them safe until you start on your final piece. Make sure you take just enough paper and in the colors that you want, but keep some extra in case you end up needing more than you originally thought.

2. final work

Part 1: Choose your favourite sketch and re-create your chose sketch on a bigger piece of paper, this time, paying more attention to the details and the composition. This is the paper on which you’ll glue the paper you cut/tore during the exploration. The next step is easy: it’s like paint-by-numbers.

Part 2: Glue the paper you cut/tore onto your final drawing, covering all the white spaces. Cut and tear more as you need it. Once everything has been glued in place and there is no white space left on your collage, it’s done!

JUSTIFICATION

This will be done as a 1/2 page written assignment or sketchbook page. You can write it by hand as long as I can read it properly, otherwise, I suggest typing it. Note that you will get more points if you answer the questions and explain WHY. The following questions will have to be answered:

´        How is collage similar to painting? Can collage become painting?

´        What did you find easy about this project?

´        What was more difficult?

´        If you had a million dollars, and you could take any material and make a collage about anything, what would it be, and why?

RUBRIC

ARTWORKS:
3 sketches	/30
1 final sketch	/20
Color wheel with primary, secondary colors, 1 contrast and 1 harmony	/20
Final work with no white spaces	/10
Cut or torn paper placed with attention to create a clear image	/10
The shape and size of the cut/torn paper has been thought out	/10
Cut or torn paper has been glued with attention	/10

JUSTIFICATION:
Describes how collage is similar to painting and if they are so similar that a collage can actually be a painting	/20
Names the easy parts of the project and explains why	/20
Names the harder parts of the project and explains why	/20
Explains a specific project that would be created if there was no limit on material, subject, or size	/40