Presentation- Hybridization

Michelle and I presented our Hybridization presentation this week in class. Overall I think it went pretty successful. We were really good at scaffolding our questions but we didn't give students enough time to answer questions before answering them ourselves. I need to learn to embrace the silence in the classroom and not rush student responses. During the presentation we should have made more frequent references to hybridization. Classmates felt our theme was lost during the presentation. Below are the images we showed to the class.


                                             Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima? Faith Ringgold

                                                             Signs Robert Rauschenberg 

                                                    The Flag is Bleeding Faith Ringgold 

                                                            Hot Shot Robert Rauschenberg

Accordion Book

A few weeks ago I was assigned to make an Accordion Book. The assignment is listed below.

Our in class activity and discussion highlighted the need for art educators to continue to innovate in
their curricular planning that goes beyond learning the skills and content of the Elements and
Principles of Design. Our in-class activity involved modifying a simple drawing activity that is outlined
in Line Art Game by re-designing the game by focusing on one or two of the postmodern themes that
were covered in the Barrett and/or Gude article.
The Elements & Principles Accordion Book MOD is a similar opportunity: look at the E + P book
instructions, re-design the activity to include postmodern themes, and then do the activity. The total
assignment includes two outcomes that need to be submitted to me:
• new instructions for an accordion book activity that is a result of including a postmodern theme
• an accordion book as both result of your exploration and possible teacher example
There are other outcomes that will come from the assignment:
• deeper understanding for postmodern themes related to a curricular activity
• exploration of the book art form
• possible visual research that will help you to understand the accordion book,
• relevant artist practices associated with book arts
• relevant artist practices associated with the particular postmodern theme you chose
• an activity and process that could be developed into a complete lesson plan

I choose to make my Accordion book using the technique of collage and mixed media. I began using only one work, "the." As my book continued the word "the changed size and began to incorporate text. Eventually the book involved collage photos from magazines and acrylic paint which interacted with the photos. Below are some examples of Accordion books.

Talking with Kids about Art by Tom Anderson

This week in class we were assigned a reading by Tom Anderson called, Talking with Kids about Art. When I look back at my high school art experience I remember that getting students to talk about their art was a very difficult process. I believe that during adolescence children feel intimidated to talk about their work in front of peers. Anderson writes about art criticism and how painlessly incorporate it into the classroom.

Anderson uses "crit cards" to get students involved in the criticism. Crit cards are cards used by teachers to lead art criticism discussions. They can also be reproduced for student use. The questions on the crit cards are scaffolding. This allows for students to answer simple questions then build their thoughts to answer more complex questions. The four stages of cards are 1. Description 2. Interpretation and 3. Evaluation.

Art Investigation Worksheet

Last week in class we were given an assignment to create an art investigation worksheet for students.  I choose to work with the artist, Robert Rauschenberg.

1. Describe what this piece of artwork is. What is it showing? 


2. What type of media is the artist using?


3. Why would this subject and media be considered abnormal to the general public?

1. What technique is the artist using in this work?


2. How do you think the artist constructed this image?


3. Who do you see in this image?


4. What is the relationship between the subjects in this image?

1. List all of the subjects and objects you see in this image.


2. Why do you think the artist repeated many images?


3. How does this repetition contribute to the overall effectiveness and meaning of this image?

Approaches to Postmodern Art-Making - Terry Barrett

This week for class we were instructed to read Approaches to Postmodern Art-Making by Terry Barrett. Barrett's article was composed of particular themes that are relevant to postmodern art-making. These themes being, escaping the confines of museums, collapsing boundaries between "high" and "low", rejecting originality, jouissance, working collaboratively, appropriating, stimulating, hybridizing, mixing media, layering, mixing codes, re-contextualizing, confronting the gaze, facing the abject, constructing identities, using narrative, and creating metaphors.

In my opinion one of the most important approaches mentioned by Barrett is the idea of escaping the confines of the museum. Barrett admits museums are an integral part of the art world but today great artwork is also found outside of museums. Breaking out of the museum setting and placing work into public settings attempts to reach a variety of audiences. Christo and Jean-Claude are two collaborative artists who escape the confines of the museum. Below is an image of one of their works, The Gates. In addition click the link below to watch a video on Christo and Jean-Claude.

Torn Paper Collage (According to the Rules of Chance)

For my Surrealist teacher examples I choose the game, Torn Paper Collage (According to the Rules of Chance). This technique of collage was created by Hans Arp. Arp was a sculptor, painter, and poet who was very intrigued by the notion of chance and outcome. In the Torn Paper Collage paper if ripped or cut up. From there the pieces of paper of dropped onto a single piece of paper. The torn pieces are then glued down where they had fallen. The torn paper creates an abstracted image which is perceived by it's viewer. Finally the composition can be drawn over with various drawing implements. Below is an example of a Torn Paper Collage along with a video showing the work of Hans Arp

intro and surrealism

Before I start with my blog postings I would like to introduce myself. My name is Lauren Hutton. I am currently a student at the State University of New York at New Paltz. I am double majoring in Metalsmithing and Visual Arts Education. After graduation I plan to pursue a career in the arts, hopefully teaching at a University or high school level. Ideally I would love to teach metalsmithing or jewelry classes. I began jewelry making during high school and am very passionate about it. I would love to pass on my passion to future students.

For our first blog post we were advised to write about Surrealism. Seeing as Salvador Dali was one of the leading artists of the Surrealist Movement it seems appropriate to discuss his work. The above painting is an image of Dali's Bomb. After the atomic bombing of World War II Dali's art was heavily inspired. His paintings showed images of atoms and molecules. These were essential because Dali considered them fundament parts of the unconscious. Based on these notions Bomb shows the influences of the atomic bomb. To see more of Dali's artwork click on the link shown below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fovX6xGlJE8&feature=fvst