I came up with the idea of using the emotions inherent in music to drive the choice of colors and shapes in a collage composition. We started out by listening to different kinds of music and discussing what shapes and colors would best express that music’s emotional qualities. We noted that shapes seem to correlate best with rhythm. Smooth or soft music pairs well with circular motifs, aggressive music ties easily to triangles, and the regularity of squares emulates music with a consistent beat that makes you want to tap your feet.
A studentʼs final collage created with hand-painted papers and paint pens.Jaiden D., collage based on “Way of the Water” from the movie Avatar. “My song choice has some very upbeat and aggressive tones, which is why I used sharp edges. The waves in the stripes show the calm and collected meaning of the song, and the colors add to the cool theme.”Moriah B., collage based on “Watching Him Fade Away” by Mac Demarco. “I chose this song because I felt it really represents my grandparents on my fatherʼs side. My grandfather passed away and my grandmother has dementia. I picked this song because Iʼm literally watching my grandmother fade away, just like my now-deceased grandfather. I picked circles because it is a very calm and sad song. I picked the colors blue, black, gray, and white to represent the idea of sadness and sprits. I also incorporated triangles to represent the anger I feel.”Erik S., Gymnopedie, collage compositions on copy paper.
I wanted my students to explore abstract expressionism in a meaningful way. I introduced them to the idea that color and shape can have emotional values through my book The Emotional Color Wheel (Firehouse Publications, 2013). This video covers these concepts.
Early Observations
I came up with the idea of using the emotions inherent in music to drive the choice of colors and shapes in a collage composition. We started out by listening to different kinds of music and discussing what shapes and colors would best express that music’s emotional qualities. We noted that shapes seem to correlate best with rhythm. Smooth or soft music pairs well with circular motifs, aggressive music ties easily to triangles, and the regularity of squares emulates music with a consistent beat that makes you want to tap your feet.
Color seems to best tie in to the tone or themes of the music. If the message is peaceful, greens and blues pair well. If the song is angry, oranges and reds are more appropriate. Mysterious music has tones of black, gray, and brown.
Drawing Music
On the first day of the lesson, students broke into groups, listened to music, and used markers to draw colors and shapes that they felt best emulated the music. I chose one song for each group, although students worked on their own individual drawings. The song played twice—students listened for the first round and drew during the second. When they were finished, each group took time to discuss their choices before sharing their compositions with the rest of the class.
Collaging Music
The next class, each group received a selection of construction paper, scissors, and glue sticks. This time they worked in collage to create their music compositions on copy paper. Students listened once to analyze the song, then cut and pasted for twelve minutes with a timer set and the song on repeat. I asked students to write their names on the back of their collage sketches and place them in the front of the room while my back was turned.
When I returned to the collection, I shared my opinions about what I felt was generally most successful, noting overall color and shape choices. “I see lots of cool, soft shapes; you all captured the overall mood really well!” I selected three strong pieces that had some visual strengths or techniques and pointed out these qualities to the class. We then voted on which of the three best captured the song. We placed the winner on our whiteboard, and the student artist earned a point to be used later.
We repeated this process for each group, song after song. When we were finished, we had a whiteboard filled with successful examples of the techniques I wanted students to use. We listened to all kinds of music—some without words, classical pieces, jazz, opera, hip-hop, rap, and even music from other parts of the world such as China and the Middle East. My whiteboard was covered with examples of weaving, symmetrical cuts, patterns, negative space, ripped organic shapes, 3D pops, and more.
The Final Challenge
When I felt we had enough examples, I compiled a list of ten techniques that students had used. Each student then chose a piece of music that they found personally meaningful to capture in a collage using at least three of the techniques we discussed.
I added a large stack of hand-painted paper for students to use in addition to construction paper. I allowed them to use craft scissors that cut textured edges like pinking shears and any other tools I had available. They worked on a base paper that was 18 x 18" (46 x 46 cm), a perfect square, so they could tie their work to album covers if they chose. If students finished their collages quickly, I gave them paint pens to add detailed patterns over their shapes and to fill large empty spaces. This kept them on task and improved their work.
Artist Statements
When the projects were complete, students wrote a paragraph identifying the song, the musical artist, and what their color and shape choices meant. These were displayed along with the artwork to provide viewers with more context about the assignment.
To close out the lesson, we looked at the work of abstract expressionists Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Elaine de Kooning, and Lee Krasner. Students’ analysis of these artworks was truly inspired and nuanced after making their own expressionistic pieces. Many felt like they had a better understanding and appreciation of musical genres that they once considered strange or inauthentic. More examples of finished work can be found at the second Resource below.
Eric Gibbons is an art teacher at Vernon Malone College and Career Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina. LovsArt@Gmail.com
National Standard
Creating: Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.
Art teachers share lessons that students can relate to, fostering a sense of self and community. Young students identify emotions and facial expressions while collaging, elementary students trace their countries of origins and share their findings through self-portrait photo compositions, middle-school students create aquatic themed rug canvases with important ecological messages, high-school students draw alongside Tibetan monks as they create a sand mandala, and more.
