One of my goals each year is to incorporate as many artists, art movements, and famous artworks into the curriculum as possible to expose my students to the world of art through both historical and contemporary lenses. If I show a historical artwork, I often pair it with a contemporary artist or artwork so that students can reflect on the time period difference. To help students gain a deeper insight into art history, I came up with an idea to create famous artwork mash-ups.
I began with an activity in which I showed several pieces of work and asked if students knew who the artists were. I started with recognizable pieces such as Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night and Monet’s Water Lilies series, then I moved on to less well-known pieces and asked if students had seen them before or did they want to take a guess as to who created them. I included both historical and contemporary pieces. We are fortunate to have the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in our backyard, so students recognized many of the contemporary pieces from a previous field expedition to the museum.
Choosing and Researching
After the activity, I explained to students that they would each choose two works of art: one historical and one contemporary. I prepared two hats for students to draw from, one with slips of paper featuring historical art and the other with contemporary art, for those who struggled to find pieces to work with.
I asked students to conduct some research on their chosen pieces and use their sketchbooks to record interesting facts about them. I also asked them to reflect on why they chose these works.
Mixing and Matching
I explained to students that they would recreate their two artworks as one in a mash-up of ideas. Students were asked to combine elements of one artwork that interested them with elements of the other. They were not to make anything up or add anything that wasn’t there. The completed artwork should be a beautiful combination of the two artworks they chose.
Students created thumbnail sketches of their ideas and planned their compositions. After their sketches were complete, they participated in a critique of their designs before moving on to their final piece.
Production
Most students chose textured watercolor paper or mixed-media paper as their surface, on which they drew their designs, using their sketches for reference. I provided a variety of color media options and asked them to match the colors in the original artworks, focusing on details and background. Students shared their work with peers to receive feedback before finalizing.
Conclusion
By combining their own words with statements by the artists they selected, students produced their own artist statements to go with their artwork.
It was great to see students’ creative mash-up designs and the interesting compositions they came up with. This activity, combined with their own research, helped students better understand their chosen artists.
The classroom was filled with laughter and excitement as students viewed each other’s humorous mash-up masterpieces. It was a wonderful learning experience for both my students and myself.
Leigh Drake, Ed.S., is a visual arts teacher at Old Donation School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Leigh.Drake@VBSchools.com
National Standard
Creating: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
This issue focuses on various interpretations of contemporary art and what art means for students today. Young students investigate their connection to the natural world and print with leaves, elementary students combine elements from historical and contemporary artworks to create a new work of art, middle-school students explore the large-scale sculptures of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, high-school students channel contemporary themes into a self-portrait photo composite, and more.
