Search

Public Wall Art Unit: Contemporary Public Art

marleeyunger
Nov 24, 2014
3 min read

Cycle Level: 2

The last section of public wall art is what is happening now. What does contemporary wall art look like?

The Lesson

Introduction

This lesson is a follow-up of the previous lesson that focused on street art done by Bansky. This lesson will begin with a slideshow showcasing different images of street art murals to the students on a smartbord or projector. The students will be asked to identify the themes or ideas that they think the artist was trying to represent. Teacher will lead students to make the connection between cave paintings, frescos, and street art. She/he will reinforce the idea that the current issues/realities of that time can often be seen in these murals. Students will be informed about the art activity that is to follow in which they will be given the opportunity to represent themselves and their community within their time.

In order to be successful in this lesson, students must know how to use paintbrushes and markers. They must also be comfortable tracing lines/contouring. The teacher may have to explain the idea of contouring to the students and do a demonstration of how to contour a shadow of a student in the class before they being tracing.

Development:

Activity

Step 1: Split the class into groups of 3.
Step 2: Have 2 groups working at once on the wall. One student will pose while

his/her two partners quickly trace her outline (you don't want too many students drawing or posing at one or else you will not be able to properly see the shadow) Repeat until everyone in the group has been traced and then have 2 more groups come up. (overlapping is welcome and encouraged)

Step 3: Set up paint every few feet so that it is easily accessible.
Step 4: Let students paint all over the wall. Make it clear that no one ‘owns’ any section of the wall or any of the shadows. Everyone is free to colour in wherever

they please. Encourage students to colour in images other than their own. (Teacher could even make it a rule that students are not to colour in their own body in order to eliminate the idea of ownership over the piece)

Step 5: encourage students to add in items that they believe represent the classroom environment. (ex: books, ipads, pens, papers)
Step 6: Clean-up. Students will be split into groups that are responsible for different things. Group 1: gather all of the smocks. Group 2: rinse all paintbrushes in the sink. Group 3: pick up all paints and put them away with caps on. Group 4: Pick up all of the markers. Make sure they have caps and are in their boxes.
Step 7: Debriefing/explanation of reflection assignment.

Closure

Students will be asked to write a journal entry reflecting on their experience. Question: Think back to the cave paintings and the fresco murals, if a person were to find this mural in 2000 years from now, what do you think they would understand about our classroom community? Do you think that our mural does a good job of representing our community? (why or why not) Is there anything that you would add or take out?

Assessment

Much of the evaluation for this lesson will be based on the students’ ability to work collaboratively. The teacher will keep an eye out for any conflicts that may arise while the class is working together to complete the artwork. Students who have trouble sharing or are territorial over their ‘part’ of the artwork will lose marks for inability to work as part of a team. Students will also be assessed through the journal reflection that they submit. Students who do students will be expected to answer all three of the questions that were asked in their reflections.