Portrait Prints

This year, sixth grade learned about Die Brucke (literally: The Bridge), a small movement within the greater Abstract Expressionist trend in early 20th century Germany. Students and I mostly discussed why an artist would paint/print sad, abstract faces, when he could have very well painted realistically. Why go abstract? Why go sad? Students decided it was because the artist thought expressing emotion was more important than being realistic. Students also proposed that the artists may have been sad, depressed, etc. I think they were correct on both accounts.

Here are some examples of prints made by Die Brucke artists:

And here are some beautiful (and colorful) prints made by the sixth grade:

Kandinsky Landscapes

 

This year, sixth grade artists studied Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian-born Abstract Expressionist. We talked a lot about what the words "Abstract" and "Expressionism" mean. I have to say I was extremely impressed with their ability to define and give examples of these complex art terms.

For this project, we also learned a lot about color. We talked about warm and cool colors, and also learned about color idioms ("I'm seeing red," "I'm feeling blue," etc.), why we use them, and why they make sense. Students then chose a mood to express with color. An eerie mood, for example, might require different color choices than a happy or excited mood.

Here are some of my students' beautiful, abstract landscapes.

 

 

 

 

 

 PS: This project idea came from the wonderful art blog, Arte a Scoula.