Expressionism Introduction for Middle School Students

Exploring Expressionism

  • What happens to you when you are happy? Do you jump up in the air or dance all around?
  • What do you do when you are angry or sad? Do you frown or cry or shout out loud?
  • How do you look when you are surprised or scared? Does your mouth open wide as you let out a yell?

Express yourself! Take the feelings and thoughts that are inside of you, and show them on the outside. Draw a picture, write a poem, make a face, sing a song, or talk about how you feel.

Start by looking at paintings by famous expressionist artists. The expressionists painted people and places using exaggeration and bold colours to get their feelings across. In their pictures, you might find a sad woman whose face is green or a frightened man screaming with a gigantic wide-open mouth. You will see an exciting windy sky with stars so bright they explode like fireworks in the night. You will also discover how abstract artists painted their feelings with lines, shapes, and colours. Whirling lines might remind you of a crazy storm or the joyful movement of waves and wind. A burst of yellow might remind you of a happy day.

You will also learn how the Abstract Expressionists invented fun ways of using paint that you can also use to get your energy and emotions out. Dip a stick into a cup of paint, and drip it all around. Swoosh colours together. Scratch into your paint to release anger. Or, in a lively dance, move your body as you paint. Discover the exciting things that paint can do.

Some expressionist paintings might look messy or funny or different from anything you have seen. Long ago, some people thought this art was frightening or ugly. But, no matter what, the artists painted in their own ways. Today they are known as great artists.

See for yourself. Look at their pictures. Then create your own art. Print a feeling face, or make a colourful mask. Sculpt a person out of clay, or paint a moody sky. You can express any feeling in art, even scary or sad ones. Your art can be as strange or unique as you want it to be. Picture how you feel – and let your imagination run free!



Jackson Pollock, Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952,
enamel and aluminium paint with glass on canvas,
212.9 x 488.95cm

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dreikurs 4 Reasons for Misbehaviour, and Ways to Address Them

Leadership model According to Dreikurs, behaviour is as a result of meeting one of four unmet needs: attention, power, revenge or inadequacy. Your challenge this week is to practice having a "chat" with a friend, child, student, spouse...random. Ask your volunteer to act as the student in one of the four scenarios in the discussion below. Try to use Dreikurs approach to "diagnose" the unmet need, then redress it using the guidelines here. Good Luck! Attention seeking behaviour Student needs to be noticed…will start small and if ignored, get bigger… While it is happening: Avoid responding how the student wants you to. Avoid scolding / nagging. Ignore, verbally and non verbally. Reinforce good behaviour by providing attention The chat: Do you know why you…? I would like to tell you what I think… Could it be that you want me to notice you more? Could it be that you want me to do something special for you? Cou...
Read more

Worksheet: A Surrealist Classroom Activity

Image
Seeing Double: Make Art Inspired by Dali Take a close look at Dali’s painting The Persistence of Memory . Many things can be seen in different ways. At first the clocks might appear to be melting. Or maybe they are made of soft rubber or floppy pancakes! Some people see the strange object in the middle of the picture as a horse with a clock for a saddle. Others see it as a duck, or a platypus, a blanket or a funny face. Even the cliffs in the background might look like animal shapes. Stretch your imagination as you make your own dream place filled with pictures. Equipment Magazines Scissors Glue Paper 1. Make the place . Paste paper or a magazine image across the bottom of your picture for the ground. 2. Trick the eye . Cut out magazine pictures of things that can stand in for something else. For example, wheels might be made of round clocks, a car might be made out of a mobile phone. Here are some ideas : Make a sun out of something really strange. Show a ...
Read more

Viking Lesson Assessment Rubric

criteria HD- excellent CR- good PP- fair NN- poor Use of reading resources and note taking process Student showed a high level of competency when reading and understanding reading resources. High quality and number of relevant notes taken from resources. Constant acknowledgement and referral to guiding question during the note taking process. Student showed a reasonable level of competency when reading and understanding reading resources. Numerous relevant notes taken from resources. Mostly acknowledged the guiding question during the note taking process. Student showed competency when reading. Numerous notes taken from resources. Occasionally acknowledged the guiding question during the note taking process. Student failed to understand or finish reading resources provided. Few or no notes taken from reading resources. Guiding question not acknowledged in the researc...
Read more