Aboriginal Art-Spiritual Nature
X-Ray Animal and Dreamsite Paintings
Second Grade, 2-3 Weeks
This unit provides students with the opportunity to explore the beliefs and artistic techniques of the Aboriginal people of Australia. Students will apply new drawing and painting techniques, build upon previously acquired skills, and apply knowledge learned in art history lectures about Aboriginal art and culture. Students should be able to create unique illustrations of a selection of stories, and be able to relate the message of the text visually to tell a story.
Relationship to Life
Students in the second grade will be learning about different cultures and their art, crafts and mythologies. Students will be applying this knowledge to other units of study involving geography, literature studies, and history. Students can use knowledge of other, more familiar societies such as the Native Americans or Ancient Greeks, and make comparisons and informed decisions about the importance of nature, the family unit, and tradition in ancient cultures. Students will be able to apply personal knowledge and interests into their artwork to enable personal voices.
Problem/Activity Statement
Students are presented with the challenge of studying Aboriginal X-ray paintings of animals and Dreamsite paintings and creating their own artwork, using their ability to draw and paint using personal marks in order to establish a personal voice in their work. Students are encouraged to create work that reflects personal interests, family history and tradition, current journeys and experiences.
For the first lesson, students are assigned to create a simplified drawing of an animal that utilizes several aboriginal art techniques, including camouflage-patterns, a limited palette and the X-ray technique. Students will solve creating problems by creating a simplified, abstracted animal, and by experimenting with color and mark making to camouflage their animals.
For the second lesson, students must create a dreamsite painting using the symbols found in aboriginal art, as well as symbols created by the student to represent personal landmarks, people, and emotions. The dreamsite paintings must utilize mark making used in the previous project, as well as incorporate a limited palette to reflect materials used by the Aborigines. Students will learn the importance of preparatory work and planning, as well as the need to make decisions and be willing to make changes or discard unsuccessful experiments.
Goals
Students should:
Understand: The meanings of artistic works by explaining how the subject matter and/or form reflect the events, ideas, religions, and customs of people living at a particular time in history
(MACF Standard 6)
Know: The art making processes necessary to design and create their object.
(MACF Standard: 4)
The relationship between purpose, meaning and principles of design in an object. (MACF Standards: 2 and 6)
Be Able to: apply knowledge of other disciplines in learning in and about the arts
(MACF Standard 10)
Produce/construct an object that enables personal voices.
(MACF Standard: 1)
Invent either a functional and/or expressive personal response.
(MCAF Standard: 3)
Objectives
Demonstrate an understanding of ways artists plan thematic compositions.
Analyze and apply thematic compositional approaches used by Aboriginal.
Identify and use ideas and skills of Aboriginal artists to make a personal style in one’s own drawing.
Use a variety of techniques to apply the formal qualities of art.
Utilize Elements of Design: asymmetrical compositions, simplified shapes, bold, flat colors, contrast between large, simple spaces and areas of complex patterns and textures, contrast between curved and straight lines, and unusual points of view.
Instructional Concepts
“When I paint I feel that I’m tapping into things that are totally universal, completely beyond my ego and my own self.” Keith Haring (Art and Man, Scholastic Art p. 11)
“An artist has to experiment. He or she should explore different techniques, different styles, and try new things. Even if you’re doing something you’ve done before, do it in a different way. I think it’s important to try more things so you don’t limit yourself as an artist. It’s not easy to experiment. I’m afraid of it myself, I have to admit. There’s always that feat that things may not look right if you let go. But just because a painting looks different, doesn’t mean it’s bad.” Jimmy Yuen (Art and Man, Scholastic Art, p. 12)
Line can be thick, thin or curved.
Line can be used to invent forms.
Color can be changed by mixing.
Color can be used for emphasis in a composition.
Texture can be used to create surface variety.
Space can be achieved through the variation of size, shape and placement.
Form can be identified by the use of surrounding objects in the environment.
Balance can be achieved through the arrangement of line, shape, color, texture, and shape or form within a composition.
Emphasis can be achieved through outlining.
Unity can be achieved through the repetition of line, shape, color, texture, and space of form in a composition.
Rhythm can be achieved by varying the size of a line, color, texture, shape and form.
Previsualization and working from memory and imagination helps children develop their schema for drawing.
Introducing children to art develops their visual awareness and provides a springboard for personal image making.
Narrative strategies help student artists develop ideas related to duration and changes in time.
Drawing from observation helps students develop perceptive skills such as those used to define edges, and background and object shapes and spaces.
Resources and Materials
Materials: Exemplars:
Sketch paper Squid and Turtle Dreamings, 1972. Liwukang Bukurlatjpi.
Colored Paper Ceremonial Ground at Kulkuta, 1981. Anatjari Tjampitjinpa.
Carbon Paper Teacher Exemplars
Pencils
Colored Pencils
Tempura Paint
Brown Paper
Motivation
The teacher will have prepared one example, and will also show students authentic Aboriginal artwork from the visual reference library. The teacher could potentially have a guest speaker to lead a discussion of the sacred beliefs of Aboriginal culture, and how this culture has been threatened by modern man and almost wiped out. The discussion will also include personal experiences from the guest speaker about encountering sacred sites and ceremonies. These exemplars and stories will give students a foundation to base their compositions and content on.
The teacher will engage the students in assembling composition and content of camouflaged animal and dream paintings by Aborigines. For the first project, students will choose an animal, and strive to render their image using simplified shapes and line. Students will then experiment with mark making and color to achieve a desired composition. The teacher will do a demonstration of the drawing process. For the second project, students will use the knowledge acquired from the previous lesson and from the class discussion to create a personal dreamsite painting to reflect individual beliefs and symbols, using simplified shapes, line, dots and a limited palette.
Questions
Topic Questions:
Demonstration
The teacher will first show master paintings and personal work to the class. The teacher will ask students to find similarities and differences between the works and discuss similarities and differences in technique, circumstance, composition, subject, and if these differences created success. The teacher will then discuss materials used and go over any unknown vocabulary. The teacher will follow this discussion with a demonstration of how to properly create marks with colored pencils or paint, considering size and spacing, and encourage students to practice first before making their final drawings.
Students will make preliminary sketches and render images using line only. When students’ drawings have been approved, they will transfer images onto their final paper and outline their drawings. Students will then choose a limited color palette and fill the rest of the picture plane with marks.
Vocabulary:
Contour Line: A line that outlines the shape of an image.
Picture Plane: The flat surface onto which a drawing or painting is created. Abstract: Art that emphasizes lines, colors, generalized or geometric forms; something that concentrates in itself the essential qualities of anything more extensive or more general, or of several things, i.e. the essence.
Palette: A given, finite set of colors which may or may not follow guidelines or color theories.
Camouflage: A method of concealment that allows otherwise visible objects to remain unnoticed by blending with their environment or resembling something else.
X-Ray: A diagnostic method that enables one to see inner bones or organs.
Composition- How a picture is arranged. There are two image orientations, landscape- when the paper is wider than it is tall- and portrait- when the paper is taller than it is wide. It is important to remember balance, unity, rhythm, and movement when creating a composition in order to achieve an interesting, well-planned image.
Dreamsite (Dreaming) Paintings- Dreamtime or Creation Time is the period when Baayama (God) and his ancestral Spirit Deity created and helps to shape the world we know today. Dreamtime Stories are unique to an individual area describing the creation of the land its geographic conjures and waterways. These stories also tell of the creation of all living creatures.
Distribution
For the first project of the unit, students will be given newsprint to practice sketching abstract animals from the packets handed out to each student. Students will also be provided access to the visual reference library, from which they can select their animal reference image. Students will be asked to write their names on both pictures, and save them together for next class. Once students have completed their sketches, students will be able to choose a colored piece of construction paper. Once students transfer their images, colored pencils will be placed around the classroom. Students can choose a color palette to work with.
For the second project in the unit, students will be provided with sketch paper to plan their dreamsite paintings. Once students have completed their sketch, which should include different symbols to represent a journey and specific geographic site, students will be provided with final paper, tempura paint and paintbrushes.
Work period
Lesson 1
On the first day, students will be engaged in a discussion about Aboriginal artwork with the teacher and the guest speaker. The class will discuss the importance of artwork in aboriginal culture, and how their artwork reflects aboriginal values and beliefs. The teacher will show the students examples or authentic aboriginal artwork, and will also show students a teacher example. The class will discuss mark making techniques and different symbols that are included, and how students might adapt these symbols for contemporary themes. The teacher introduce the students to the animal x-ray project, and talk about why an x-ray picture would be important for a society reliant on the natural surroundings. Students will be instructed to choose an animal, and should try to draw the animal using simple shapes. Students must make decisions of what x-ray information to include in order to highlight the important features of their animal.
Lessons 2-4
On the second day, students must complete their sketches. Once students have completed their preliminary drawings, students will be instructed to make final drawings on colored paper. Students must first draw their animals in pencil, and will then fill their animals with patterns and marks with colored pencil. Students must also make decisions about what background their animal should be in. Students should strive to camouflage their drawings, making sure to incorporate similar marks and colors used in the animal in the background as well.
Lesson 5
In the beginning of the fifth lesson, the teacher will lead a discussion about the Dreaming, or the myth of the creation of Earth according to the Aborigines. The teacher will explain the purpose of dreamsite paintings in aboriginal culture, and the importance and power of geographic sites in aboriginal beliefs. The teacher will ask students to identify symbols and marks used in dreamsite paintings, encouraging comparisons between the x-ray paintings and dreamsite paintings to be made. The teacher will help students think of different geographical features that might be important to include in their own paintings, and how to represent these features using symbolism. The students will be instructed to start sketching ideas for a dreamsite painting that is unique to their personal experiences.
Lessons 6-8
Students will continue working on their sketches of their dreamsite images. Once students have finished their sketches, students must redraw their images onto brown paper using pencil. Students must make decisions about which colors to include in their limited natural palettes, and they must then paint their dreamsite images using the end of a paintbrush to make appropriate marks. Students must be able to identify parts of their paintings and explain what the different symbols are intended to represent.
Clean-up
At the end of each class, students must make sure their names are on their projects. Projects with wet paint must be placed on the drying rack and will be returned to the students the next class period. Materials such as colored pencils, pencils and rulers should be returned to their proper place. Students are responsible for washing their own brushes and palettes.
Closure
The teacher will go over what should have been accomplished by the end of the class, and what will be expected of each student during their next meeting. The teacher will review where materials and projects should be put away, and the class will be dismissed.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated based on their understanding of procedure and of concepts. Students are expected to complete preliminary sketches before moving on to their final drawings. The sketches should demonstrate ability in line drawing. Students should have rendered an animal using line, colors and patterns to describe space and form. Students should have been able to utilize knowledge from their animal drawings to inform the creation of a dreamsite painting, and should have included line, colors and patterns to represent important geographical landmarks and personal journeys. Final drawings and paintings will be evaluated based on the student’s ability to draw using simple shapes, their choice of colors in relation to their subject, the use of pattern, and final composition.
Did the students…
Did the students create a contour line drawing of an animal with an Aboriginal motif, considering composition (balance, unity, movement, etc?)
Did the students use line effectively to describe form and space?
Did the students use colors and patterns to camouflage their animal?
Did the students show experimentation and risk taking with color?
Did the students create a dreamsite painting using personal symbols based on aboriginal motifs, considering composition (balance, unity, movement, etc?)
Did the students use line effectively to describe form and space?
Did the students use colors and patterns to highlight landmarks?
Did the students show experimentation and risk taking with color and patterning?
X-Ray Animal and Dreamsite Paintings
Second Grade, 2-3 Weeks
This unit provides students with the opportunity to explore the beliefs and artistic techniques of the Aboriginal people of Australia. Students will apply new drawing and painting techniques, build upon previously acquired skills, and apply knowledge learned in art history lectures about Aboriginal art and culture. Students should be able to create unique illustrations of a selection of stories, and be able to relate the message of the text visually to tell a story.
Relationship to Life
Students in the second grade will be learning about different cultures and their art, crafts and mythologies. Students will be applying this knowledge to other units of study involving geography, literature studies, and history. Students can use knowledge of other, more familiar societies such as the Native Americans or Ancient Greeks, and make comparisons and informed decisions about the importance of nature, the family unit, and tradition in ancient cultures. Students will be able to apply personal knowledge and interests into their artwork to enable personal voices.
Problem/Activity Statement
Students are presented with the challenge of studying Aboriginal X-ray paintings of animals and Dreamsite paintings and creating their own artwork, using their ability to draw and paint using personal marks in order to establish a personal voice in their work. Students are encouraged to create work that reflects personal interests, family history and tradition, current journeys and experiences.
For the first lesson, students are assigned to create a simplified drawing of an animal that utilizes several aboriginal art techniques, including camouflage-patterns, a limited palette and the X-ray technique. Students will solve creating problems by creating a simplified, abstracted animal, and by experimenting with color and mark making to camouflage their animals.
For the second lesson, students must create a dreamsite painting using the symbols found in aboriginal art, as well as symbols created by the student to represent personal landmarks, people, and emotions. The dreamsite paintings must utilize mark making used in the previous project, as well as incorporate a limited palette to reflect materials used by the Aborigines. Students will learn the importance of preparatory work and planning, as well as the need to make decisions and be willing to make changes or discard unsuccessful experiments.
Goals
Students should:
Understand: The meanings of artistic works by explaining how the subject matter and/or form reflect the events, ideas, religions, and customs of people living at a particular time in history
(MACF Standard 6)
Know: The art making processes necessary to design and create their object.
(MACF Standard: 4)
The relationship between purpose, meaning and principles of design in an object. (MACF Standards: 2 and 6)
Be Able to: apply knowledge of other disciplines in learning in and about the arts
(MACF Standard 10)
Produce/construct an object that enables personal voices.
(MACF Standard: 1)
Invent either a functional and/or expressive personal response.
(MCAF Standard: 3)
Objectives
Demonstrate an understanding of ways artists plan thematic compositions.
Analyze and apply thematic compositional approaches used by Aboriginal.
Identify and use ideas and skills of Aboriginal artists to make a personal style in one’s own drawing.
Use a variety of techniques to apply the formal qualities of art.
Utilize Elements of Design: asymmetrical compositions, simplified shapes, bold, flat colors, contrast between large, simple spaces and areas of complex patterns and textures, contrast between curved and straight lines, and unusual points of view.
Instructional Concepts
“When I paint I feel that I’m tapping into things that are totally universal, completely beyond my ego and my own self.” Keith Haring (Art and Man, Scholastic Art p. 11)
“An artist has to experiment. He or she should explore different techniques, different styles, and try new things. Even if you’re doing something you’ve done before, do it in a different way. I think it’s important to try more things so you don’t limit yourself as an artist. It’s not easy to experiment. I’m afraid of it myself, I have to admit. There’s always that feat that things may not look right if you let go. But just because a painting looks different, doesn’t mean it’s bad.” Jimmy Yuen (Art and Man, Scholastic Art, p. 12)
Line can be thick, thin or curved.
Line can be used to invent forms.
Color can be changed by mixing.
Color can be used for emphasis in a composition.
Texture can be used to create surface variety.
Space can be achieved through the variation of size, shape and placement.
Form can be identified by the use of surrounding objects in the environment.
Balance can be achieved through the arrangement of line, shape, color, texture, and shape or form within a composition.
Emphasis can be achieved through outlining.
Unity can be achieved through the repetition of line, shape, color, texture, and space of form in a composition.
Rhythm can be achieved by varying the size of a line, color, texture, shape and form.
Previsualization and working from memory and imagination helps children develop their schema for drawing.
Introducing children to art develops their visual awareness and provides a springboard for personal image making.
Narrative strategies help student artists develop ideas related to duration and changes in time.
Drawing from observation helps students develop perceptive skills such as those used to define edges, and background and object shapes and spaces.
Resources and Materials
Materials: Exemplars:
Sketch paper Squid and Turtle Dreamings, 1972. Liwukang Bukurlatjpi.
Colored Paper Ceremonial Ground at Kulkuta, 1981. Anatjari Tjampitjinpa.
Carbon Paper Teacher Exemplars
Pencils
Colored Pencils
Tempura Paint
Brown Paper
Motivation
The teacher will have prepared one example, and will also show students authentic Aboriginal artwork from the visual reference library. The teacher could potentially have a guest speaker to lead a discussion of the sacred beliefs of Aboriginal culture, and how this culture has been threatened by modern man and almost wiped out. The discussion will also include personal experiences from the guest speaker about encountering sacred sites and ceremonies. These exemplars and stories will give students a foundation to base their compositions and content on.
The teacher will engage the students in assembling composition and content of camouflaged animal and dream paintings by Aborigines. For the first project, students will choose an animal, and strive to render their image using simplified shapes and line. Students will then experiment with mark making and color to achieve a desired composition. The teacher will do a demonstration of the drawing process. For the second project, students will use the knowledge acquired from the previous lesson and from the class discussion to create a personal dreamsite painting to reflect individual beliefs and symbols, using simplified shapes, line, dots and a limited palette.
Questions
Topic Questions:
- Why was the point of view of Aboriginal art drawn from above?
- How does Aboriginal art use pattern and color to describe the forces of nature and life?
- How have modern artists continued using ancient Aboriginal traditions in their work?
- Is Aboriginal art reminiscent of any other type of art you might have seen? Why do you think that is?
- Why might artists continue to utilize traditional materials, technique and subject matter when doing Aboriginal-style artwork?
- How can line, color and pattern be manipulated to create depth and space on a 2-D surface?
- How might manipulation of color or texture in a drawing change the meaning or feeling of an image?
- Why is it important to use color and pattern when drawing subjects from nature?
- What Elements and Principles of Design are most important to remember when creating an image using line and pattern?
- What information is important to include in an animal drawing, and what information can be left out?
- What other symbols would be uniquely important for an individual to include when drawing a picture of an animal?
- What information is important to include in a dreamsite painting, and what information can be left out?
- What other symbols would be uniquely important for an individual to include in a personal dreamsite painting?
Demonstration
The teacher will first show master paintings and personal work to the class. The teacher will ask students to find similarities and differences between the works and discuss similarities and differences in technique, circumstance, composition, subject, and if these differences created success. The teacher will then discuss materials used and go over any unknown vocabulary. The teacher will follow this discussion with a demonstration of how to properly create marks with colored pencils or paint, considering size and spacing, and encourage students to practice first before making their final drawings.
Students will make preliminary sketches and render images using line only. When students’ drawings have been approved, they will transfer images onto their final paper and outline their drawings. Students will then choose a limited color palette and fill the rest of the picture plane with marks.
Vocabulary:
Contour Line: A line that outlines the shape of an image.
Picture Plane: The flat surface onto which a drawing or painting is created. Abstract: Art that emphasizes lines, colors, generalized or geometric forms; something that concentrates in itself the essential qualities of anything more extensive or more general, or of several things, i.e. the essence.
Palette: A given, finite set of colors which may or may not follow guidelines or color theories.
Camouflage: A method of concealment that allows otherwise visible objects to remain unnoticed by blending with their environment or resembling something else.
X-Ray: A diagnostic method that enables one to see inner bones or organs.
Composition- How a picture is arranged. There are two image orientations, landscape- when the paper is wider than it is tall- and portrait- when the paper is taller than it is wide. It is important to remember balance, unity, rhythm, and movement when creating a composition in order to achieve an interesting, well-planned image.
Dreamsite (Dreaming) Paintings- Dreamtime or Creation Time is the period when Baayama (God) and his ancestral Spirit Deity created and helps to shape the world we know today. Dreamtime Stories are unique to an individual area describing the creation of the land its geographic conjures and waterways. These stories also tell of the creation of all living creatures.
Distribution
For the first project of the unit, students will be given newsprint to practice sketching abstract animals from the packets handed out to each student. Students will also be provided access to the visual reference library, from which they can select their animal reference image. Students will be asked to write their names on both pictures, and save them together for next class. Once students have completed their sketches, students will be able to choose a colored piece of construction paper. Once students transfer their images, colored pencils will be placed around the classroom. Students can choose a color palette to work with.
For the second project in the unit, students will be provided with sketch paper to plan their dreamsite paintings. Once students have completed their sketch, which should include different symbols to represent a journey and specific geographic site, students will be provided with final paper, tempura paint and paintbrushes.
Work period
Lesson 1
On the first day, students will be engaged in a discussion about Aboriginal artwork with the teacher and the guest speaker. The class will discuss the importance of artwork in aboriginal culture, and how their artwork reflects aboriginal values and beliefs. The teacher will show the students examples or authentic aboriginal artwork, and will also show students a teacher example. The class will discuss mark making techniques and different symbols that are included, and how students might adapt these symbols for contemporary themes. The teacher introduce the students to the animal x-ray project, and talk about why an x-ray picture would be important for a society reliant on the natural surroundings. Students will be instructed to choose an animal, and should try to draw the animal using simple shapes. Students must make decisions of what x-ray information to include in order to highlight the important features of their animal.
Lessons 2-4
On the second day, students must complete their sketches. Once students have completed their preliminary drawings, students will be instructed to make final drawings on colored paper. Students must first draw their animals in pencil, and will then fill their animals with patterns and marks with colored pencil. Students must also make decisions about what background their animal should be in. Students should strive to camouflage their drawings, making sure to incorporate similar marks and colors used in the animal in the background as well.
Lesson 5
In the beginning of the fifth lesson, the teacher will lead a discussion about the Dreaming, or the myth of the creation of Earth according to the Aborigines. The teacher will explain the purpose of dreamsite paintings in aboriginal culture, and the importance and power of geographic sites in aboriginal beliefs. The teacher will ask students to identify symbols and marks used in dreamsite paintings, encouraging comparisons between the x-ray paintings and dreamsite paintings to be made. The teacher will help students think of different geographical features that might be important to include in their own paintings, and how to represent these features using symbolism. The students will be instructed to start sketching ideas for a dreamsite painting that is unique to their personal experiences.
Lessons 6-8
Students will continue working on their sketches of their dreamsite images. Once students have finished their sketches, students must redraw their images onto brown paper using pencil. Students must make decisions about which colors to include in their limited natural palettes, and they must then paint their dreamsite images using the end of a paintbrush to make appropriate marks. Students must be able to identify parts of their paintings and explain what the different symbols are intended to represent.
Clean-up
At the end of each class, students must make sure their names are on their projects. Projects with wet paint must be placed on the drying rack and will be returned to the students the next class period. Materials such as colored pencils, pencils and rulers should be returned to their proper place. Students are responsible for washing their own brushes and palettes.
Closure
The teacher will go over what should have been accomplished by the end of the class, and what will be expected of each student during their next meeting. The teacher will review where materials and projects should be put away, and the class will be dismissed.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated based on their understanding of procedure and of concepts. Students are expected to complete preliminary sketches before moving on to their final drawings. The sketches should demonstrate ability in line drawing. Students should have rendered an animal using line, colors and patterns to describe space and form. Students should have been able to utilize knowledge from their animal drawings to inform the creation of a dreamsite painting, and should have included line, colors and patterns to represent important geographical landmarks and personal journeys. Final drawings and paintings will be evaluated based on the student’s ability to draw using simple shapes, their choice of colors in relation to their subject, the use of pattern, and final composition.
Did the students…
Did the students create a contour line drawing of an animal with an Aboriginal motif, considering composition (balance, unity, movement, etc?)
Did the students use line effectively to describe form and space?
Did the students use colors and patterns to camouflage their animal?
Did the students show experimentation and risk taking with color?
Did the students create a dreamsite painting using personal symbols based on aboriginal motifs, considering composition (balance, unity, movement, etc?)
Did the students use line effectively to describe form and space?
Did the students use colors and patterns to highlight landmarks?
Did the students show experimentation and risk taking with color and patterning?