Today we watched a video about artist Jacob Lawrence and wrote 15 facts we learned about him and his art. After the video, we each shared the facts we found interesting. We also talked about the Italian Renaissance, noting the "rebirth" of intellect, creativity, and the pursuit of knowledge during this time. We connected those ideas to the "rebirth" of the African American community in Harlem which involved not only artists, but also writers, poets, musicians, and intellectuals.
We discussed the Harlem Renaissance artists' interest in depicting the lives and stories of both prominent figures in African American history, as well as those of everday people. Jacob Lawrence was especially intersted in this type of 'Historical Narrative' and 'genre' painting. Check out this collection of links for more info!After copying a list of Harlem Renaissance artists' information into our sketchbooks, we chose partners for our Art Criticism Wiki project. Each group of students will complete a 4-paragraph Art Critique on a work of art by the Harlem Renaissance artist of their choice. Following the steps and instructions given on the wiki and in class, groups will design and create an original wiki page to present their critique. This week students will be given time in the library to gather information and images needed for the critique, as well as working in class with partners to write and prepare the information to place on wiki. Students will hopefully be ready to present their group wikis to class Friday!
Sketchbook assignment #5 (due Wednesday, as always) was also clarified. Students compared this assignment to the Shape & Pattern drawing they made in week 2 as an example of a non-objective drawing. Students were reminded that this week's homework also requires a writing exercise.
