Realism or abstract?

This Learning Unit is about art movements during the Modernist era in Europe. By the end of this Learning Unit, children will know the difference between realistic and abstract painting, and understand the influence photography had on painting. After learning about the theory, students will revisit their self-portrait, this time making an abstract portrait instead of a realistic one.

Format

Game
Group work
Hands on activity

Age

What

The possible connections with your curriculum

Art
Design

Who

The people who take up the teacher role

Teacher

Where

The locations where learning takes place

Classroom

With

The community stakeholders to collaborate with

Ready for action?

Resources

Downloadable Resources

Tangible Resources

paper, paints, brushes, water, table protection, modern art books, images of different style of modern art

Human Resources

Art teacher (optional)

Preparation

Prepare painting materials; prepare ‘Realism or Abstract’ game cards.

Goals, messages & concepts

Specific goals

To learn about different art movements during the Modernist era in Europe.
To understand the difference between abstraction and realism in art.
To experiment with realism and abstraction, exploring how far you can abstract a portrait and still have a portrait.

Specific messages

You can see the influence photography had on painting by the way that abstract artistic styles flourished during the Modernist era.
Be creative and make conscious decisions as a modern artist.

Main terms

art history
Modernism
abstract
realism
expressionism
fauvism
cubism
surrealism
futurism
dada

Practices & skills

STEM practices

Analysing and interpreting data
Asking questions and defining problems

Soft skills

Learning failure is a part of learning
Teamwork and collaboration

Management skills

Course of activity

step 1

Reflect on the previous class, what was learnt from producing self-portraits and analysing different approaches. Introduce them to different Modernist artistic movements and look at examples. Emphasize the connection between technological developments in photography and the flourishing of abstract artistic movements.

step 2

Explain what realism and abstraction mean, and explore them by playing a game called ‘Realism or Abstract’. Working in pairs, give students pictures of realistic and abstract art of different mediums and styles, and ask them to categorise them (see Appendix 3).

step 3

Create an abstract self-portrait painting, considering the different styles of art looked at so far in the lesson. Discuss what can be represented through abstract form, such as emotion and personality.

step 4

Reflect on the drawings, exploring how far you can abstract a portrait and still have a portrait.

step 5

Explain the homework to collecting egg boxes for the next lesson.