I try really really really really really really hard not to let my biases get in the way of my lesson plans and what I am teaching in class. But with this lesson, that didn't seem to happen. :(
I did not want to teach a lesson on Matisse. I, personally, don't care for Fauvism or Matisse and never did as a kid. Sure, the colors are pretty but, I preferred the vivacious brush marks of Impressionisms over the flatness of Fauvism. However, the art camp I am working for this summer had advertised that Matisse would be included in this Mini-Masters series this week so I reluctantly included this project.
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I am sure there are a lot of art teachers out there who can flawlessly teach Fauvism and Henri Matisse-inspired lessons in their classes, but I am not one of those educators.. at least not yet. :) My issue with teaching Fauvism to elementary school kids is that I personally believe that the only real thing that the students are learning from this art style is that these artists use bright colors and a lot of shapes. Of course, this wasn't all Fauvism was about. However, these are the main things that the kids are getting out of the lessons. Not to mention, recreating a work that already looks a bit childish will then create a mediocre project that students take home and don't really recall any true methods in creating that said art piece. Sure, it's fun to paint, but what are we really getting out of this project?
Now, I know my above statement has a lot of my art historian criticism coming out, but I've witnessed these effects over and over again, not only through my internship this summer, but also in previous teaching positions I've held in the past.
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I searched high and low for a lesson plan that would be something fun, creative, and different for the students to truly learn about Matisse and Fauvism. Eventually, I settled on re-creating his "Purple Robe With Anemones" using acrylic paint. Hello messy art day #2.
We started off the project as usual. I took over the beginning of the lesson by devoting 5-10 minutes talking about Matisse's life as an artist and discussing Fauvism with the students. We looked through about 5 different works of art that he created during his lifetime. I explained how Matisse (and other Fauves like him) used bright colors and also flat brushstrokes. I could see the look of wonderment on some students' faces as they stared at the paintings I projected on the screen. Some students were interested in his work, that's for sure. Others, however, were getting a bit antsy during this art history lesson. Though, one restless student was able to relate to Matisse by explaining how he had a dog named Henry at home who just so happened to be a Maltese breed. Hey, if there's any way a student can relate to the artist of the day by using their actual experiences, I'll take it.
After the art history lesson, the head teacher took over and began the actual art making process. Beforehand, she had drawn out the entire image of the lady in a purple robe using pencil. Because she thought that the details would be a lot for the kids to take on by themselves, she had also colored in using crayons the different areas of the canvas so that students knew which areas were certain colors. Looking back, I'm glad she had this idea because, had we not done this, the art lesson would've been messier and confusing for students, especially for the younger ones.
The head teacher began dividing up the lesson by doing each shape first and doing the next using different colors. This way, the students would be able to stay on the same page as everyone else while also giving us teachers the ability to walk around and examine each step.
Once students had filled in every inch of their canvas with the corresponding colors of paints, it was time to end the lesson. I had imagined the lesson would take an hour and in actuality, we went over by 15 minutes. And it wasn't hard to tell that the kids were getting tired and needed a break. Try telling a 5 year old to finish up a project and you're in for a rude (literally rude and bratty awakening).
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At the end of the day, the lesson seemed a bit mediocre for my taste. I loved how the students got a chance to work with acrylic paint and experiment different ways that they can use the paint brushes to fill in various forms in their works. But, the final product wasn't really their own work.
Take a look at this painting:
Me and my fellow teaching artist were asked by our head art teacher to finish up the students' paintings while the kids were on a recess break. At first, the head art teacher asked me to simply outline the major shapes (the woman, the robe, the vase, the flowers, etc.) using black paint. Reluctantly, I agreed. She then asked me to clean up the shapes and "add definition" by going into the sold areas using the black paint. So, I added in a few lines here, some lines over there... I even outlined the children's designs in the background as well. Throughout all of this, I felt horrible. I felt guilty. As I stood over the rows of Matisse-inspired paintings each student had done, I just thought to myself, "everything looks the same."
And with this, I think I have begun to discover what my issue is with teaching summer art camps. More shall be explained later....
3 down, 2 more to go...
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