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I. Chuck Close: Preparation for a Visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Introduction

In this lesson, students will be prepared for a visit to the Chuck Close exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts by learning about the theoretical aspects of the artist’s work and by reviewing field trip protocol.

90 Minute Block AI31: The student will speculate on the intentions and choices of those who created a work of

art.

Cognitive Objectives

Students will identify relationships between Chuck Close’s work and the artistic movements of Photorealism, Conceptual Art, Minimalism, and Process Art.

Students will emulate Chuck Close’s artistic process as a method of understanding his work.

Students will compare the artist’s declared intentions (as seen through quotes) to their own initial reactions to his work.

Materials and Advanced Preparation

An 8x10” photograph of each student that has been gridded into 1” squares, and 8”10 paper with just the grid in pencil (both completed in previous class).

Copies of the Entrance Ticket Computer and digital projector Drawing pencils

Teaching and Learning Sequence

Introduction/ Anticipatory Set (15 minutes) The teacher will provide students with entrance tickets; they will have roughly

five minutes to complete them before class discussion begins. The teacher will ask students to share their answers, explaining that at the

moment, we are merely brainstorming as a class; there are no right or wrong answers at this point. More in-depth information related to the image will be provided in the presentation.

The teacher will ask if anyone knows which artist created the image before transitioning into the slideshow.

Lesson Development (50 minutes total) The teacher will begin the slideshow presentation and continue through the sixth

slide. The slides covered review the concepts of form and content (as prompted by a Close quote).

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The seventh slide has the same image as the first slide. The teacher will go over the questions on the entrance ticket, asking students who are already familiar with the work to refrain from answering questions at the moment. The fact that the image is a painting rather than a photograph will likely spark many more question (as anticipated in slideshow notes). Issues of form and content in the work are addressed.

The teacher will briefly discuss the Photorealist movements and show a few slides of other Photorealist works (slides 10-12), addressing general themes & topics of the movement, as well as the Photorealist grid method.

Stopping on the thirteenth slide, the teacher will ask students to pull out their gridded photographs and gridded paper.

With Chuck Close’s method in mind, students will work independently for thirty minutes, drawing one square at a time without paying attention to the whole image. The teacher will walk around, ensuring 1) that students remain on task and 2) that they are going about the exercise properly.

Whether or not the drawings are complete, the class will return to the slideshow after thirty minutes have passed and reflect on the technique they have just practiced. The teacher will ask a few questions based on the experience (for example, “What is your relationship to the image when drawing in this manner? Do you feel more connected to the subject through closely paying attention to minute details, or do you feel distanced due to the systematic nature of the process?)

The teacher will continue with the slideshow presentation, looking at Close’s work in relation to other artists of the Modern and Postmodern period both through his artwork and his professed ideas about art.

The teacher will show images of Close’s recent photographs and grid paintings, informing students that they will view similar pieces in the museum and asking them to begin to think about what sets this new work apart from the pieces we’ve looked at more closely in class.

Closure (25 minutes)

The teacher will prepare students for the upcoming field trip:o Ask questions about the role of art museums.o Discuss the importance of viewing original works rather than

reproductions.o Instruct students to keep an open mind and encourage them to be curious:

ask and answer questions!o Go over the trip itinerary and stress important things to bring.o Discuss important rules: those of the class as well as the museum’s rules.

Homework

Students will spend an additional thirty minutes on the sketchbook exercise started in class. Inform students that the drawing should be near completion, but

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can still retain a “sketchy” appearance; it does not need have to be so worked that it looks like a photograph. As students will need their sketchbooks on the field trip, the assignment will not be collected until the class following the field trip.

Formative Assessment

During the PowerPoint presentation and class discussion, the teacher will mark when a student seriously answers a question or poses a strong one of his or her own.

The teacher will gauge student’s strength at reading works of art by going over the entrance ticket within the slideshow.

The teacher will observe students as they work on their in-class assignment, ensuring that they are following directions and keeping on task.

Summative Assessment

The teacher will read the entrance tickets, marking them for completion and looking at students’ abilities to make inferences and criticisms in written form.

The teacher will grade the homework, ensuring that the drawings are further along than they were in class and taking note whether it is clear that directions were followed. It should be obvious if a student abandoned the grid technique and drew the image freehand.

References Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Website (http://vmfa.museum) Information from Chuck Close exhibit placards (retrieved in person) Google image search

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Name: Class/Block:

ENTRANCE TICKETObserve the projected image and answer the following questions:

1) At first glance, what materials do you think the artist used? (i.e. what is the medium?)

2) When do you think it was made?

3) What kind of effect does the image have on the viewer?

4) a) What emotion/attitude do you read from the subject’s expression?b) How do you draw such a conclusion? Think of the physical aspects of the subject– body language, self-presentation, position in relation to the viewer…

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FIELD TRIP INFORMATION

I. ITINERARY8:45 Meet at my classroom… We will gather all sketchbooks and lunches.9:10 Leave from bus ramp for VMFA.9:40 Arrive at VMFA. Check in.10:00 Chuck Close exhibit.11:00 Work on short assignment.11:15 Lunchtime/ Restroom11:45 Finish lunch/clean up; Pass out sketchbooks12:00 Guided tour of Modern & Contemporary permanent collection.1:00 Restroom break.1:05 Begin sketchbook assignment.2:00 Finishing assignment/ Gift shop2:40 On the bus and back to school!3:20 Arrival: class debriefing.3:45 Dismissal.

II. PROTOCOLS/ REMINDERS

1) Bring a bag lunch. Don’t bring anything that has to be refrigerated.2) Bring your sketchbook. We will be doing an exercise in it. DO NOT BRING

YOUR OWN PENS OR PENCILS. I will provide you with pencils at the site.3) If you have a camera, feel free to take it with you. Remember, though, that a) no

camera use is allowed at all in the Chuck Close exhibit and b) you cannot use the flash in any of the galleries.

4) Do not wander off from the group—we will have times for bathroom breaks so this should not be an excuse.

5) Keep a safe distance from the art. There is absolutely no touching allowed! Fingerprints over time can severely damage a work of art due to the natural oils on your skin. Horseplay in the galleries can lead to bumping or falling into a painting or sculpture, causing possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages! The works are precious. Treat them that way.

6) Be respectful of museum staff. Listen to whatever rules they have, and thank them for their help.

7) Be respectful of other museum visitors and tour groups. Only talk during the tour when answering questions. Outside of the tour, keep conversation at a quiet level (i.e. no shouting across a gallery!).

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II. Chuck Close: Museum Visit

Introduction

In this lesson, students will be visit the Museum of Fine Arts, learning about Chuck Close’s methods of production, career progression, and his place in Contemporary art. The field trip is planned for one high school Art I class of roughly twenty students.

Full day field trip. AI.1 The student will maintain a sketchbook/journal of ideas and writings to use as a

resource and planning tool. AI.17 The student will describe and analyze the function, purpose, and perceived

meanings of specific works of art studied. AI. 24: The student will describe criteria affecting quality in a work of art, including concept,

composition, technical skills, realization of perceived intentions, and the work of art as a whole.

Cognitive Objectives

Students will describe the relationships between Chuck Close’s older paintings and prints to his newer work in painting, photography, and alternative media.

Students will learn about other contemporary art movements and demonstrate an understanding of how Close’s work fits within or stands apart from them.

Students will identify other pieces in the Modern/Contemporary wing that relate to Close’s work thematically or formally, roughly draw their selections in their sketchbooks, and answer a few questions about the pieces.

Materials and Advanced Preparation

Student Sketchbooks Pencils Two chaperones briefed on the itinerary, rules, and student assignments.

Getting to the Museum

Students will report to the teacher’s classroom at the beginning of school (using Henrico’s schedule as a template- 8:45).

The teacher and chaperones will collect the students lunches and sketchbooks. The class will go to the bus at 9:00. The bus will leave for the VMFA at 9:10. If the bus is not too loud, the teacher will go over the rules again with the students

en route. If the bus is loud, the teacher will reiterate the rules quickly before the students get off.

The students will enter the Museum at the School Group entrance. While backpacks, purses, and coats have been discouraged before leaving, any

student with one will check their belongings. In the meantime, one chaperone will

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deliver the lunches and sketchbooks with a museum staff member to the reserved lunch area.

The teacher will lead the students to the Chuck Close exhibit. The chaperone who has dealt with the lunches and sketchbooks will return to the group with the help of a staff member.

Teacher-Guided Chuck Close Tour

Introduction/ Anticipatory Set (10 minutes) The teacher will begin a discussion, analysis, and activity on Close’s work. The teacher will ask students to scan the gallery space from where they are

standing and try to identify the mediums of the works that they can see. Many of the works will likely be tricky (as the painting was in the previous lesson).

The teacher will ask students: What might be some connections between the different mediums? Why might an artist work in more than one medium?

Lesson Development (40 minutes) The teacher will begin by looking at work that is familiar to the students from the

lecture: a large watercolor piece that appears to be a photograph. The teacher will allow students to get close to the painting. The teacher will

acknowledge the large-scale photographs in the room: why would Close paint such a huge portrait if he could just take a photograph? (Bit of a trick question... photographs could not be printed so large when the painting was made). Do they have a similar effect from a distance?

The teacher will direct the students towards an etching and a pastel piece that only depict the subject through variations of black and white (reminiscent of the "pulp" piece in the previous lecture). He will ask his students how they react to such a work in relation to the highly detailed paintings.

The teacher will guide students to the large-scale photographs in the room. What is their overall effect? Is the making of his previous photorealistic watercolors an obsolete option?

The teacher will discuss the concept of depth of field, asking: How is the image focused? What is highly visible and what is detailed?

The teacher will move to large, more recent paintings, where the individual, abstract grids work together to make a figurative hole. The teacher will bring up the quote addressed before in the previous class. Is Close abandoning his previous dislike for “emotional gestures”? Is “abstract” always analogous to “expressionistic”?

Closure (10 minutes)

The teacher will ask students to recall what movements of art Close can arguably fit into.

The teacher will remind students that they will be taking a tour on 20th and 21st century art after lunch; on the tour, look out for work that reminds you of Close in some way, whether through its likenesses or differences.

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Lunch

The teacher will lead students and chaperones to the lunch area (reserved in advance).

On the way, one chaperone will stay with students who need to use the restroom. Once in the lunch space, one chaperone will hand out lunches while the teacher

passes out pencils and sketchbooks to be used on the next tour. The teacher ensures that students clean up after themselves, and remind students

to follow the rules and be respectful on the tour with the museum guide.

Museum-Directed Tour on 20th and 21st Century Art/ Teacher-Developed Sketchbook Activity (Stretched over a period that also includes going to the gift shop and getting back to school)

Introduction/ Anticipatory Set (less than a minute) The teacher will thank the tour guide in advance and remind the tour-guide of our

focus for the day. (The tour will have already been discussed as one that corresponds with themes similar to those in Close’s work by requests made in the reservation and previous discussion with museum staff).

The teacher will ask students to listen carefully and respond to questions. Inform them that they are encouraged to take a few notes along the way as it will help them with an assignment after the tour is over.

Lesson Development (60 minutes for tour, 5 minute restroom intermission, 1 hour for sketchbook assignment, + gift shop and return time)

The museum guide will lead the students through the gallery. The teacher and chaperones will monitor students during the tour, preventing

distracting behavior and ensuring general decorum. If the tour guide has a difficult time getting students to answer, the teacher will

call on students, or help the guide reframe the question. Once the tour is done, the teacher will thank the tour guide for her help and lead

the class in a round of applause. The tour has ended near a restroom; anyone who needs to use the restroom has five minutes to do so.

The teacher will then describe the sketchbook assignment, providing an hour for students to pick a piece in the 21st century wing, sketch it, and answer a few questions about it. The students will be working independently. When they are finished, they must return to where we entered as a class (by the GIANT sculpture of a female head with a long braid)

The 21st century area is one, large, open space. The teacher and chaperones will hover around the entrances/exits of the area to ensure that students do not wander off.

Once most students have settled on a piece and are busy sketching, the teacher will leave his post and find students who seem to be at a loss, guiding them to find a piece they are interested in.

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Around 2, half the students will go to the gift shop with a chaperone and look around/ purchase items for 15 minutes (following the Museum’s policy). This will help stagger the classes exit and keep students who are fast workers from becoming bored (and thus, potentially rambunctious).

Around 2:15, the second group will go to the gift shop with a chaperone. The first will proceed towards the exit, picking up belongings and then wait near the bus pick-up area.

At 2:30 the second group will leave the gift shop and join the first, picking up any belongings they have left.

The teacher will perform a head count to be certain that no students are missing. The students will get on the bus around 2:40 to return to school.

Closure (20 minutes—between return to school and end of day) The teacher will ask students for a few things they learned today. The teacher will ask what their favorite piece of art was. The teacher will debrief students, telling them of the optional homework

assignment. The teacher will remind students to bring their sketchbooks the following period.

Homework

There is no required homework for the class. However, the teacher will encourage students to email a photograph of the work they have selected to sketch and write about to the teacher, along with their description of the piece, in order to receive a free homework pass.

Formative Assessment

Teacher will mark when a student seriously answers a question or poses a strong one of his or her own during the tours.

The teacher will gauge student’s strength at reading works of art through these questions and answers.

The teacher will observe students as they work on their sketchbook assignment, ensuring that they are following directions and keeping on task.

Summative Assessment

The teacher will collect the sketchbooks at the end of the next class and grade the sketchbook assignments from the museum, looking to see that students put in thought into their responses and effort into their drawings.

References Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Website (http://vmfa.museum) Information from Chuck Close exhibit placards (retrieved in person)

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III.Chuck Close and Pixel Art.

Introduction

       In this lesson, students will view Chuck Close’s methods in relation to artists throughout art history and in the contemporary visual language of pixels, leading to the development of pixel drawings.

        90 minute block.

        Standards of Learning, High School Art I:

o        AI.12 The student will describe connections among media, elements of art, principles of design, themes, and concepts found in historical and contemporary art.

o        AI.3 The student will produce works of art that demonstrate the experimental application of the elements of art and the principles of design.

Learning Objectives 

      Students will discuss the formal similarities between pixel art and previous color-focused methods of image construction through the pre-established lens of Chuck Close’s work.      Students will argue for or against deeming pixel art to be on the same level as the work of Chuck Close, exploring the binaries of high vs. low art, and art vs. entertainment.      Students will construct images with a limited palette of cubic units, a process that Chuck Close and pixel artists share.

 Teaching and Learning Sequence  Introduction/Anticipatory Set (20 minutes) 

The teacher will have the pictures and descriptions of works emailed by students complied in a PowerPoint before students enter.

As students enter, the teacher will provide them with an entrance ticket. Once the students have turned in their tickets, the teacher will direct attention to

the screen. Students who have provided images will be asked to share why they chose the piece, describing in what way they think it relates to Close’s work.

After a few students have shared their ideas, the teacher will ask students if they know of any other artists or art movements that relate to his work.

Lesson Development (20 minutes for video and disucussion; 35 minutes for drawing exercises)

The teacher will show “Pixel,” a documentary that links pixel/video game art to

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previous art movements. Upon completion of the video, the teacher will ask the students to recall the

narrator’s final points, recording their responses on the board. The teacher will ask the students to discuss whether they believe that “pixel” or “video game” art can be considered alongside Seurat, Roman murals, and the paintings of Chuck Close that we have seen, or if “pixel art” is a misnomer: that it can’t be called “art” at all. I will guide discussion towards what separates “pixel” or “video game art” from works that we traditionally call art: what we see in textbooks, on TV, on posters, or in museums, recording their answers in two columns on the board.  Questions to encourage thought include:

o In what ways is Chuck Close’s art and pixel art alike?o Is there a difference between “entertainment” and “art?”Are there any

works you saw in the museum that may also be in the same conflict?o If video games are an “entertainment” medium, can the style itself be used

in as an “art” form if it is used in a different way – such as a still image or a film?

I will ask students to think about these ideas as they proceed to make pixel portraits, using the styles of Chuck Close’s more recent paintings and that of pixel artists.

The teacher will provide students with grid paper and a variety of colored pencils, informing them that they will be creating portraits out of pixel-like blocks, analogous to Close’s first step in painting the more abstract paintings.

The teacher discuss the criteria of the drawing and pass them out in written form. The first drawing will have a time limit of fifteen minutes.

As the students draw, the teacher will move from table to table, observing. When time is up, the teacher will provide the students an altered set of criteria and

inform them that they will be given twenty minutes to draw the second portrait (which will be based on the first).

The teacher will once again move from table to table, this time offering suggestions to students and providing feedback on their progress.

Closure  (15 minutes) 

The teacher will ask students to compare the current method (simplification of forms, building to a more complex image) to the detailed segmentation used in the first class of the unit.

The teacher will describe the homework assignment. The teacher will remind students of the questions posed during class discussion,

informing them that they will be asked to provide written answers to prompts in the following block.

The teacher will direct students to the class website where further examples of pixel art still images, commercials, and music videos can be found (as well as a website that explores 8-bit music, the auditory equivalent to pixel art).

Homework

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The students will create a third, twenty-five minute drawing based on the first two. Students can used colored pencils or standard graphite pencils, distinguishing forms with three, four, or five gradations.

Formative Assessment Through students’ brief presentations, the teacher will analyze their abilities to

make connections between artists and art movements. The teacher will test their comprehension of the video by asking students critical

thinking questions. The teacher will provide advice and critiques as students work on their in-class

drawings.

Summative Assessment

The teacher will ultimately view the three drawings together and grade students on their work as a whole, providing written feedback in student sketchbooks. For a student to receive an “A” on the assignment as a whole, there must be evidence that a sincere effort was made, and that the student has made visible progress from the first to the last drawing. A student who has demonstrated progress will have:

o Improved in his or her sensitivity to art elementso Paid attention to craftsmanship.

Links “Pixel” – A pixel art documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=7mqAZ06dwKU

Music videos:

The White Stripes: “Fell in Love with a Girl” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q27BfBkRHbs

Architecture in Helsinki: “Do the Whirlwind” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXIzyquw-kc

Fujiya & Miyaga “Ankle Injuries” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5XVeENmLMk&feature=channel

“Dan the Man” Short Film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEVU-YLpM8A

SKY HD Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1FYUfbXrbM&feature=PlayList&p=E02E1851A89668D8&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=30

Smashing Magazine post on pixel art:

 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/05/05/pixels-go-mad-the-celebration-of-pixel-art/

8-bit music site: www.chiptune.com

DRAWING CRITERIA: 

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1st Drawing- 15 minutes        Draw a portrait. Focus only on a face… You do not have to make a human face; it can be based on an animal or a fantastical creature.

        Only 3 colored pencils may be used.

        Using gradations is allowed, but each square must appear flat. DO NOT MIX COLORS!

        Try to make an interesting drawing rather than a true-to-life drawing. The pixel form necessitates stylization.

        Feel free to use wild color choices!

 2nd Drawing- 20 minutes        Take the portrait you have made & make a new one based off of it.

        You may now use four colors; gradations are allowed, but again, do not mix colors.

        Consider the effect of moving a pixel. Does it give the face a new expression?

 3rd Drawing- 25 minutes

        The third will be based off of the first two.

        You have the option of adding a fifth color, but you may stick with three or four if you find that ‘less is more.’

        Same rules about gradations and mixing apply.

        This time, pay more attention to craftsmanship:

o        Make the drawing smooth and even.

o        Fill in the boxes more precisely.

o        Move the image up or down, right or left, to fit the space in the most aesthetically pleasing way.

 

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Name: Period/Block:Date:

ENTRANCE TICKET 

1) Have you ever played early game systems such as the original Nintendo or Atari? If so, which games? On the system directly or on the computer? 

 2) Regardless of whether you’ve played them or not, it can be assumed that you have

seen such ancient relics before! What do you think of the graphics? Are they appealing in any way, or do you simply think of them as outdated? Describe what you remember about them.

 3) Old or new, are there games that you particularly react to in any sort of emotive

manner? 

4) Have you seen Nintendo-like graphics in other media such as newspapers, magazines, advertisements, or music videos?

5) Do you see any similarities between the work of Chuck Close and the graphics of early videogames? Any differences?