Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Second Grade Connoisseurs

I have always been intrigued by the art of Norman Rockwell. As a little girl, I would linger over books of his Saturday Evening Post covers, mesmerized by both his skill and his visual storytelling. As I grew older, I was taught that he was "just an illustrator," and I shied away from publicly acknowledging my admiration. In college, our art department hosted an exhibit of his works and I was again mesmerized, and vowed to never again hide my respect for his work.
Second graders have been researching his work, and also the work of another artist I greatly admire, Jackson Pollock. You can read about our research in the post directly previous to this one. I decided that Rockwell's painting, The Connoisseur, was a great way to talk about the two contrasting styles. Here are our artworks inspired by the styles of these two great American artists. We made the drip paintings and designed the floors of our gallery spaces, and took photos of each other in "thinking poses." Thanks to this post from Artsonia for the spark.
Rockwell, The Connoisseur
preparing the parts







10 comments:

  1. LOVE these! It seems like so many artists are often dismissed, like Rockwell. I will definitely be doing this lesson next year. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Wow! Those turned out really cool. Great job and thank you for posting so many great ideas.

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  2. I can so relate to what you said about loving Rockwell as a kid, and then learning where the contemporary art world placed him in art school. He's great and these projects are FABULOUS!

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  3. What a great idea! I love this lesson AND Norman Rockwell, I'm not ashamed! I think my love carried over from childhood- it's just so nostalgic.

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  4. I would love to borrow this as a reflection activity for a museum visit. I will definitely give you credit for the idea!

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  5. So awesome and creative!!!

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  6. Love this idea so much and perfectly be sharing to our 2nd graders this year!

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  7. Love this idea enough to steal!! ...but may I ask what the white/transparent tissue paper-looking material is in the "preparation" pic that seems to have been put on top of the paintings?? thanks!

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    1. Those are actually behind the paintings - they are translucent papers that are serving as frames. They were donated to my room and seemed appropriate here :)

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