MRS. STAPP’S ART PACKET: WEEK 2 of distance learning - Fun with ART HISTORY

- If completing a paper packet, please make sure your name is on

all your assignments. Please return the packet to the front office

and pick up a new packet for the upcoming week.

- I will grade the completed work and provide feedback.

- If completing assignments on-line, please e-mail a picture of each

assignment to hrstapp@nrms.k12.nc.us. You can e-mail one a day

or e-mail them all at once.

- I recommend completing 1 assignment per day. I will try to keep

your time to 20-30 minutes each day. However, do what works

best for you and move at your own pace. If you need to complete

all the work in one day or modify it due to limited materials, that

is OK.

- Most importantly, art is intended to be relaxing and theraputic, so

be creative, relax, and have fun with these assignments.

PIET MONDRIAN – SIMPLE OR COMPLEX?

Directions: Read the passage below and answer the 6 questions that follow. Name: ______________

Pieter Corneilus Mondriaan, or Piet Mondrian for short, lived from 1872-1944.

Although he was best known for his modern abstract paintings and a leader of

‘de Stijl’ (the style) Dutch Modern movement, he started out painting realistic

scenes. He especially loved painting trees. The art for which he is most well-

known consists mainly of rectangles, squares, primary colors (red, yellow, and

blue), and black and white.

Though at first glance, not much thought seems to be put into the artwork and

there becomes a notion that “anyone can do that,” his artwork was somewhat

religious based. Though the elements in his artwork are very simplified, he

tried to balance opposite forces. Examples include good and evil, masculine

and feminine, black and white, the positive and the negative, and static

and energized. In addition, the branches of the trees that he cared so

deeply for, became the black vertical and horizontal lines in his abstract

art pieces. Vertical lines often represented the spiritual aspects in his

work and the horizontals stood for the natural realm. This unity of

dualities was a constant theme in his artwork.

Mondrian also used asymmetrical balance, meaning he tried to distribute

the visual weight of shapes and colors evenly on both sides. While the

weights of individual objects were different, the weights of groups of

objects were evenly balanced on the left and right sides. For example, two smaller squares on the left

side may balance one larger rectangle on the right side.

1) Draw an example of perfect symmetry.

2) Draw an example of asymmetry.

3) Describe the logic behind de Stijl. Use evidence from the text to support your statements.

4) How does the tree continue as a theme in his early work and his later work?

5) Compare and contrast his tree with his abstract work.

6) Would you argue that his work is simple or complex? Why? Use evidence to support your

claims. Write 5-7 sentences.

ALL ABOUT Joan Miró Directions: Read the passage, then answer the questions that follow. Refer back to your

text for context clues.

Joan Miró was a very famous Spanish artist who created his works in many different art forms. Read

on to find out about his life, his family, and his artwork.

Early Life Joan Miró was born on April 20, 1893, in Montroig, near Barcelona, Spain. The oldest son of Michel Miró Adziras and Dolores Ferra, who were both artists. Both his parents were goldsmiths and his dad was a watchmaker. Even his grandfathers were craftsmen, which was a lucky thing because Miró really loved art. He began to draw when he was about 8 years old.

Even though his family loved the arts and Miró didn't do well in school, his parents wanted him to go into business. When he was about 17, Miró attended a business school and had a job as a clerk. He hated it. While he was in business school, Miró became very sick. When he got better, he decided he would devote his life to art. He enrolled in an art academy in Barcelona when he was 19.

Early Career An important event in the life of an artist is a solo art exhibition, which is an event when the public can view and buy the artist's work and nobody else's. Miró had his first solo exhibition when he was just 18 years old.

After that, he went to Paris, France, where many artists live. He wasn't successful at first. He said that he'd go to bed hungry and have strange dreams, which he'd use as inspiration for his artwork. While in Paris, he met artist Pablo Picasso and was friends with many writers.

Two years later, Miró had his first solo art show in Paris, France. It was a disaster; he didn't sell even one painting! Miró joined a group of artists called the Surrealists who were painting in a new way. Surrealism is a kind of art in which the pictures look more like dreams than real life. Miró was part of the first Surrealist art exhibition, held in Paris in 1925.

Miró Becomes Successful For over 20 years, Miró tried out many different art forms. He began his first collages, which are collections of pictures or items put together. He also started making prints and made dream-like sculptures into which he put found objects and painted stones.

He was known for his use of simple shapes, bright colors, and the symbolic meaning of his artworks. He art is often described as being child-like, dream-like, and playful.

His work is classified as Surrealism. Surrealist artists, such as Miró, Dalí, and Breton, wanted to show our dreams and unconscious thoughts in art, creating unexpected and irrational images.

Miró didn’t like the conventional painting methods, believing they resulted in staid, conservative, and bourgeois work. He wanted to make changes to the established ways of creating and thinking about art, and to innovate.

He began making art in his childhood and continued throughout his life, using new styles, materials and ideas into his old age. He is a great Creativity Mentor.

Name: ___________________________

Questions for Joan Miro Passage:

1) What country of origin is Miro from? 2) What professions did Miro’s parents have? Do they relate to art? Provide evidence to

support your claim. 3) Why do you believe Miro dedicated his life to art? Use context clues to support your answer. 4) What is a solo art exhibition, and why was it such a big turning point in Joan Miro’s career as

an artist? 5) Create a surrealistic drawing inspired by one of your dreams. Include a paragraph that

describes your dream. Draw your picture of the lifelike dream in the box.

6) Why didn’t like Miro like traditional or conventional painting methods?

7) Who were some other Surrealist artists? List their names.

What are 3 different ways you can include collage in your artwork?

8) ___________________________________________________

9) __________________________________________________

10) _________________________________________________