Y6 Art StartersSURREALISM

MODULE OVERVIEW• In this PowerPoint you will find art activities relating to the topic of, ‘Hopes and Dreams’.

• It is important to note that these are starter activities and can be interpreted and adapted in different ways to suit you, your child and your available resources.

• It does not matter which order you do the art activities.

• If you need any advice or assistance, please email me,

• Sarra.bird@otford.kent.sch.uk

MENUMENU

• T1) What is Surrealism?

• T2) Hand drawing exercise

• T3) Design an album cover

• T4) Dali inspired animals

• T5) Magritte & Me

• T6) Imagination imagined

• T7) Hybrid animals

So, what is Surrealism?• Surrealism is a style in art and literature in which ideas, images, and objects are combined in a strange way, like in a dream.

Top 10 Surrealist Artists

• Andre Breton

• Antonin Artaud

• Joan Miro

• Salvador Dali

• Pablo Picasso

• Max Ernst

• Marcel Duchamp

• Giorgio de Chirico

• Rene Magritte

• Yves Tanguy

You can find out more about surrealist artists here,

www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/what-is/surrealism

T1

Surrealist Hand Drawing

TASK

• Use your own hand as the basis for this project, it is good practice for improving your observational drawing skills.

• Think about what your hand could be? Maybe your fingers become plants? Maybe there is a house sitting in the palm of your hand? It is entirely up to you!

• On paper, carefully sketch your own hand (alternatively, you could draw around your hand)

• Use pencil/pen/paint/pastel

• Let your imagination run wild!

T2

Design an album cover inspired by Miró

T3

Joan Miró i Ferrà (1893 – 1983) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona. He was a leading light of the Surrealist Movement and later developed a highly recognizable idiosyncratic style. His work never became entirely abstract, but his images were frequently an altered depiction of reality.

Constellations, 1959

TASK• Research Miró to find out more about him and his work• Choose your favourite band or singer and imagine that you have been

asked to design the album cover!• Use elements of Miró’s work to influence your design• Make sure all lettering is bold and clear• You can design the front and back cover or perhaps a design that

stretches from the front to back?• Work on a square piece of paper in pencil/pen or paint

Dali Inspired AnimalsT4

Salvador Dalí(11 May 1904 - 23 Jan 1989) made

paintings, sculptures and films about the dreams he had.

Elephants are a recurring image in Dali's works. It first

appeared in his 1944 work Dream Caused by the Flight

of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before

Awakening. The elephants, inspired by Gian Lorenzo

Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying

an ancient obelisk. ‘The elephant is a distortion in

space,' one analysis explains, 'its spindly legs

contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure.'

TASK

• Research Dali’s work online or in a book to gain a better understanding of his

style and technique

• Reimagine Dali’s elephant and replace it with an animal of your choice,

remember to stretch out the legs!

• You can choose any medium to create this work, pencil/pen/paint

• Remember, the stranger it is, the better!

Magritte & MeT5

René François Ghislain Magritte (1898 –1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. He challenged his viewers’ perception of reality by placing everyday objects in unusual contexts. His works repeatedly include certain symbols—a female torso, a middle-class man wearing a bowler hat, a castle, a rock, a window, and others. The illogical arrangements of his mysterious images blend horror, peril, comedy, and wonder.

The Son of Man1964

TASK• Research Magritte online • Stand in front of a mirror (or use

a photograph) and roughly sketch out your head to waist

• Obscure your face with an item that reflects your character

• Work in the medium of your choice

Imagination ImaginedT6

TASK• Choose an everyday object in

your house. This could be anything from a toy to a piece of fruit!

• Now, put that object somewhere that you would never ordinarily see it (make sure it is safe!) This is where you have to really start thinking outside of the box! Is Barbie hanging from a shelf in your fridge? Or perhaps there is a banana in the phone rest?

• Draw or photograph the outcome

T7

HYBRID ANIMALS

Colombian artist Mateo Pizarro is inspired by contradictions. His graphite drawings combine animals with elements of human creation, merging nature with technological advancements or conflicting scenes.

TASK• Create your own hybrid

animal and name it• Maybe blend two or

three animals together or mix animal with nature? You could add an everyday object to an animal

• Work in pencil or pen