Today's Class- Today we began our Stone Age art project. As I've said before, I would have preferred to do this earlier in the semester and have it lead into other design projects. but the winter just wasn't going to let that happen. I opened with several slides of art from the cave dwelling era, ten to forty thousand years ago, pointing out that the primitive technology encouraged the art to be chosen based on the material being used- such as the dimensions of a particular reindeer antler, mammoth tusk, or animal bone. I started by having everyone take several shells collected from the beach and seeing what kind of shapes were suggested, kind of like with the coffee trays. Then I had everyone start working on the project, creating a sculpture from all natural materials that would depict a human or animal.
How to make this up- You will be making a three dimensional object that depicts a human or animal form, by far the most common subjects in that era. It may be something real, or mythological. It may be the complete subject or just a significant portion of it (like a head, for example). It should be at least 6 inches in one dimension, though it may be larger. Except for glue, you may only use any material that would have been available to a stone age artist. This includes natural wood (sticks, chunks of tree, solid planks, but not plywood), rocks, shells, seeds, bones (make sure they are cleaned of all other tissue), leaves, flowers, seeds, and similar items. Keep in mind that living plants will eventually wither and die, so if you are planning to use those materials, you may want to wait until close to the due date to attach them. Materials can be used as found, or can be carved or broken up as needed for your sculpture. You may use paint to decorate or color the item, as this was a common aspect of cave art. Above and below are student examples from previous semesters.
This graded natural materials assemblage project is due at the beginning of class on April 14, 2015.
Homework- Although the pair of figures we worked on last week is in itself a portfolio exercise, the one based on the actual proportions of the figure is part of next week's project. If you don't have it done by the start of class, you'll have to work on it first before you do the rest.
Those who have not yet turned in the cast off items (plastics) assemblage piece or the foam core relief panels (skeleton and related image) can still do so for partial credit. The longer they are late, the fewer points they will be worth in your final grade.
For next class 4/7/15- We will be constructing something related to the figures we made last week and the idea of proportions. Bring the original figure, a new piece of foam core, x-acto knife, glue, pencil and eraser. A ruler is recommended as well.
