Today's Class- Today's new topic was narrative, which we determined was stories, which is often the subject of art. In the era when literacy was rare, the main focus of art was to share stories, especially in art financed by the powers in the world (kings, church, etc). I showed a few dozen historical slides, including some examples of the above from the Renaissance to the present, as well as art that made use of a lot of symbols that would have been known to viewers at the time, a lead in to our project.
I also returned the first drafts of the museum assignment turned in last week, reviewing each with the students who wrote them. Those who left early before talking to me can get theirs next week.
How to make this up- Today's project made use of narrative, and is also our first individually graded project of the semester- a symbolic, autobiographical comic strip. The inspiration for this project was Art Spiegelman's MAUS comic strip, originally published through the 80's, and collected into bound form in the 90's. The strip's narrative goes back and forth between the story of the author's father growing up Jewish in Poland, marrying, having some success, then getting sent to a concentration camp by the Nazi forces in power in the 30's and 40's, and also the then current story of his elderly widowed father, whose behavior causes lots of problems for his grown American born son in the 70's. What made the strip unusual is that all the characters are shown as animals, so all Jewish characters are shown as mice, all German people and soldiers are depicted as cats, the American soldiers who liberate the concentration camp are shown as dogs (classic cartoon hierarchy), and other animals play roles in the story as well.
Your assignment is to create a comic strip of your own that tells a true story from your own life, using symbolic characters to portray everyone in the story. Below are some student examples from previous semesters:
Your strip must fill two pages in your 18"x24" pad, at least 12 panels. (those with smaller pads should talk to me about what will be appropriate for them) I recommend sketching things out with pencil first. You may use pens or markers to outline objects and for all lettering (dialog and though balloons, caption, and other comics related lettering). Things that might normally be considered white may stay the color of the paper, but everything else should be in full color, applied with your pastels. Each page of six panels should be on a different sheet of paper. More instructions and another student example can be found on the MAUS link near the top of this section.
Homework- Because this 2D project is time consuming and worth 20% of your grade, next week's class will mostly be devoted to it as well, and you'll be given additional time on your own to work on it, so the final piece will be due on November 30, 2018.
Students who want my feedback/input regarding the final museum assignment should get it to me by December 7, 2018. I will accept them through the last meeting of the semester, but there will be no opportunity to resubmit them for a better grade.
Those who haven't yet turned in the first draft of the museum assignment should do so as soon as possible. Points are deducted on that for each week late.
For next class 11/16/18- We will be continuing the project from this week, so bring your 18"x24" pad, pencil and eraser, and pastels.
While those are being worked on, I'll bring students one at a time over the big table and help you print your completed collagraph plates (cardboard with textures stuck to it), so also bring that plate with you. If not yet completed, do so at least one day before class so the glue has time to dry. We will use paper from your pad, and I'll supply the ink and tools that are needed.
