What Do You See When You Bend Your Knee?
Students will explore shapes and angles through body movement and hands-on manipulations within the context of the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building.
Students will explore shapes and angles through body movement and hands-on manipulations within the context of the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building.
Throughout the lesson students will delve into their imaginations using activities and tools designed to explore the Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum. They will engage in creativity exercises, build their own “buildings,” and compare their experiences with the creative process used by architect Daniel Libeskind and his team when building the Hamilton Building.
Students will examine Remington’s The Cheyenne and identify the challenges he faced in creating a horse that appears to be airborne. They will then work with a partner and go through a similar problem-solving process to create their own airborne sculpture.
Students will examine Bierstadt’s painting Wind River Country, identify what they see, and imagine what’s missing. They will then touch objects similar to those in the painting to connect visual and tactile experiences. An auditory and movement exercise follows, with students making sounds of objects in the painting and moving around like the objects while making their sounds.
After observing Donald Coen’s painting Yellow Rain Jacket, students will draw in missing parts of the horse on a printed copy of the painting. Students will also add parts of other animals to the original image to create imaginative animal hybrids.
Students will explore Wes Wilson’s poster through movement and sound. They will use movement, sounds, and words to communicate what they see and how the poster makes them feel.
In order to understand that letters often communicate more than the words they spell, students will explore how to make letters inspired by different shapes. They will begin with a warm-up activity and then examine lettering in advertisements in Wes Wilson's poster Association, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco. A teacher-led discussion will help students decipher the literal and more abstract meanings of Wilson’s work.
Students will learn what a sculpture is by looking at images of Mark di Suvero’s sculpture Lao Tzu. They will compare its size to other objects in and around the classroom and experiment with various building materials and found objects in an effort to get a sense of how sculptures are created.
This lesson focuses on Roxanne Swentzell’s sculpture Mud Woman Rolls On to evoke thoughts about families and their stories. Students create their own picture story about family.
Students learn about using common materials from the earth to create art. After spending time examining the materials used by Roxanne Swentzell and learning about her process and intent for Mud Woman Rolls On, students experiment with dirt, sand, water, and straw to gain a real world experience using materials like those used by the artist.
Through interaction with Ason Yellowhair’s Bird and Cornstalk Rug, the students will explore colors and rhythm through storytelling and dance.
Children will learn how things that are bumpy, lumpy, and not necessarily “perfect” are often just as special as things that seem smooth and “perfect.” They will have an opportunity to explore the idea that imperfection is still important and beautiful (wabi sabi).