Our first big idea is fear and my medium is drawing or painting. I decided to do "shadows" inspired by our fears. I want to ask the students to explore questions, such as Why are we afraid of the dark? Why do shadows play tricks on us? What is it about shadows that are so frightening? How can we tell stories with shadows? etc. I think it would be great to look at Kara Walker and her silhouettes, exploring how she includes so much detail in a solid black figure and how she tells stories with her figures. Also exploring the work of Josh Hoffine who is a horror photographer, looking at how he plays up our fears in his work. Also how he is telling stories in a single image. I'd ask how can we combine the work of Hoffine and Walker?
The students will create life-size shadows by drawing outlines of figures on black paper. I envision them completing the work by creating an installation with props or continuing the unit by photographing their shadows/installations or doing a digital piece. There is a lot of way to push this idea.
This sounds like such a fun idea. I really like the artists and examples you have to support your lesson. If you create installations, maybe the student can create sounds or pick a song that goes along with their shadow and have it playing in the background.
ReplyDeleteOhh! Love the idea of sounds. What about projections as well? I know Kara Walker works with projections too.
ReplyDeleteI think having students play with lighting (as you have shown visually in the examples above) would really elevate this idea to another level. I know there is a photographer who works with this idea and I just can't think of his name right now. Here's an example of work similar to what I'm thinking of - http://www.ajphoto.info/photo/selfportraitSHADOW.jpg.