A
MASK FOR ALL SEASONS
By Lori Langsner, Art Teacher
AIMS:
Students
will create a plaster craft mask to depict the four seasons.
Students
will learn about the Renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593), and his
“Seasons” series of human faces turned into floral arrangements.
Students
will create symbolism in their masks by using seasonal flowers, leaves,
branches, seed pods, etc. to depict various phrase associations. (Spring -
adolescent, Summer - young man, Fall - wise sage, Winter - old man)
DO
NOW:
Describe some words or phrases you would associate with each of the
following seasons: FALL: decay,
death, fire , colors, crumbling, leaves, harvest, frightening spirits, chill,
floating leaves WINTER: tired, deep
sleep, branches, invigorating cold, whipping winds, delicate flakes, icy,
blizzard, white on white, dreams, holiday excitement
SPRING: renewal, bursting
with energy, rebirth, thaw, stretch and grow, thunderstorms, greening, sudden
showers, exhilaration SUMMER: celebrate,
play, heat, simmering, ignite sparks, water, romance, splashes of color,
ripening, fulfillment, life is abundant
VOCABULARY:
1.
mask - a facial covering usually worn for protection, disguise, or to ward off
evil spirits
2.
plaster craft - gauze impregnated with plaster used for molding
3.
seasonal - having to do with the four seasons
4.
Renaissance - a period in art history where there was a rebirth in art and
culture, began in Italy in the 15th C.
5.
Giuseppe ARCIMBOLDO - an Italian painter whose witty allegorical compositions
foreshadowed 20thC surrealist art. He
invented a portrait type consisting of painted animals, flowers, fruit, and
objects composed to form a human likeness.
GRADE
LEVEL:
8th grade accelerated art
SETTING:
art classroom
TIME
ALLOWANCE:
one month, class meets 4x per week for 40 minutes
MATERIALS:
pre-molded plastic masks, plaster craft, found objects and collage
materials, seasonal fruits and vegetables, leaves, branches, twigs, yarn,
raffia, ribbon, silk flowers and leaves, tempera and metallic paints, poster
board, scissors, glue, hot glue gun, stapler, paintbrushes, water cups,
palettes, newspaper, hole punch, gloss medium, glitter paints
MOTIVATION:
Arts & Activities Magazine, Oct. ‘99 - “It’s the Season for
Masks” photos p.16-17, student sample papier mache masks, World Wide Web
exploration of masks, Fall - Winter season, Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” to be
played while working
INTERNET LINKS:
“Web Gallery of Art” - www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/a/arcimbol/index.html
Vivaldi
- short bio with links to sample audio track for Four Seasons, as well as cd
purchase information http://www.hnh.com/composer/vivaldi.htm
PROCEDURE:
1.
Students will brainstorm associations and phrases for the four seasons.
2.
Students will contemplate the season they like best and why and decide what
materials would best express their ideas.
3.
Students will sketch and color their mask creations.
4.
Using co-operative learning skills, students will work in groups of 2 - 4
to create plaster mask; coat plastic mask with vaseline, cut gauze into 2”
wide by 6” strips, cover plastic mask by overlapping each strip and repeating
3 times in reverse order, allow to dry for 10 minutes and gently remove plaster
and allow to dry on newspaper overnight. Each
student will continue the process until all is complete.
5.
Once dry, masks are then sanded and painted to illustrate the proper season.
6.
Fine details may be added as well as, collage materials to further enhance the
seasonal theme.
7.
Completed masks will be displayed in classroom for evaluation and critique.
8.
Students will set up a showcase display in school hallway for entire school
population to view.
EVALUATION:
1.
Name three different ways masks have been used throughout history.
2.
How are our masks similar to the paintings of Giuseppe Arcimboldo?
How are they different?
3.
Describe how you created your “season”.
4.
Why are our masks an example of
“additive” and “subtractive” sculpture?
5.
Which masks do you like best? Why?
ATTACHMENTS:
web
page logos of student thumbnail sketches for masks
explanation
of process with sample student writing
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES:
1. Invite creative writing classes to view our exhibit and respond to our masks by writing poetry.
2. Have other classes create paper masks, papier-mache masks, and clay masks.
3. Visit museums to view their mask collections.
4.
Create student web pages of mask creations.
