Y11 Art Inspired by Music - Amazon S3s3.amazonaws.com/drawspace/pdf/y11.pdf · African-American social thought which ... clip art to find exaggerated photos of musical instruments

Judith Campanaro Art educator, art therapist, and author

Y11 ADVANCED: CREATING IN COLOR

The project in this lesson (inspired by the life and work of Romare Bearden) provides you with an opportunity for success regardless of your technical abilities. Observation and awareness of the feelings expressed in your work may become a catalyst for additional discussion and/or journal work.

Supplies needed include: pencil, colored markers, glue, tissue paper, paint brush, heavy white paper.

This lesson is divided into the following four sections:

History of the Harlem Renaissance Movement

Biography of artist and musician Romare Bearden

Observing details on a selected musical instrument and listening to music that features that instrument

Creating original art reflecting the instrument and music using the bright colors of the Caribbean preferred by Bearden

This lesson allows success regardless of technical ability is recommended for students of all ages, as well as students of home schooling, academic, and recreational fine-art educators.

6 PAGES – 5 ILLUSTRATIONS

Published by Drawspace.com, Halifax, NS, Canada – August, 2010

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Copyright to this lesson belongs to Judith Campanaro and may not be reproduced or used for any

commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Judith Campanaro. Email: [email protected]

HISTORY OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE MOVEMENT The Harlem Renaissance was a birth of African-American social thought which was expressed through the visual arts, as well as through music, dance, theater and literature.

Centered in the Harlem district of New York City, it had a profound influence across the United States and even around the world.

The intellectual and social freedom of the era triggered a community that became the economic, political and cultural center of black America.

The writers, painters, artists and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance celebrated the cultural traditions of African-Americans.

The New Negro Movement as it was called began in the early 1920’s to the 1930’s. The individuals and works associated with the Harlem Renaissance continue to influence artists and writers even today. The years following World War I and leading up to the Great Depression were ones of racial segregation and economic instability. But in the Harlem district this period was also marked by a gathering of creative and intellectual minds.

Artists at the core of the movement included William H. Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, prominent musicians, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, and dancer Josephine Baker.

BIOGRAPHY OF ROMARE BEARDEN Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1912, Bearden’s family moved to Harlem when he was three years old. His father was very active in the New York art scene and his mother was a prominent Harlem figure and community activist.

Romare grew up among the artists and musicians of that era.

Bearden received a degree from Columbia University in mathematics and later studied philosophy and art history at the Sorbonne in Paris.

He started painting in 1935 which was later than many other artists of his generation and seemed to have trouble finding his own style and subject matter. In the early fifties feeling he was unable to paint and struggling to find his artistic vision he turned to music and founded the Bluebird Music Company with composer Dave Ellis.

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Music, especially jazz, was an important part of Bearden’s life and is usually the theme of his compositions. He grew up listening to jazz and the blues and was acquainted with many musicians including Duke Ellington.

Although Bearden had twenty of his own songs recorded his success as a songwriter did not satisfy him and he accepted a job as a social worker and painted in his spare time. After fourteen years of social work he finally began to make enough money from the sale of his paintings and collages to support himself through art. He achieved success in 1964 when he set aside abstract oil painting and began to work in collage.

Bearden's primary medium was the collage, fusing painting, magazine clippings, old paper and fabric, like a jigsaw puzzle. But unlike a puzzle, each piece of a Bearden collage has a meaning and history all its own. Shortly before he died of cancer in 1988, Bearden said “working with fragments of the past brought them into the now.”

OBSERVING DETAILS ON A SELECTED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, AND LISTENING TO MUSIC THAT FEATURES THAT INSTRUMENT

Suggestions for ideas -

If you don’t have access to an actual instrument use clip art to find exaggerated photos of musical instruments

Google– there are many websites which offer downloads of music from the era of the Harlem Renaissance

Musicians from the era include names such as – Billie Holiday

Duke Ellington

Louis Armstrong

Bessie Smith

Fats Waller

Len Horne

Ella Fitzgerald

Dizzy Gillespie

Suggestions for your drawing –

Listen to music that features the instrument you have chosen

What draws you to this instrument?

What is the predominant feature of the instrument?

Study the shape and contours

What is the part of the instrument that you like the most?

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1. Spend several minutes listening to the music and studying your chosen instrument or photograph

2. Once you feel the rhythm and mood of your chosen subject begin your composition.

CREATING ORIGINAL ART REFLECTING THE INSTRUMENT AND MUSIC USING THE BRIGHT COLORS OF THE CARIBBEAN PREFERRED BY BEARDEN

3. Choose one important part of the instrument to sketch such as the keys of a piano or the valves of a trumpet.

4. Draw the featured part of your instrument on a heavy white paper. Let the shape of your sketch match the music you are listening to. You might want to make your drawing wavy or angular. Just feel the rhythm and let your hands flow with the beat.

5. Make sure you extend your drawing across the entire page. Turn your paper in any direction you want but start the drawing on the edge of the paper and run it off another edge of the paper when you are done.

6. Using bright colors fill in your design. You can use flat color by filling in the space evenly with one color or use textured color which is using more than one color or making patterns with the colors.

7. Once your drawing is completed and filled in with color, begin creating collage in the background or negative spaces around the drawing.

Mix equal portions of white glue with water to make a glaze.

Dampen a small area of the background with the glaze. Place a piece of tissue paper or cutout from a magazine on the damp area and then coat it with the glaze.

Continue using pictures from old magazines, fabric, ink and pencil designs and/or bright colored tissue paper until the background is completely covered.

Note: Bearden said “when you sang or played the Blues, you always felt better.” He wanted feeling in his artwork and combined the rhythm and movement of the Harlem Renaissance and the music he loved into his colorful collages and paintings. He believed that working with fragments of the past brought them into the now. Using cut and pasted papers, images, paint, fabric, ink and pencil designs Bearden created images which filled his work with history and meaning.

REFLECTIONS FOR YOUR JOURNAL: Does your collage represent a feeling?

Does your collage tell a story?

What did you learn about yourself while creating this lesson?

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TWO OF MY PAINTINGS BASED ON THIS LESSON I had so much fun creating these paintings!

I was listening to the blues - and my feet were tapping and my booty moving.

Rhythm and Blues

Jiving with the Stride

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JUDITH CAMPANARO Creative arts therapist, award-winning artist, art educator, art curricula designer, and author of two books: Art for the Soul, the Healing Magic of Creativity and The Journey of Me, An Adventure in Self Discovery.

An art therapist by trade, Judith holds a BA in Psychology, an MA in Professional Counseling and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Art Therapy.

In addition to teaching, Judith has had many solo shows both in the United States and the Caribbean. Her paintings are also included in numerous public and private collections.

ABOUT MY COURSES:

It is my personal belief that art in any form whether it be viewing, teaching, or creating, is food for the soul. Creativity is and has always been an excellent path to self discovery and personal growth.

As an art therapist, it is my desire to aid my students in finding their own voice. Whether you are experiencing a creative block, need an outlet for stress management or just plain want to relax and have fun the creative process can and does provide solace for whatever need you might bring to the table.

My courses are designed to help you as the student find ways and means of self expression. The lesson plans are non-threatening. There is no right or wrong way to achieve them. The work is in the process and through the process the completed assignment becomes the product.

It is an amazing journey and one which will never cease to surprise you. It is a journey of self discovery through exploration of the creative process.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

Creative Arts Therapist for Child Haven, Seattle, Washington

Art Instructor for Parks and Recreation, Mill Creek, Washington

Art Instructor for VSA (Very Special Arts) Reno, Nevada

Adjunct professor for Ottawa University, Phoenix, Arizona

Former Owner of the Hobbit School of Art, Ventura, California

You can find out more about Judith and her art at: http://www.judithcampanaro.com

References for this lesson: www.beardenfoundation.org

www.artsedge.kennedy-center

www.community.npr.org

Documents

Y11 Art Inspired by Music - Amazon S3s3.amazonaws.com/drawspace/pdf/y11.pdf · African-American social thought which ... clip art to find exaggerated photos of musical instruments