The Activity Bus Broke Down...WE'RE STUCK AT THE ART MUSEUM! History and Science classes at the CMA instead of school? But HOW??

WRITE ALL ANSWERS IN YOUR LESSON NOTEBOOK, as you watch videos, view photos, and discuss  these with your group members.

**PLEASE HAVE GROUP DISCUSSIONS  on  questions  5 , 8, 10, 12, & 19.

1.Watch the video about the Columbia Museum of Art / CMA ( approx. 3 minutes.)

2. Look at the photo of the "Collection" that always stays on exhibit somewhere in the CMA.

3 .How many paintings are in the Collection?   How many sculptures?  ( The large geometric sculpture in the photo of this lesson is in an outdoor PLAZA at the CMA, & was created by the artist/sculptor STEVEN NAIFEH, made of anodized & painted steel in 2013.  The title of the sculpture is JALI,XXXVII.)

4. Define all of  these terms:  What is a: Sculpture/ statue / bust?

5. How many sculptures are made of marble?    How many from limestone? Which stone looks the most durable? 

6. On certain statues or busts, the NOSES seem to be missing.    Why do you think this may have happened? 

7. Watch the video about the SC Statehouse.  Pay attention to all the references of marble for floors and walls. Discuss as a group:  Why would lots of money be spent for stone floors and walls for the SC STATEHOUSE?   Even though expensive, would those expenditures make sense?  If you answer yes, explain your reasons.    If you answer no, explain your reasons. 

8.  DISCUSS & ASSESS:  Why would an architect choose MARBLE for a floor of a public building that had a lot of walkers over decades...or even over a centuries. Would you say this discussion would be classified as history?  science? or BOTH? H

9. Ask a parent and a grandparent how old they are...how many decades is that?   Is there a great-grandparent who may be a CENTURY old or older?  Ask a parent if they know of any family members who have lived over the CENTURY mark.   (100 or 100+)  

10.Which artworks in the CMA (Columbia Museum of Art)  permanent collection do you like best?  Choose 2, and write your reasons why they appeal to you. 

11. What is an  ARCHEOLOGIST? ( Find & write a definition) What is a PALEONTOLOGIST? ( Find & write a definition)

12. If you had to choose to be an ARCHEOLOGIST, or a PALEONTOLOGIST...which would you choose and why?   

13.  Why does a CURATOR in an art museum have to be  1/2 "art historian" and 1/2  "scientist"?    Explain why. 

14. Watch the video about CARBON DATING.  How does Carbon Dating help archeologists and paleontologists?  ( write your answers)  (This is a very difficult scientific conceptto explain,  but this University of Georgia video was more interesting than most.)

15. Do you think this video about carbon dating would be taught in a SCIENCE class, or a HISTORY class? Explain your choice.

16.  Discuss the paintings in the Collection of the CMA, by answering these questions:

-  What type of surfaces did the artists paint on? 

- What is a "canvas" , when you are speaking about artworks? 

- How do you imagine the paintings (and the colors on the canvas) have survived so long?  

17.  Describe the making of OIL PAINT, listing it in steps 1, 2, 3, etc.  

18. Which ingredients needed to make OIL PAINT helped the paintings hold up against time, light, changing temperatures and humidity?

19.  Which painting in the CMA COLLECTION did you like the most, and why?

20.  List the type of educational requirements  which are needed for  each of these 4  careers:   

-archeologist      -paleontologist     -art curator        -museum educational director

**PLEASE HAVE GROUP DISCUSSIONS  on  questions  5 , 8, 10, 12, & 19.

-AFTER  students have watched the videos and taken notes individually, it will be VERY HELPFUL to discuss questions in small groups.

-It may be interesting to share some of the information from the GRANDPARENT INTERVIEW with the class.  (Students should ask their  grandparents' permission beforehand if  the interview  can be  shared.) Even though this lesson is about  the works in an art museum, it's human nature to be interested in friends and family.  This is a great way to open up and share about families, TV & film preferences, whether or not people see any artworks at home or in a relative's home, how people's tastes VARY WIDELY about films, TV, music, artwork, dishes & pottery,  & other pastimes. 

 RESPECT and good manners are KEY when responding to someone else's family preferences, because it's all very PERSONAL to each of us...and these things are a matter of OPINION, regardless of age, dollars spent, music , TV shows, or films preferred   

TEACHERS:  Depending upon how many weeks you prefer this project to last,  it is YOUR CHOICE as to the number of "assessment projects"  completed by a student,  in order to earn a particular grade.

PROJECT 1: " Grandparent Interview" & Booklet  ( if you don't have a grandparent nearby , do this interview with a parent)

Materials needed:  Notepad, cell phone, printer paper or construction paper, glue. 

Ask  a grandparent these questions, and write their answers.   (You may want to record the interview on a cell phone, so you can write it later. Sometimes people get excited about remembering things, and start talking faster than you can write! )

1. What is the first movie you remember seeing at a theatre?  What was the first  TV show you remember watching with your family?

2.What is the first CAR you remember your family driving? If they didn't own a car, how did grandparent's family get to work, school, church, shopping? 

3. Did your family have any paintings, pictures, or photographs hanging in the home growing up? 

4.  Did you ever visit a museum when you were growing up? 

5.  Do you have an ARTIFACT from your days as a child...a really old toy, rock, piece of jewelry, an old book, or a piece of pottery or glassware?  

6. Do you have a picture you can share of yourself as a young child?  As a  teenager?  As a young working person?

7. MAKE A BOOKLET: " My Grandparents' Memories of Art, Music, Film, & TV"  (or any other title you like)

-Fold 3 pages of printer paper in half, to make a small "booklet."                                                                                                                

*Create a TITLE & COVER DRAWING for the front of the booklet.  (include a printed photo of grandparents, their name(s), and /or sketch a drawing of them on the front.)                                                                                                                                                                              

*On the interior of booklet, put a TITLE on each page.  Then write down the information from each part of the interview.                                   

*List  different CATEGORIES on each page ( ART memories on 1 page, TV  & FILM memories on another page, etc.)                                     

*Read through it with a parent or grandparent once you're finished .                                                     

PROJECT 2:  The Hirsch Panels (requires 2 pieces of poster board, sketching pencils, eraser, markers if desired)

1. Make a poster board chart that list the WARS depicted in the Hirsch Panels, and the dates of those wars. On a separate piece of paper, make a sketch of the sculptor, Willard Hirsch. Label this sketch with his name and birthplace, and attach it to the poster board.  

2. On a poster board, draw a sketch of the different uniforms of each soldier in the Hirsch Panels, trying to recreate the uniform of the soldier accurate to that period of history, just like Willard Hirsch did.   

3. Draw a line vertically, splitting the 2nd  poster board into equal halves.  On one half,  draw  a flowerpot ( or a lamp base, or a front door ) decorated in ART NOUVEAU style, and on the other half, a similar flowerpot, decorated in ART DECO style.  Label each half  with the appropriate description, so students will know which object conveys the correct style of art & design. Fully show the designs, colors and lettering of the appropriate period.  

4. On the back of this 2nd poster board, write the definition of "bas(low)  relief "  Also, write the definitions of  both "art deco" and "art noveau".  Describe the difference between the 2 styles.   Which style did Willard Hirsch choose for his NATIONAL GUARD bas relief? 

PROJECT 3:  The Hirsch Panels - Bas Relief...Make one! (cardboard version)

("Bas Relief" is French for "low relief"...which is similar to how some U.S. or  world MAPS are molded of plastic that shoe the mountain and large contours, by being raised off the flat surface of the maps.)

1.You have read how Willard Hirsch made the BAS RELIEF panels that are a part of each S.C. NATIONAL GUARD headquarters ( and there are  over 42 of them in the state!)  He sculpted a low relief statue, made a MOLD of it, and then filled the mold with a cement/stone/adhesive mixture, so that he could EMPTY the mold, and have a stone copy of his "soldier sculpture."  Imagine....he did this process over 42 TIMES!! 

 2. This assignment is to choose a subject, and make a "low relief" project by carefully cutting & tearing CARDBOARD, to create your image.  My "example" image  is called "MR. SUN JUST WANTS TO COME DOWN AND GO FISHING".  

3. YOU MUST HAVE PERMISSION FROM YOUR PARENTS TO CUT CARDBOARD WITH SCISSORS! (DO NOT CUT with a knife!)

4.  Sketch a simple  picture/ design on paper.   Decide which areas will be RAISED, which will stay LOW on the paper.

5. Cut the cardboard shapes needed for your picture.   ( In my artwork, I also included part of a cardboard egg carton.) Also, cut LOTS OF LITTLE CARDBOARD SQUARES that you will use later.)

6.  First, glue only the shapes that will lie FLAT on your cardboard.     

7.  Next, glue little squares of cardboard ( let's call them RELIEF SQUARES) onto the background where you will be attaching your RAISED PIECES of artwork.  

8. Let the  glue on RELIEF SQUARES DRY.

9.When relief squares are dry, glue on/ attach  the RAISED PARTS of the artwork. You may have to prop or hold some while they dry.

10.  You may leave the entire sculpture cardboard one color, or you may PAINT certain pieces or all the pieces...artist's decision!

11.  Choose a title for your "Low  Relief Sculpture". (Sometimes a clever or meaningful title can make the enjoyment of an artwork even greater!)

PROJECT 4:  Anne Worsham Richardson-style  Animal Portrait

- Choose a medium and gather materials...colored pencils, watercolors, crayons, or pastels,, watercolor paper/sketch pad/ or white poster board

-Choose a wild animal to draw...conduct your research : environment/ habitat,, general area of its population, where it might nest or live  & make a home with its young  (which states? mountain area? coast, forests, grasslands? etc.) What is it's daily diet? Show this in your drawing somehow.  

-Lightly sketch the background, leaving 2 "blank" areas...(the space  in which to draw the animal, and another space  where you'll write the "species identification", geographical area in which it lives, and the foods on which they animal subsists.  (If you can draw or paint some of the foods in the animal's diet, the picture is much more interesting.)  

-Sketch the animal first,  then paint or color it.  Let it dry.

-Color in the background habitat\ be sure to include some samples of what the animal eats, and show the trees, bushes, caves, mountains, etc. where it finds food & shelter.

PROJECT 5:  Art Museum Collage Project (poster board, magazines, scissors, glue stick/ glue, scrapbook paper, if desired)

1.  Cut a poster board in half, or make it a square, or unusual shape.  

2. Browse magazines, cutting images that remind you of something that might be on display in a museum/ paintings, sculpture, statues, pottery, weavings, masks, etc. 

3.Try to arrange some various images as if they were in a gallery, or on the outside of a museum, or any kind of whimsical arrangement.   DO NOT just glue images onto the poster board as if they're all floating in space...they must "relate to each other somehow ( some images should be touching, combined into 2's or 3's, to make it like a part of a "scene")  Somehow, let the viewer know it is an "art museum". ( in my example, I put the letters CMA on top of an arched doorway, to suggest Columbia Museum of Art.) 

4.Glue all images into place.