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Artopia

Artopia is a comprehensive web-based arts experience designed for middle school students, covering the visual and performing arts.

Visual and Performing Arts for Grades 6-8

Artopia is a comprehensive web-based arts experience designed for middle school students, covering the visual and performing arts. Students will learn art history via animated one-minute movies, be guided on how to closely examine important works of art, and view videos of professional artists at work.This project was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Please note many of the web videos include transcripts.

More in this Series

Series Dance - Artopia
Dance - Artopia

Step inside Artopia's Dance lobby!

Series Media Arts
Media Arts

Step inside Artopia's Media Arts lobby!

Series Artopia Music
Artopia Music

Step inside Artopia's Music lobby!

Series Artopia's Painting Lobby
Artopia's Painting Lobby

Step inside Artopia's Painting lobby!

Series Sculpture
Sculpture
Series Theater - Artopia
Theater - Artopia
Resource Type
Brass Section: Trumpet | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Brass Section: Trumpet | Artopia
Meet Randolph Love , a trumpet player in the South Carolina Philharmonic Brass Section. The trumpet has a clear, high sound. It is the smallest of the orchestral brass instruments.
Newport Commercial | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Newport Commercial | Artopia
LORILLARD TOBACCO CO. A Closer Look This TV commercial for Newport menthol cigarettes aired during the 1960s. Today these old ads can tell us something about who tobacco companies were selling their...
Brass Section: Trombone | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Brass Section: Trombone | Artopia
Meet Mary Lou Schweickert, a trombone player in the South Carolina Philharmonic Brass Section. The trombone has a clear, bright sound that is lower than the trumpet.
Brass Section: French Horn | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Brass Section: French Horn | Artopia
Meet Ken Turner , a French horn player in the South Carolina Philharmonic Brass Section. The French horn or horn, produces a wide assortment of notes in the middle ranges of the brass instrument.
Brass Section: Tuba | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Brass Section: Tuba | Artopia
Meet Ron Davis , a tuba player in the South Carolina Philharmonic Brass Section. The tuba is the largest and lowest-sounding brass instrument.
Percussion Section | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Percussion Section | Artopia
Meet members of the South Carolina Philharmonic Percussion Section: Matthew Jones, Chris Lee, Mark Roddy, Eric Patterson, and Cliff Sutton The percussion section includes instruments like the snare...
I Like Ike Campaign | Artopia

Video

Grades

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I Like Ike Campaign | Artopia
ROY O. DISNEY A Closer Look A poll taken in 1952 found Dwight D. Eisenhower to be the most admired living American, a World War II hero who played a key role in the victory of the Allied Forces. In...
Magic in the Air | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Magic in the Air | Artopia
JAMISON HANDY A Closer Look The man trying to buy a ticket to a ball game at the beginning of Magic in the Air was an unusual person for his day -- he owned a TV set. This industrial film does a good...
Pinnochio | Artopia A Midsummer Night's Dream | Artopia

Video

Grades

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A Midsummer Night's Dream | Artopia
William Shakespeare A Closer Look In this scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream Oberon, the King of the Fairies, has tricked the queen, Titania, into falling in love with Nick Bottom. Meanwhile, Puck...
Pinnochio | Artopia The Trojan Women | Artopia

Video

Grades

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The Trojan Women | Artopia
Euripides - USC Theater Dept. (2004) A Closer Look This scene from The Trojan Women was shot in the studio at South Carolina ETV using three cameras. The actresses originally performed the play...
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | Artopia

Video

Grades

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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | Artopia
High Voltage Theater A Closer Look In the scene from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in our video clip, the main character, the pretentious schoolteacher Ichabod Crane, is engaged in a swordfight with...
The Trojan Women | Artopia Pinnochio | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Pinnochio | Artopia
Columbia Marionette Theater A Closer Look Pinocchio is the story of someone who gradually becomes more human. He begins as a wooden marionette, until a fairy casts a spell that makes him a living...
Spider-Man | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Spider-Man | Artopia
The Peril of Doc Ock (2004) A CLOSER LOOK Some words of wisdom from the makers, SPITE YOUR FACE PRODUCTIONS. Tim: Really, the best way to learn animation is to just play around until it looks good...
Suspended Falls | Artopia Dance of the Warriors | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Dance of the Warriors | Artopia
A Closer Look This dance is part of a film in the Let's Dance series called Nougzar in Georgia. Nougzar and Guiorgui are best friends who love Georgian folk dancing. Georgian male dancers are the only...
Nosferatu | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Nosferatu | Artopia
A Symphony of Horrors (1922) A Closer Look F.W. Murnau shot much of Nosferatu on location in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, using real landscapes and towns and an actual castle. This was unusual...
Felix the Cat | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Felix the Cat | Artopia
The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg (1936) A Closer Look Animation is a series of stills that fool the eye into thinking it sees movement. The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg is a cel animation...
Peg Leg Bates | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Peg Leg Bates | Artopia
A Closer Look Peg Leg Bates could leap five feet in the air and perform almost every known tap dance step. He never considered himself handicapped. "God showed me what to do with one leg," he said....
Danza del Venado | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Danza del Venado | Artopia
A Closer Look The Danza del Venado tells a story. At first the deer is alone, happily grazing in the forest. When our video clip begins, hunters appear and the deer fights for his life. Watch the...
Newport Commercial | Artopia Love | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Love | Artopia
A Closer Look Comedy is sometimes funnier if you can't see everything. Filmmaker Lynn Cornfoot uses off-screen action to increase the comic effect in her film Love. We can only imagine what the Wife's...
Career in Theater Set Design | Artopia

Video

Grades

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Career in Theater Set Design | Artopia
Although it may seem difficult to make a career in theater, Gross explains there is a wide variety of opportunities available.