Truisms

A. The Subject Area: Art, Social Studies

B. The School: Hamilton Elementary School

C. The Grade Level: 6-8th

D. Description of the lesson: Students will discuss the work of Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer, as well as popular media as vehicles for discussing contemporary issues. They will investigate nontraditional forms of art making and create typographic artworks calling attention to political and social issues using concise slogans created by examining popular advertisements. The students will discuss the portrayal of females, minorities & young people in popular media and identify topics that concern them as individuals. They will create posters & flyers of their own 'Truisms' that clearly represent their ideas and display them in their schools and communities.

E.1. Overarching Understandings: The students will learn how art can act as a form of communication and social statement in the public realm. They will also learn about typography and poetry.

E.2. Essential questions: How are you represented in the media? What message can you convey using contemporary public art forms?


NAEA.VA.5-8.1 CONTENT STANDARD: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
NAEA.VA.5-8.4 CONTENT STANDARD: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
Illinois Standards
IL Correlated Sets
IL.25.A STANDARD: Understand the sensory elements, organizational principles and expressive qualities of the arts.
IL.26.A STANDARD: Understand processes, traditional tools and modern technologies used in the arts.
IL.27.B STANDARD: Understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life.

Objectives


Students will know & understand how visual art can be used as a communicative device.



Students will be able to create their own 'power of three' statements by analyzing contemporary advertisements and using their words to communicate their own meaning.



Students will know what public art is.



Students will be able to create public art by advertising their power of three statements.



Students will know how to create typographic images.



Students will be able to make posters & flyers by using stencils to create their own text advertisements.




Materials:

Magazine pages

Card Stock Paper

Sharpie pens

Scissors

Construction paper

Glue

Clear Acetate Sheets

Tape



Technology:

Computer with video capability


Resources

Design Bloom- Jenny Holzer Truisms http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/holzer.html
{Information about Jenny Holzer's Truisms and examples of the work}.

Barbara Kruger http://www.barbarakruger.com/art.shtml
{Kruger's website, biographical information and work}

Procedures:

Assemble materials: The teacher should assemble all materials needed for the lesson beforehand. The students have previously analyzed and chosen ads from current magazines to create found poetry. These should be available for them at the beginning of class as well.

Practice Procedures Beforehand: The teacher should prepare her own found poetry examples made using the same materials and magazines. She should also be prepared to share her own Power of Three statement with the class.

Identify New Vocabulary:

media- forms of communicating information: television, magazines, newspapers, radio, advertisements

advertisement- a notice or announcement that describes the good qualities of a product or service

Truism- a claim that is so obvious or self-evident as to be hardly worth mentioning, except as a reminder or as a rhetorical or literary device

Public Art- art that is made to be exhibited in the public domain.

Power of Three word statements- short statements consisting of three words (loosely in this case) that make a clear and concise point.



Organize Work Stations:

Each student workstation should consist of a table of four students. During this activity they should be equipped with glue, scissors, construction paper & magazines. The teacher should also prepare three computers with video capability that will be set up around the classroom. During the lesson, a selection of Jenny Holzer's Truisms will be looped as reference. Test technology before the lesson.

Methodolgy:

Whole class ___x____ The students will be participating in discussion about the artists and topics as class.

Cooperative groups__x____ The students will be sharing cooperative workstations.

Pairs______

Small group(s)______


Set/Hook


Begin the class by referencing the prior weeks lesson on commercial art and media advertising. How are you represented in the media? Who is targeted by popular advertisements?

The students will then be introduced to the work of Barbara Kruger, an artist who manipulates advertising campaigns in order to convey her own message. Describe to the students some of Kruger's biographical information. Kruger was a head designer for Madmoiselle magazine in the 1970s. She designed ads geared specifically towards women. Realizing, first hand, what she thought to be an unfair portrayal of females in the media, Kruger began to create her own artwork in protest by using the images found in popular magazines and publications like the one she worked for. She displayed in in the public domain.

Leading discussion questions:

What message is the artist trying to convey?

Where have you seen advertisements using a similar style?

Describe the images she uses. Is this considered art if it is on a bus or a billboard?

Why would the artist choose to place the artwork on a bus rather than in a museum or gallery?


Remind the students that their main objective is to identify the purpose of a media advertisement and manipulate it in order to create their own statement. Introduce them also to the idea of, "Power of Three," statements.

Next, the students will be introduced to Jenny Holzer's, 'Truisms.' This artist uses media and technology that mimics that of commercial advertisements in order to make her own statements about society. She also exhibits them solely in public. Her work is shown on billboards, in department stores, projected on cityscapes, etc.

Tell the students that they will be creating their own Truisms based on their own manipulated media statements using the Power of Three word statement format. They will be exhibiting and distributing them publicly, so their ideas must be based on something they believe in. They will be using art in order to communicate a message.

Anticipated Time: 10 min.


Teacher Explanation/Modeling
Introduction: The previous week students chose and analyzed pages from current magazines. They were asked to identify the audience targeted by the advertisements and form an opinion on it's intent. They were then asked to cut out phrases from the ads to construct their own 'found poems.' The purpose of the lesson is to extract meaning from commercial media in order to make a new statement. The poems must be no shorter than five lines in length and must make a concise and coherent statement.

Once the teacher has presented the hook and the students have discussed the theme based on leading questions, the teacher will inform them that they will be continuing their work on the found poems. From these poems they are to create an additional Truism that is even shorter and more concise. Challenge students to reduce it to the fewest words possible without losing its meaning—no more than four or five words. Encourage them to use everyday words.

When the students have created their Truisms, they will be introduced to the idea of displaying them publicly. Explain that they will be creating posters & flyers of their truisms using text.

Typography: the use of typefaces as means of visual communication

The students will create re-usable stencils using type.

Step One: The Power of Three Word Statement- Draw the letters/type of your Truism on a piece of card stock paper. Examples of different typefaces should be provided for the students.

Step Two: Tape a piece of acetate on top of the drawing, making sure it is secure. Then, trace with a sharpie marker the text of the Truism.

Step Three: Cut out the words from the acetate with scissors.

Step Four: Use the stencil to paint in black or red the Truism on large card stock paper as well as smaller paper (intended for fliers).



Remind the students to create appropriate Truisms and to create statements they believe in.

During the student's work period the teacher should have set up three computers (one placed on each side of the room) that will continuously play a selection from Jenny Holzer's Truisms.


Anticipated Time: 10 min

Guided Practice

The teacher should reference often Jenny Holzer's Truisms during the students work period. She will reinforce the idea that art is communication many times. Guided practice should be offered throughout the class with reference to the aesthetic of advertisements and media. Be sure to reiterate the fact that these works are intended for public viewing.

Revisit new vocabulary.



Anticipated Time: 30 min.


Plan for Differentiated Learning

A challenged or disabled (low functioning) learner may trace provided text in order to create their stencil.

Possible Points: 10 Points Earned:
Interpretive Creative Learning

Students may choose to incorporate a visual element along with their text.

Students may choose to incorporate layering and collage in their found poems.




Closure

At the end of class the students will be asked to share some of their Truisms with the group. They will also be allowed to take flyers home with them and encouraged to distribute them around their communities.

What have you learned about art as a form of communication?

Is text art?




Homework or Independent Practice

Though not required for a specific grade, students will be encouraged to display their Truisms and distribute them as they wish outside of class for homework- an exercise in Public Art.

Student Truisms coming to a corner near you...