Learning Objectives

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the visual element line and texture and the visual principle pattern / movement.
2. Demonstrate an exploration of graphite and appropriate use of graphite.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of detail and craftsmanship

Mini-Assignment

1. Find one black and white landscape photograph and bring it in (magazines, books, internet). Describe the landscape in no less than 30 sentences. At least 5 of these sentences must be emotional descriptions. Make sure that you describe everything from number of trees to their location to their texture. Describe both the physical properties of the landscape and the emotional qualities. How does this landscape make you feel?
2. Watch at least two videos from Button Poetry

Major-Assignment

1 drawing on 18″ by 24″ white paper or larger

Materials

White drawing paper
Pencil
Kneaded eraser
Chamois

Info

Making artwork is taking an idea and trying to communicate that idea to the world. We do this through language. The goal of this assignment is to force you to think about how we communicate. Artwork that is rather boring in nature is like a bad dating site profile. It is bland and doesn’t really tell us anything about that person. Great artwork lets us in on all the peculiarities of that object. The bad, the good, the ugly. Great art is like great poetry; it doesn’t just capture the image, it makes us feel it.

Process

1. Bring in the description you created and the photograph you used for your mini assignment.
2. Trade your description (but NOT the photo) with a partner. Do not allow them to see the photo.
3. Draw each other’s descriptions.

Artists / Resources

Florian Maier-Aichen
Memory by Anish Kapoor
Video of Albert Bierstadt’s Work