Concept to Completion – (developing ideas)

Dark Fantasy Art, Gothic Cartoons: //comics, graphic novels, cartoons, animation //>>>>What are the sources of some creative ideas???

Art in the classroom is so often inspired by art of popular culture seen in video games, graphic novels, and animated films. The extent of influence current cartoonists and animators have on student work is often evident. Macabre fantasy illustrators like Edward Gorey originally helped popularize the Gothic cartoon style that is popular today.

Edward Gorey – The Gashlycrumb Tinies

“Gorey’s illustrated (and sometimes wordless) books, with their vaguely ominous air and ostensibly Victorian and Edwardian settings, have long had a cult following. Gorey became particularly well-known through his animated introduction to the PBS series Mystery! in 1980, as well as his designs for the 1977 Broadway production of Dracula, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Costume Design. (He was also nominated for Best Scenic Design.)”    Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/edward-gorey

A more commonly know animator and film director of the dark fantasy style is American artist, Tim Burton. He has directed and created numerous movies, and is famous for “dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare, Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet, Street,  Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.” MOMA in NYC has recently held a retrospect highlighting his creativity through drawings, sculptures, animations and film. The show illustrated the creative progress of concept of characters in sketches through final development. In an interview, Burton explained how he, “doesn’t use a Blackberry, phone, or computer, but he keeps a pad of paper with him in which he’s constantly doodling or taking notes. His passion is “making things — whether it’s drawing, writing, or making a movie” — and he is doing it constantly”.

Jack and Sally-Tim Burton "Nightmare before Christmas"

Drawings of Jack - Tim Burton

Lesson Plan: “Edward Gorey” Images – Edward Gorey Meets Rene Magritte  http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/high/SurrealPenHS.html

Lesson Plan:  “Tim Burton”  http://arteducationdaily.blogspot.com/2011/01/cute-but-not-too-innocent-art-unit.html

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STUDENT INSPIRATION: >>>>>>

Sketchbook page for Hallo - Brittney S.

A very talented senior level graphic art and fine art student, Brittney S. has successfully developed her inspirations in a similar creative process.  Sketchbooks are her constant companion and are an important tool for recording imaginative ideas. By sketching and developing concepts, she has created fantasy characters of her own.Each character has a unique personality and storyline. Brittney has also found inspiration in mythology.

The characteristics of Walter are reminiscent of an Aztec ocean creature Ahuivotl, who uses his hand/tail to lure people into the water.

The character Walter, inspired by Aztec mythology.

Brittney’s characters have founded their way into cartoons, animation, 3 dimensional sculpture, and clothing designs. Similar to Tim Burton, her characters have taken on a life of their own. This progression has developed by an intentional concern for detail and refining of ideas.

Clay 3 Dimensional representations of Brittneys characters. Walter, Ghosty and Hallo

The characters have found their way into an environment reminiscent of Edward Gorey, a gothic scene done in pen & ink. That does not stop the student from also creating in a more technological media.

pen & ink in the style of Edward Gorey - Brittney S.

Walter

Click Walter to see animation!!

If you are interested in

farther investigation of Edward Gorey’s work,

check out the show in Boston.

CUBISM: 20th century avant-garde art movement

OBJECTS – broken up/ analyzed/ re-assembled >>> in an abstracted form

Two famous artists pioneered the development of cubism, changing the direction of western painting and sculpture. Pablo Picasso’s name is well-known but not many people recognize the importance of George Braque. Both artists worked together to develop the new abstract art.  The new art movement interpreted objects in a ‘flattened, nearly two-dimensional appearance; an inclusion of geometric angles, lines, and shapes’. A cubist artist exams the objects from different angles to give the viewer a better understanding and interpretation of the material.

Fruit Dish - George Braque (1912 - oil and sand on canvas)

“Nowadays, Cubism seems like just another facet of abstract art, but in reality, it came first—and it directly influenced most of the abstract art of the 20th century.In fact, it’s nearly impossible to imagine the 20th century without Cubism, Picasso and the others. . .it would be a very different world of art than the one we know. ”  http://emptyeasel.com/2007/10/17/what-is-cubism-an-introduction-to-the-cubist-art-movement-and-cubist-painters/

Students spent time investigating Cubism and synthesizing the style and method into their own work. Darren R., an advanced senior art student, was successful in creating an artwork influence by the early cubist artists.

Studying the works of cubist artists, Darren R. developed an acrylic painting on canvas. "SAILING" (32 x 48)

Lesson  Planet – a search engine for teachers:  68 cubist painting lesson plans: http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?keywords=cubist+painting&media=lesson

Urban Art… / Street Logos…/Graffiti Art……

“Art is not where you expect to find it” ~ Patrick Mimran

No Future - Banksy

 

Urban Art, Street Logos, Stencil Graffiti, call it what you will, it is a current form of art constantly changing. Today’s graffiti has fast evolved from the preconceived ideas of spray painting a tag on a city wall into a new art from.  In the words of Keith Haring, “I don’t know how to exactly explain it. Taking it off the pedestal. I’m giving art back to the people I guess.”

Keith Haring NYC street art

However, the 1980 ‘classic’ graffiti work of artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat has evolved into various new graphic forms and approaches.  New artists are coming up from the streets and breaking new ground in this art movement. The concrete canvas of the street has become a means to make important statements in public spaces. But some of this art has left the street and entered the main stream of galleries, auction houses, and current media. An example is stencil artist Shepard Fairey, known

Cover of Time - Shepard Fairey

currently for the controversial portrait of Obama on the cover of Time magazine.  The most well-known, yet anonymous UK urban artist, is Banksy. Showing up first across England and then internationally, Banksy’s stencil art has made social commentary around the world. Good street art is working to open societies eyes to the world conditions.

Students in the Art & Artists class, investigated the current work of urban artists. Incorporating social commentary, and inspirational images, some directly borrowed from favorite artists to create their own graffiti type posters. Some students used spray paint and stencil cutting to complete their art. Others used a collage style and paint pens.

More suggestions for teaching a lesson on Urban Artists:  http://artinspired.pbworks.com/w/page/13819589/Graffiti-and-Urban-Art

Brooke borrowed a Banksy graffiti image to comment on children in the slave trade.

Lindsey expresses love not war through spray paint and collage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using a collage technique and paint pens, Danielle communicates the dreams of the homeless.

Darren spray painted on cardboard using cut stencils. He makes a social statement about harvesting baby seals for their fur.