Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Miz Art Two ~ Art Class ~ Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of great arts and cultural innovation in the African-American community in the 1920's and 1930's. Art, literature, poetry, music and theatre was springing up everywhere during this time period and it's influence continues today. Some of these artists and intellectuals were trying to form a new identity for themselves that rose against the terrible racism and difficulties that they were facing. They were living in an atmosphere of segregation, lynchings, and when African-Americans were portrayed in the media with negative stereotypes. These artists were rising above (remember Spiral Group?) to create new meanings, new art, new identities for themselves and their culture. This is a very simplified way of defining the movement/history and I urge you to research it more on your own as it is truly a very important part of American history.

Your Miz Art:

Read about one of the Harlem Renaissance artists and answer the following questions:

1) What is the artist's name and where and when did they live?

2) What medium did they work with?

3) Pick one artwork and describe it using your art vocabulary. Describe the focal point, whether they used rule of thirds, texture, value, color, line, shape, form, and so on. Make sure you include the title of the artwork, what year it was created and the medium.

4) Read about the artist and their life. List three interesting facts about the artist.


Here are the artists you can choose from (I have links below but you may google them or research them in the library for more information):


Aaron Douglas

Romare Bearden

Augusta Savage

Archibald Motley


DUE: December 9th, 2011

Student Work! Salvador Dali Surrealism Digital Projects








Vincent Van Gogh



"...Now I as a painter shall never amount to anything important, I am absolutely sure of it."

~ Vincent Van Gogh
Letter to brother Theo, May 1889

"Nineteenth-century Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh painted for only eight years. During that time, he was scorned or, at best, ignored; only one of his paintings was sold during his lifetime. And yet, although plagued by self-doubt, he instinctively viewed the world through the eyes of an artist. The resulting paintings and drawings stand as a powerful and lyrical testament to the ultimate triumph of this brilliant man."

~ Pascal Bonafoux
"Van Gogh: The Passionate Eye"


I came across these two quotes as I was looking for images of trees for the Cinderella play. Often in life we come across obstacles as Van Gogh did. Look how beautiful Van Gogh's paintings are! He is one of the most famous artists of all time now! Then there is Chuck Close. He continues to paint even though he is paralyzed. I am reminded that every person is valuable and to continue even when things are difficult.

A student this morning completed a work of art that didn't turn out the way she wanted it to. On the back she wrote "I tried!". Sometimes that happens! We try. And we try again. That's also how life works. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes we succeed. We have to learn from our mistakes and keep plugging along. We can do it! And help others along the way. We're all in this journey together!


"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
~ Scott Adams

2011/2012 Yearbooks are now on sale!

This year's 2011/2012 Yearbook is now on sale! Buy now for $45! We will be selling them at the Parent-Teacher conferences. This price won't last so pre-order your copy now!