Thursday 23 August 2007

Pay Attention

What a great art lesson we had today! The syllabus suggested looking at Picasso's Guernica as a stimulus for making an artwork about a global or social issue. Picasso is one of my favourite artists, so this suggestion was welcome. I downloaded an image and put it on overhead. The children - 10,11 and 12 years of age - were absolutely fascinated by the artwork and the story behind it. We had a great discussion about the imagery and techniques, then they were asked to think of an issue that affected them. These wonderful kids came up with: global warming; the war in Iraq; the war in Lebanon; apartheid; divorce; stroke; pollution; death of a family member; and September 11th 2001. They are now busily creating sketches on which to base their final artworks. Some days are diamonds................

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ya gotta love South West Sydney!

They're a long way ahead of me... my biggest worry at the same age was that my rugby team would merge with the 'enemy'.

Anonymous said...

Kids are great! You're lucky to be able to spend so much time with them and see the 'gems' emerge.

Brandi Reynolds said...

I keep staring at that picture..it is mesmerizing! I don't remember getting to study picasso when I was that age! lucky kids...what a wonderful way to open their minds.

Paper Fan Club said...

I wish more people would consider exposing children to the beauty and wonder of art at a local gallery. I remember taking early field trips and being completely mesmerized by what I saw adorning those walls...