Text Box: Humanities 7th Grade

L. Jane Thomley

Creative Drama & Theatre Arts

Thomas Metcalf School

Office Phone:  309-438-2588

Hayden Auditorium: 309-438-8433

Fax: 309-438-2580

E-mail:  ljthoml@ilstu.edu

Thomas Metcalf Creative Drama & Theatre Arts

To contact us:

Course Overview

 

     Humanities is a one quarter fine arts course for seventh grade.  Humanities is taught by the Theatre Arts specialist at Metcalf with assistance from Visual Art and Music faculty.   Within this course the word “art” will be used/defined as all visual and performing arts.  The course was developed to focus on the commonalities' and differences in the fine arts, to enhance our student’s knowledge of the fine arts from a historical perspective and to synthesize this knowledge into the production of their own art. 

 

     Humanities meets five days a week for one quarter.     The course begins with an in class viewing of the Stephan Sondheim musical A Sunday in the Part With George followed with discussion on what it means to be an artist.  Using art as a metaphor for life our discussion focuses on the choices we make as individuals and how those choices can determine the course our lives will take.  During the class students will use a thematic approach to analyze the art of various cultures, historical periods and stylistic movement and synthesize these elements into the production of their own art.  Units of study are style based and cover Realism, Narration, Abstraction and Expressionism.  The course content includes work in art production, theatre improvisation and performance, music composition and dance.  Students will become familiar with examples of Western and Non-Western art forms, use appropriate arts vocabulary and apply concepts covered in class to identify and talk about the visual and performing arts.  They will be able to observe, identify, analyze and synthesize the need for art in modern life and they will produce a series of works of art that reflect selected concepts, themes and technical skills. 

 

     The culminating activity for the course is an all day field experience at the Art Institute of Chicago and attendance at an evening performance of a musical play.  While at the Art Institute students will work in teams to identify, analyze and discuss a broad range of art work from the total museum collection.  In the late afternoon the group will walk to Millennium Park to view the gardens and familiarize themselves with the public sculpture available in this area.  We explore the outdoor performance venues and public spaces of the park as large works of art.  The evening performance is selected from the available professional offerings in the Chicago metro area.  Students have attended theatre productions at Drury Lane Oakbrook, The Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, Chicago Theatre, Cadillac Palace and Oriental Theatre on past trips.

Experience art at The Art Institute of Chicago

Fourth Quarter Assignments and Current Due Dates

Updated Monday, May 12, 2008

All classes will meet backstage and on stage in Hayden for the rest of the year unless noted otherwise. 

 

Monday, May 12—Update assignment due dates and discuss the play review            assignment

 

Tuesday, May 13—Finish the last of the Talking Postcard assignments.  Go over

           Abstraction material.  Possibly see video on Georgia O’Keefe and Picasso.

 

Wednesday, May 14—My 1st graders are performing at morning assembly.              Please go to the 102 computer lab w/ Mr. Huchel.   You should work on

           Your review of LES MIZ or your artist statement for your Abstraction Final.

 

Thursday, May 15—Please meet in the 222 computer lab to work on your            Abstraction Final and review of LES MIZ.

 

Friday, May 16—Meet in the 222 lab.  We will be going over the elements of

           Expressionism.  Your Abstraction Final and review of LES MIZ are due at the

           end of this class period.

 

Monday, May 19  - Time in class to refine Artist Statements and presentation of

           Final Exams

 

Tuesday, May 20—Time in class to refine Artist Statements and presentation of

           Final Exams.  Finals due at the end of the period.

 

Wednesday, May 21—Watch selected IVA videos in class.

 

Thursday, May 22—Continue watching IVA videos in class.

 

Friday, May 23—No Class.  11:00 Dismissal

 

Assignment Checklist

Check yourself!  Did you turn all these assignments in?  Webgrader will not be up dated until next week!

 

George Quiz—Individual assignment

Catching a Fish—Group assignment

Social Realism Photo—Individual assignment

Talking Postcard Dialogue—Paired assignment

Realism Final

Review of LES MIZ—this will count as your narration final

Abstraction Final

Expressionism Final

Interview With An Artist Video
Text Box: Directions for the Final Exam The final exam for this class is a demonstration of your knowledge of the art styles we studied in class. To complete the exam follow the steps below. You may bring in work at any time for teacher review and help with refining your ideas. You will turn in 4 works of art and 4 Artist Statements to complete the exam. This is not a guessing game. You know a lot about the arts. Show and tell us what you know through your work! Choose the ART FORM that you are most comfortable with. You are only choosing 1 art form. You must use this art form through out the exam so choose the ART FORM where you think you do the best work. ART FORMS include: Theatre, Visual Art, Music or Dance. Your work will take the format that uniquely represents each art form. You are creating works of art that communicate your ideas. Make each work complete. Use good craftsmanship, and care in presentation. Keep in mind the words Stephan Sondheim used in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE. Composition, Design, Order, Tension, Balance, Harmony Visual Art—Your work will be either drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, or photography. Please submit the art works with your Artist Statements attached to each. The Artist Statement should include art vocabulary to help communicate your ideas. Theatre Arts—Your work should take the form of scripted (short) scenes in printed format OR a DVD of you performing your script. You may recruit help from family or friends as performers but it is YOUR performance and script that will be accessed. If you choose to perform you must remember that costume and setting will contribute greatly to the communication of your theme. Music—You may record yourself performing works that fit each of the styles OR you may find recordings of music that fit each of the styles. You may submit either CD or a taped recording. In either case your Artist Statement must use music vocabulary to communicate your ideas. It is the music (notes) that communicate the theme so avoid using music with lyrics except for your narration example. Dance—a DVD/VHS or 8MM recording of you performing dance OR excerpts of dance performances that fit each of the styles and your theme. You may reserve the stage for your recording if needed. Costuming will be an essential element in communicating your idea. Your movement will specifically planned and executed. Each of the styles will be communicated through the physical elements of dance and the visual elements of costuming and setting. In your Artist Statement you will use words that describe the movement and Dance vocabulary to communicate your idea. Choose the THEME for your work. Remember the THEME is the over all big picture of your work. What message are you trying to communicate? Dogs is a subject, dogs are loyal so Loyalty would be a theme. 3. Choose your option. Option A—Create works of art that are examples of each of the 4 styles. OR Option B—Go and find examples that fit the criteria for each of the styles. If you have chosen Visual Art as your Art Form you may use the postcard reproductions from the Art Room or search on the Internet and print examples. In any case we must have the example attached to your Artist Statement in order to assess your work. You must stick with either Option A or B throughout the entire exam. Option A is the easiest for Theatre and Dance. Option B is the easiest for Visual Art or Music. If you choose the more difficult option for your art form you will be given “challenge credit” or “difficulty points” for your effort. 4. Create (A) or find (B) one work of art in each of the 4 art styles (Realism, Narration, Abstraction, Expressionism) we have studied. For your Realism example you should choose one of the 6 sub- styles for your work. Remember, the categories of Realism are: Classical—Symmetric, balanced, idealized. Sometimes includes reference to Greek or Roman myth but not always. Romantic—Highly detailed & decorative. Contains a dramatic sense of movement. Has a “costumed” effect. Documentary—documents a historic or actual event in history. Somewhat photographic in subject matter. Naturalism—Up close and personal. Shows great detail but is NOT idealized or perfected. School picture vs. Graduation portrait Cultural- Contains a code or references that one must have knowledge of in order to understand the work. Can be related to tribal or indigenous peoples or contains information that is part of the cultural mainstream. Social—Comments on a social ill or concern. Always has an imbedded message for the viewer or audience. The art work is used as commentary to persuade the viewer to think in a new way. Narration: A work of art that tells a story. Abstraction: A work of art that takes a complex image or idea and boils it down to its’ simplest form. Expressionism: A work of art that demonstrates an extreme sense of emotion or feeling. Expressionistic work uses color, movement, pattern, shape and language to show human emotion. Write a one page Artist Statement for each work of art. Your Artist Statement is a support document to make sure the audience understands your idea. It is an explanation of your work. Be sure to answer the questions below in your Artist’s Statement. What do you want the audience to get from your art work? What method(s) or techniques did you use to achieve your desire effect? How do you see your art work changing or supporting the audiences’ ideas or viewpoint? Why is your message important? Label your examples and attach your Artist Statements to each work and turn in your whole exam. TURN IN ALL WORK AT THE END OF CLASS ON TUESDAY, MAY 20. Remember you can bring in work at any time for teacher review and help in refining your ideas. YOUR LAST DAY OF HUMANITIES WILL BE THURSDAY, MAY 22.