The Sum of Parts

Cody Roberts:  Inspired by Rauschenberg, Jim Dine, Shepard Fairey, and Dada

Sophie Eichner:  Inspired by Sol Lewit

Kaelee Humphrey:  Inspired by Chris Metze, Mary Scurlock, and Cindy Neuschwander

Application of Research

Throughout each level of the DRHSART program, students are required to keep a visual journal that records research, planning, art history, and ideas about their work.  One major component of the visual journal is the artist research that is to be turned in once per quarter.  The students have complete autonomy with who they choose to study in their journals, and in most cases the artists they study become instrumental in the development of the students' unique artistic voices.

This second semester Art 3 project is aimed at helping students reflect on who they have studied thus far, and challenges them to create a work of art that touches on the styles, techniques, media, and processes explored by each studied artist. The most successful of our past art students have met that success through the trusted process of Copy > Combine > Transform.  

​In essence, the creative process requires appropriation and the combination of ideas that have meaning to the artist.   Ideally, this project will build upon the skills learned in the Subject, Media, Mashup assignment that preceded it.  The goal here is to develop a voice that can be explored over the summer before Art 4.

Brainstorm with Purpose
When beginning this assignment, I'd like each of you to follow this methodical approach that is more likely to yield good results.

In order to give yourself a clear direction for this work, please answer the following questions for each artist you've studied in your visual journal.

1. What are the visual trends you notice in the artist's work. 

2.  If you boil down the major concepts explored by  the artist, what seems to be most consistent?

3.  Which works of art are you most drawn to by the artist?  Give a brief explanation of why.

After answering these three simple questions for each artist, please complete the following activities to better provide inspiration for this assignment.

1.  Using either a Google Doc or Word, create a full page of small color thumbnail images that represent the most important  and interesting works for each artist.  Limit yourself to one page, and include only those works that interest you the most.  You should have a minimum of 20 images total on your document.    

Print this document, cut out each work of art, and paste them into your journal.  This will act almost like a Pinterest board of inspiration.

2.  Take one page in your journal, and fill that page with legible words that represent the following:

• titles of works
• concepts explored by the artists
• colors consistently used
• textures you've noticed
• compositional tendencies (how space is used)
• emotions conveyed in the work
• media used by the artists

As you write these words, increase the boldness or size of those words that seemed to trend the most in the artists' works.  This will help you quickly spot those concepts, materials, and compositional tendencies that most overlap.  

Assessment
During the critique of this project, the students will be required to project and discuss the work of the artists whose work inspired their own.  As they discuss the studied artists' works, they will discuss how they borrowed techniques and ideas from that work.  The goal of this critique is to share inspiration with each other,  discuss the many ways each artist successfully solved the creative problem, and to collectively brainstorm other ways that could enhance the student work.

Rebecca Kuzemchak:  Inspired by Damien Hirst, Joseph Kosuth, and Chris Jordan