Summer Assignments:
All assignments can be done in any medium, technique and style you desire but should be entirely original (do not use other people’s pictures, characters, or content in any way) and fit the AP Test you are planning on taking (Drawing, 2D, or 3D). Part I and II should be shared before August 1 if you want feedback and Part III can be shared when school begins.
Part I: Breadth Assignments:
(these assignments should be shared with me via social media (twitter/instagram to @timneedles with #NeedlesClass) or email tneedles@smithtown.k12.ny.us by August 1 at the latest for feedback. These works will also be critiqued during the first weeks of classes.)
1. A mixed-media portrait – Create a portrait using various media in monochrome or in color. Feel free to use any medium you desire (ink, collage, newspaper, paint, & other mixed media) and as many media as you like. The style may be handled in any way you wish: realistic, abstract, expressive, impressionistic or cubistic, etc. This portrait should reveal something significant about the model. Hands, torso and face are important features and should be included in the work. Try an unusual surface. The portrait may be done on any flat smooth unbreakable surface such as cardboard, mural paper, plywood, masonite, plexiglass, homasote board, etc.
adjective “of or belonging to the time before the biblical Flood.” meaning: outdated, outmoded, old-fashioned, antiquated, behind the times, passé, ex: Humorous ridiculously old-fashioned."they maintain antediluvian sex-role stereotypes"3. Man vs. Self- Create a work showing the contrast between man vs self. This too can be personal or social (environmentally, philosophically, ect) and literal or figurative. Try to stay away from the cliché imagery and find a unique take on a very ancient theme.
5. “INVISIBLE CITIES” - A Strange Relationship With Memory
In
the book entitled, Invisible Cities,the author, Italo Calvino, beautifully spins a tale of an imaginary encounter
between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan, in which Polo describes all the cities of
his long travels. "Kublai
Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes
the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does
continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity
than he shows any other messenger or explorer."
So begins
Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, a
compilation of fragmentary urban images. As Marco tells the khan about the
marvelous places he has seen or visited, it may be that he is actually creating
them all out of his imagination, or perhaps he is recreating details of his
native Venice
In truth, the book is a magnificent study or examination of
our strange relationship with memory. As Polo tells Khan, "It is not the
voice that tells the story, but the ear." The author of the book notes
that the best way to really maintain and preserve our memories is to leave them
be. Only in this way can we avoid the temptation of returning to them and
likely distorting and warping them from their original state. As Italo Calvino
skillfully reveals the slow and hidden crumbling of our memories. Create a piece of art in any media based on this without using words.
Part II: Choice Assignments:
Create a series of 65 works (about 1 piece a day during the summer). Feel free to experiment creatively and use different media, the subject matter is also your choice but I'd suggest that you both work from life and you imagination. If you get stuck and are at a loss for what to do I suggest using creative promts such as my own #TERPart or some of my favorites like JJCommunity for photography and Illustration Friday for drawing or #31nights which can work for anything!
If you use a sketchbook that would mean 65 pages or if it's photography that would mean 65 images. This work shows process so not every piece would be totally completed but rather a resource to pull from for ideas and creative experiments in the future.
