Media Arts: Pixar

In media arts class we are beginning to animate and this week we are looking at PIXAR's films so here's a quick peek at some of the "easter eggs" hidden in some of the films that are references to their other films!  Some I'm sure you've seen but others are more disguised.

Studio Art: stencil screenprinting

In Studio Art class we are currently working on our stencil screenprint and yesterday we looked at some of the history and types of printmaking from early cave paintings to early Chinese printmaking techniques to woodblocks by Albrecht Dürer and Japanese artists such as Katsushika Hokusai to Alois Senefelder's  Lithography technique invented in 1798 to modern street art such as Obey (Shepard Fairey) and Banksy.  This week we will but cutting our stencils and on Friday we will have a short quiz on what we learned.

Media Art: Pakistan videoconference 4

Tomorrow we will hold our 4th video conference with the class is Islamabad Pakistan and we will be presenting the aspects of our public service announcement that we have created and having a 30 minute debate on a foreign relation issue of your choice.  Here's a quick look at the history of our relations for your reference: US-Pakistan foreign relations but any global issue effecting both countries can be debated such as: economy, environment, energy, free speech, ect.  Take a look online for more ideas, here's a link to get you started- Pew Foreign Policy and Global Attitudes.  Below is the format for the debate but we will be working on it in class today and preparing using some Internet and global resources.

DEBATE FORMAT (20-30 minutes)

OPENING STATEMENTS: 1 minute per team Each team (up to 4) presents their opening statement, which includes their position on the debate prompt and an overview of their main arguments.

ARGUMENT and EVIDENCE ROUNDS: 5-7 minutes per team Each team (up to 4) has the opportunity to present their three main arguments and supporting evidence, followed by an opportunity for other teams to challenge, and concludes with a rebuttal. There will be as many rounds as there are teams.

1. The team presents its 3 main arguments and supporting evidence (2-3 minutes).

2. Opportunity to challenge*: Other groups ask any clarifying questions or challenge the presented arguments (1 minute).   *Students may challenge only once per round, to encourage as many students to participate in the activity as possible.

3. Rebuttal: The presenting team has the opportunity to defend its position and clarify arguments (2-3 minutes).

CONCLUDING STATEMENTS: 2 minutes per team Each team (up to 4) has a final opportunity to argue for their position. The closing statement should recap the team’s position and argument, while answering any lingering questions that were not answered during the rebuttal. As the last statement of their position, speakers should be persuasive and confident.

AP Art: The Concentrations are done! (hopefully)

In AP Art our 12 concentration assignments should now be complete and we will look at the series and make sure the work makes sense based on the statement and is consistent in terms of concept and style.  Above is an example from Shelby who's theme which was increased construction destroying the natural environment and shows great clarity and consistency.  In the coming week we should work on strengthening whatever is the weakest parts of our portfolio is.

Media Arts: Animation

In media arts class this week we looked at a few different animated works which use different techniques and have made an impact such as John Lasseter's work with Pixar and Matt Groening's work with the Simpsons and Futurama.  We also looked at more independent animation work such as Loren Bouchard's work on Bob's Burgers and Home Movies and Adam Reed's work on Archer series. Tomorrow we will have a short quiz on what we learned and next week after we complete our IVC with Pakistan look in detail at a great feature length animated film Pixar's Ratatouille which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. 

Below is a clip we watched with voice actor Hank Azaria and  Conan O'Brien who was a writer and producer on The Simpsons for 2 seasons until he became host of Late Night in 1993.

Studio Art: Printmaking

 

In studio art we are about to begin our printmaking unit and the above  book cover illustration from American Supernatural Tales is an example of an what our first printing project will look like.  The drawing all black and very graphic of a weathered monotone background. 

Our first print is going to be done in a very simple stencil style based on our previous portrait project and it can be literal or abstracted like the example below from Paige.  First I will show some examples of finished prints and we will start with a few initial drawings for our first print in pencil.  I will demonstrate the process in class and show the very simple printmaking process.

Spring Break in France and Italy

 

I spent spring break touring France and Italy visiting the Louvre in Paris, Milan's Duomo, Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia, San Gimignano and Sienna (where the color terminology comes from) in Tuscany, and Rome's Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel admiring some amazing art, architecture, and sculpture and soaking in the culture.  The trip was terrific and I'll share some of what we learned about art and culture in class this week in the mean time check out the amazing video below about the Sistine Chapel which was unquestionably one of the trips big highlights!

 

 

The group I was traveling with also happened to bump into some Italian students on a while in Florence which was fun and unexpected below is Lisa and Harry from AP Art on the streets of Florence outside the Baptistery! 

 

Media Arts: Pixilation storyboards

Today is the final class before our spring break so the colored 6 frame storyboards for you pixilations are due today.  Everyone should film their pixilation which should be at least one minute long over the break, check out the demo I did in class on Vine above talong with the student example below to get an idea of what the expectation is.  You are free to use any media such as: cell phones, SLR's, ect. to shoot it as well as apps such as: Vine, iTimeLapse, or any others or simply take photos then edit them when you return using Adobe Premiere, iMovie, or Windows Movie Maker. 



Remember creativity and clean shots are the key here! When we return we will begin our hand drawn animations so take a look at the video below from Pixar's John Lasseter on his advice for students!

Media Arts: Pixilations

Yesterday in Media Arts class we began working on the fundamentals of creating an animation with a simple 8 frame hand-drawn, morphing animation and today we will learn about another way to animate called a pixilation.  There's a great short example above called You & I which shows what the final project will look like but today we'll create a short, simple pixilation in class collaboratively with each student writing their name and one adjective about themselves (quirky, funny, creative, ect).

Each student will be creating their own short pixilation in the future so think of concepts that might work well with this process when we are learning about it.  Below is a great classic example of a pixilation from Coldplay that you might have seen.

The San Diego Museum of Art

Last week I was in San Diego, California for the National Art Educators Convention and I had a chance to visit The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park so I wanted to share some of the highlights.

The museum had a terrific show on painter Robert Henri (1865-1929) who's work which I have not seen much before and an example of a portrait he created is pictured directly above.  The exhibit titled Spanish Sojourns included interactive elements such as a wardrobe and props to create the Robert Henri look like I did above!

 

I also had a chance to meet and talk with artist Deborah Butterfield at the NAEAwho is world famous for her sculptures of horses uses weathered wood.  She gave a great talk on her work which we'll reference during our upcoming organic sculpture unit.  Take a look at some of her work below, its terrific!

Japanese Student Visitors

We recently had two Japanese student visitors, Anna and Hikaru, from Tokyo stay with us in Smithtown for two weeks through the Japan Society's education program.  As part of the program each student had to create a project about American schools  and above is Hikaru's completed projects featuring some of the students from AP Art class.  Hikaru partnered with Gabby from AP Art who was part of the program in Japan this summer and Anna partnered with Allison who will be traveling to Japan this summer.

Media Art: Public Service Announcement

Today we will be completing major production on our Global Nomads Group collaborative Public Service Announcement and taking a short vocabulary quiz on the terms we learned from PBS and in class.  All the editing and post-production must be completed next week by Wednesday.

AP Art: Senior Show- Michelle

Our most recent AP Art Senior Show opened yesterday with Michelle's solo exhibit including her knockout concentration paintings and a collection of drawings.  The work is terrific and a big crowd lingered to see what she's been working on for the past 9 weeks.  Her works evoke her animation which is also fantastic and it will be up through the week so be sure to check it out while you can!

Media Arts: Global Nomads PSA project

Yesterday we held our 3rd video conference with the G9 school in Islamabad, Pakistan and we were able to discuss the concept for our upcoming public service announcement on drug and alcohol abuse and hear about their environmental public service announcement. It was again an interesting and productive conversation and we will be continuing work which we discussed yesterday for the remainder of the week both in preparing and beginning to film our PSA and clarifying what we are requiring from our partner school.

A special thanks goes out to Nick and Shannon who shared their talent by playing guitar and singing "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down yesterday at the tail end of our talk.  Great job guys!

Back from San Diego's National Art Educators Association conference

Loving the #creative #spirit @naea #SanDiego! Great #participatory #workshops w/ @Sharpie & @MichaelsStores #naea14 https://t.co/m7Dma8hSCb
— Tim Needles (@timneedles) March 29, 2014

I'm back from the National Art Educators Association conference in San Diego today feeling refreshed and creative!  This is the last week of the quarter so make sure all projects are complete and in by tomorrow!