Still life studies
A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on). With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Greek/Roman art, still life paintings give the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture. Still life paintings, particularly before 1700, often contained religious and allegorical symbolism relating to the objects depicted. Some modern still life breaks the two-dimensional barrier and employs three-dimensional mixed media, and uses found objects, photography, computer graphics, as well as video and sound.
Utilizing this site:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_life select one still life study and provide the following information:
The Artist______
The Title of the piece______
The subject matter painted______
The period it was painted in______
Why you have selected it______
How do you feel when you view it? ______
What did you find interesting about this painting? ______
Do you aspire to paint like this someday? ______
Why or Why not? ______
Using this site: http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/still_life/willem_kalf.htm
find out who was Willem Kalf? ______
Then go to Art lessons and view the three slideshows on Still Life compositions. Be prepared to create a still life of your own in at least 2 of the mediums illustrated.
Go to this site: http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/stilllife.htm and create a
still life on the screen. Experiment with various subject matter and props. Change the lighting and shadows as you please. To save screen, load preview, go to file, go to take screenshot from a section of screen. Save it to your desktop. Try to draw your own version of it and bring it to class.
Utilizing this site: http://painting.about.com/cs/submissiongallery/a/artcritiquelist.htm
Review the section on Critique and prepare a rubric on this page for evaluating a Still Life composition . What are the key factors that separate a Highly Successful from a Moderate composition?
The Critique:
analysis , evaluation , interpretation , and judgment of works of art.. Stages to critical analysis:
1. Initial reaction to a work.
2. Description - identifying subject matter and / or elements of art in a work.
3. Analysis - identifying order (organization) of a work - how principles of art have been used to arrange the elements of art in a work.
4. Interpretation - (identifying meaning) -the artist's expression / communication of feelings, moods, and ideas in a work.
5. Evaluation (judgment) -assessing the meaning and artistic merit in a work.
Rubric for Still Life Evaluation
Ratings / Reason 1 / Reason 2 / Reason 3Highly Successful Still Life Composition
Moderately Successful Still Life Composition
Unsuccessful Still Life Composition
Please review the following site: http://www.bccart.com/
Review the selection of student pencil drawings as a starting point to your own compositions. What are the students trying to accomplish? Review the syllabus for the course. This is an Articulation course you may select to challenge this year and earn college credits prior to graduating.
During this unit, we will be executing several Still Life studies in various media. You will be responsible for all above work as assigned. You will also be applying your Rubric to assess your work and rate your level of success in understanding and mastering the techniques for successful Still Life Compositions.
Consider the artists we have discussed within this unit and the work they have created. Have you grown artistically in knowledge and skill?
Provide a brief narrative about one of the still life compositions you have completed. Employ the following 5 criteria in evaluating your own growth and accomplishments within this unit.
analysis , evaluation , interpretation , and judgment of works of art.. Stages to critical analysis:
1. Initial reaction to your work.
2. Description - identifying subject matter and / or elements of art in your work.
3. Analysis - identifying order (organization) of your work - how principles of art have been used to arrange the elements of your art in your composition.
4. Interpretation - (identifying meaning) -the artist's expression / communication of feelings, moods, and ideas in your work.
5. Evaluation (judgment) -assessing the meaning and artistic merit in your work.