Rhythm and Art: Connections Part of the Unit: Rhythm and Art

Lesson Overview:

Given a selection of 5-10 instrumental pieces from cultures around the world and at least 5-10 works of art, students will match the postcards with the music.

Length of Lesson:

Two 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• understand how non-verbal language is manipulated to communicate a thought or an emotion (through the study of Torres-García's symbolism, Picasso's emotional use of color in his Blue and Rose Periods, and abstract Expressionism).
• be able to dissect the relationships between elements and principles; specifically line, shape, and color, and their maximum and minimum contrast.
 

Supplies:

• postcards or magazine cut-outs of artworks that use line, shape, and color in their maximum and minimum contrast (see the Instructional Plan below for specific suggestions)
• recordings of music from various cultures that utilize several instruments and rhythms
 

Instructional Plan:

Days 11-12

Teacher Guided Instruction

Have a selection of 5-10 instrumental musical selections from cultures around the world (e.g., African music, Latin American music, flamenco, African American music, folk music, contemporary music, classical music). If possible, choose selections that use only one kind of instrument (i.e., drums, strings, piano, flute). Also have a selction of 5-10 postcards of artworks that students will match with the musical pieces. If you do not have postcards, you could use old magazines, cut-out images, or images printed off of the Internet (see Internet Resources section).

Following is a list of artists whose works could be used in this exercise. (The artists are grouped together by the elements studied in Elements of Art lesson):

• To represent the use of organic lines, show works by S.A. Jones, Willem de Kooning, Louis Morris, and Jackson Pollock.
• To represent the use of shapes, show works by Stuart Davis, Vassily Kandinsky, Joan Miro, Louise Nevelson, and Georgia O'Keeffe (see O'Keeffe's Evening Star, specifically).
• To represent the use of geometric shapes, show works by Josef Albers, Ellsworth Kelly, and Alvin Loving.
• For organic shapes, show works by Helen Frankthaler and Robert Motherwell.
• For the repetition of shapes, show Alexander Calder, Vassily Kandinsky, and Andy Warhol (see Warhol's Marilyn Monroe, specifically)
• For rhythm (movement), show Umberto Boccioni, Stuart Davis, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, and Vincent van Gogh.
• For patterns, show Gustav Klimt, Larry Poons, Victor Vasarely, and Pre-Columbian textiles.
• For color, show Roberto Matta, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Mark Rothko.
• For color patterns, show Robert Delaunay.

Play the recording of each musical selection. For each piece, students will listen and, at the same time, observe the artworks one by one. Ask students to find the audio/visual connection and encourage them to match the postcard with the melody.

Once they have selected the postcard of their preference, ask the students why they selected that specific postcard. Were they drawn to the color, shapes, lines, movement, rhythm, and/or patterns? Ask other students if they agree, and if not, which postcard they would select. (There is no right or wrong answer. As long as students can explain why they chose a particular image, and use appropriate vocabulary to describe particular elements of the painting (shape, line, rhythm, etc.), they have completed the goals of this activity.)

Review

Have students create a list of new words they have learned about the elements of art, completing the following statement: "A (line, shape, color) can be/have: _____." For example:

• A line can be organic, inorganic, straight, or curved.
• A line can have movement and rhythm.
• A shape can be organic, inorganic, or geometric.
• A color can have patterns and repetition.

Closure

Remind students of the new vocabulary they have learned. Review what the class has accomplished and check for understanding.

 

Assessment:

At the end of the unit, Making Connections Between Music and Art, evaluate student performance based on this Self-Assessment Rubric.

 

Extensions:

Continue on to next and final lesson in the Rhythm and Art unit: Individual Report

 

Authors:

• Teresa Ghiglino, Studio Art - AP
  Bell Multicultural Senior High
  Washington, DC