Romare Bearden Jazz Collage

Submitted by: Tammy Willis
Elementary Art Teacher
UNIT: Collage - Romare Bearden - Visual Jazz

Description:

Tammy's students used construction paper (fade resistant Tru-Ray is recommended). Students listened to Jazz music and talked about the life and art of Romare Bearden. You could show a PowerPoint of Jazz musicians and give students pictures of instruments. Student created these colorful collage from cut construction paper and only used black marker for some final details at the end. You could do these as self portraits, too - What instrument would you play?

The new CD - Romare Bearden Revealed would be a good choice for this lesson - along with the Shorewood print Carolina Shout.

Objectives: The students will:
1. Explore how artists express ideas, values through art (Art Appreciation: Romare Bearden)
2. Distinguish commonalities, characteristics of artistic styles of expression - compare work of Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence.
3. Discover relationships among art disciplines (art/music/dance)
4. Perceive the environment and develop personal ideas around a theme to create original works of art
5. Produce a work of art using established criteria:

• Contour drawing from life –musical instruments

• Explore color planning – develop unity

• Add interest with line and pattern

• Demonstrate craftsmanship in cutting and gluing

6. Describe and analyze the distinguishing characteristics and qualities of art
7. Interpret the meanings, beliefs, themes, and moods perceived in arts forms
8. Evaluate art using appropriate criteria
9. Reflect on the nature and meaning of art

Materials:
Assorted musical instruments (from band)
12x18 (30.5 x 46 cm) Newsprint
Drawing Pencils
Saral Transfer Paper
Assorted magazines (optional for words)
Sharpie Fine Point Markers
12x18 (30.5 x 46 cm) fadeless Construction Paper
12x18 (30.5 x 46 cm) fadeless art Drawing Paper
Rubber Cement (non-toxic)
Scissors

Instruction:
1. Show video "Romare Bearden: Visual Jazz" Share information about Bearden's life and art throughout the lesson, as the class discussion suggests. Play samples of Jazz music related to Bearden's life (See link below)

[Romare Bearden Revealed - This album is a fusion of two art forms. Each track masterfully adapts to a title of art. The creation of visual music is crafted perfectly on Bearden Revealed.]

2. Introduce the concept of visual symbols by eliciting examples from students, such as a red cross, skull and crossed bones, automobile symbols, sports team symbols, or others with which they are familiar.

3. Introduce the idea that artists often use visual symbols in their work, and Romare Bearden was such an artist. Ask students to look for symbols in Bearden's works and speculate about meanings. Ask students to give reasons for their interpretations. Focus on the train symbol in several of Bearden's works and help students relate it to their studies of the Black migration from the rural South to urban centers in the North. Focus on Bearden’s representation of "sound" in his works.

4. Demonstrate drawing and collage techniques for unit

Evaluation:

1. Group discussions, students' answers to questions for video and Internet activities

2. Drawings – Musical instruments.

3. Color planning –unity of collage

4. Craftsmanship in gluing

5. Patterns and experimentation to represent music

6. Daily participation and effort