Life Documentation Through Design

Submitted by: Katherine Greene

Art Teacher - Ashe High School
Title of Lesson: Digital Art - Life Documentation Through Design
Grade level: Beginning - Intermediate Art

Goals / Objectives:
Learn how to use digital media in a way to combine research, art-making, and presenting a finished project. Document life as you know it and live it through writing, photos, etc.

Create a digital project that encompasses how you see the world, what you fill your life with, how you go about your days, etc. Research other artists and time periods that focused on documenting life.

Materials Needed:

• Computer

• Phone/Camera with connection ability

• Digital photo editing program such as Adobe Photoshop, Picture Collage Maker, or Pixlr (collage capability)

• Microsoft Word, or online writing tool such as Google Drive, iCloud, etc.

Lesson Description:
Performance tasks:
-Use a Chromebook correctly and effectively.
-Produce a final project that includes a brief synopsis of their research and artist statement.
-Research, take notes, and type up a summary of historical examples of documenting life.
-Use either camera, phone, etc to document their life- connect it to the Chromebook with cord, or wireless.
-Use an online version of Photoshop such as pixlr.com to combine photos, writing, etc.
-Participate in class critique of finished artwork and written portion of project.

Learning Activities:

-Begin research. Historical documentation of life - scholarly or artistically. Artists, time periods, societies, civilizations, etc.

-Compile documentation of your personal life. Photos, journals, receipts, artwork, school work, friends; anything from your life. Use a camera, phone, anything that makes your artifacts digital.

-Digital photo editing/compiling mini lessons. Learn how to make an interesting design using photo editing and collage techniques. {Final piece can be abstract, or expressionistic realism.}

-Type up a synopsis of your research, experience, and artist statement for your finished piece. Turn in through Google Docs.

-Present your final project. Discussion will be the Artwork Analysis on your own artwork with questions from the class after. Rubric will be given.

-Turn in all parts of the project through email.

**Other steps may be added depending on student interest or knowledge.

Pre-assessment (Formative):

Discussion of student knowledge and uses of Chromebooks; creating art in various digital ways; and researching methods.

Interim Assessments:

Feedback about how the parts of the project are going; in-progress informal critique to see where students are in their process and to give ideas of where to take the project next; re-connect students with the tasks they need to complete.

Post-assessment (Summative):

Class critique and presentation of final projects. Formal rubric included and discussion of Artwork Analysis (attached).

National Visual Arts Standards Covered (From http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/standards.aspx): B.V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately.
B.V.3.2 - Use a variety of media, including 2D, 3D, and digital to produce art.
B.CX.1 Understand the global, historical, societal, and cultural contexts of the visual arts.
B.CX.1.3 - Understand how art is used to document human experience.
I.CX.2 Understand the interdisciplinary connections and life applications of the visual arts.
I.CX.2.4 - Analyze how digital design affects communication in art.
I.CR.1 Use critical analysis to generate responses to a variety of prompts.
I.CR.1.1 - Critique art based on personal and formal criteria.