Curriculum Unit:
Everyday Life - Video Art

Unit Rationale:
Everyday rituals or activities can become symbols of a greater experience connecting us to our families, communities, or cultures. They can also communicate powerful messages about the things we hold as most significant in our individual lives. For these reasons, students will use an everyday ritual as the inspiration for a piece of experimental video art. Kimsooja is a Korean artist working in the medium of video and uses her everyday experiences as inspiration. Images and clips are often repeated to emphasize the repetitive nature of everyday life and the rituals that accompany it. Therefore, Kimsooja’s Sewing Into Walking is the focus artwork, Kimsooja is the focus artist, and repetition is the element of art that will be emphasized.

Grade Level:
High School - Beginning

Lessons and Time Frame:
Lesson 1: Historical and Cultural Context Two 2-hour class periods
Lesson 2: Artistic Perception One 2-hour class period
Lesson 3: Creative Expression - Skill Building Two 2-hour class periods
Lesson 4: Creative Expression - Artwork Four 2-hour class periods
Lesson 5: Aesthetic Valuing Three 2-hour class periods

Focus Artwork:
Kimsooja, Needle Woman, 1999
http://www.kimsooja.com/works_video_sewing-into-walking.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O8TIFipdvw

Teacher example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exY2fA4VP_s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUdVT0z3RUU&feature=youtu.be

Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:

Identify and discuss the main characteristics video art and experimental videos and how the artists use symbolism to convey meaning.
Analyze a piece of video art using the first three steps of the Feldman Model - description, analysis, and evaluation, focusing on the elements and principles of art present in video art.
Edit a short video together using found video clips to practice using the tools in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Brainstorm, plan, film, and edit an experimental video illustrating an element of their everyday lives that holds significance to them and symbolizes an important aspect of their personality.
Participate in a class critique using the Feldman Model.

Materials and Resources:
Art Materials and Tools:

Computer lab
Computers equipped with Adobe Premiere Pro software (Creative Cloud)
Found footage zip files
Smartphones or video cameras
Original footage

Instructional Resources:

LCD Projector and projection screen
Computer
Slideshow: Video Art & Kimsooja
Video - Art and Everyday Life Kimsooja
Handout - Video Art,article from The Art Story http://www.theartstory.org/movement-video-art.htm
Handout - Kimsooja,article from Art21 https://art21.org/artist/kimsooja/
Worksheet - Video Art
Vocabulary sheet about elements and principles of art.
Kimsooja video art
Whiteboard
Whiteboard markers
iPads
Video clips for group activity
Keyboard shortcuts worksheet
Kimsooja’s video art, Sewing Into Walking, 1994
Screencast from Skillbuilding Lesson
Handout - Everyday Life Experimental Video Brainstorm Worksheet
Handout - Rubric for grading the video assignment
Handout - Feldman Model of Critique: Everyday Life Experimental Videos
Handout - Rubric for Class Critique
Handout - The Feldman Method of Critique

Vocabulary:

Video art (n.) - Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting.
Form (n.) - An element of art that is three-dimensional and encloses volume; includes height, width AND depth (as in a cube, sphere, a pyramid, or a cylinder). Form may also be free flowing.
Value (n.) - The lightness or darkness of tones or colors. White is the lightest value; black is the darkest. The value halfway between these extremes is called middle gray.
Space (n.) - An element of art by which positive and negative areas are defined or a sense of depth achieved in a work of art .
Color (n.) - An element of art made up of three properties: hue, value, and intensity.
Hue: name of color
Value: hue’s lightness and darkness (a color’s value changes when white or black is added)
Intensity: quality of brightness and purity (high intensity= color is strong and bright; low intensity= color is faint and dull)
Rhythm (n.) - A principle of design that indicates movement, created by the careful placement of repeated elements in a work of art to cause a visual tempo or beat.
Balance (n.) - e A way of combining elements to add a feeling of equilibrium or stability to a work of art.
Emphasis (n.) - A way of combining elements to stress the differences between those elements.
Harmony (n.) - A way of combining similar elements in an artwork to accent their similarities (achieved through use of repetitions and subtle gradual changes)
Variety (n.) - A principle of design concerned with diversity or contrast. Variety is achieved by using different shapes, sizes, and/or colors in a work of art.
Zip file (n.) - a computer file whose contents of one or more files are compressed for storage or transmission, often carrying the extension .ZIP.
Import (v.) - transfer (data) into a file or document.
Sequence (n.) - a set of related events, movements, or things that follow each other in a particular order.
Export (v). - transfer (data) in a format that can be used by other programs.
Cut (v.) - move to another shot in a movie.
Editing (v.) - choose material for (a movie or a radio or television program) and arrange it to form a coherent whole.
Symbol (n.) - a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.
Tone (n.) - the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.
Mood (n.) - inducing or suggestive of a particular feeling or state of mind.
Art criticism (n.) - systematic discussion of an artwork.
The Feldman Model (n.) - a four-step method for critiquing art that was developed by Edmund Burke Feldman. The steps are: description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation.

California Visual Arts Standards Addressed:
1.0 ARTISTIC PERCEPTION
Processing, Analyzing, and Responding to Sensory Information Through the Language and Skills Unique to the Visual Arts
Students perceive and respond to works of art, objects in nature, events, and the environment. They also use the vocabulary of the visual arts to express their observations.

1.1 Identify and use the principles of design to discuss, analyze, and write about visual aspects in the environment and in works of art, including their own.
1.2 Describe the principles of design as used in works of art, focusing on dominance and subordination.
1.3 Research and analyze the work of an artist and write about the artist's distinctive style and its contribution to the meaning of the work.
1.4 Analyze and describe how the composition of a work of art is affected by the use of a particular principle of design.
1.5 Analyze the material used by a given artist and describe how its use influences the meaning of the work.
1.6 Compare and contrast similar styles of works of art done in electronic media with those done with materials traditionally used in the visual arts.

2.0 CREATIVE EXPRESSION
Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Visual Arts
Students apply artistic processes and skills, using a variety of media to communicate meaning and intent in original works of art.

2.1 Solve a visual arts problem that involves the effective use of the elements of art and the principles of design.
2.3 Develop and refine skill in the manipulation of digital imagery (either still or video).
2.5 Create an expressive composition, focusing on dominance and subordination.

3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of the Visual Arts
Students analyze the role and development of the visual arts in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting human diversity as it relates to the visual arts and artists.

3.2 Identify and describe the role and influence of new technologies on contemporary works of art.
3.3 Identify and describe trends in the visual arts and discuss how the issues of time, place, and cultural influence are reflected in selected works of art.
3.4 Discuss the purposes of art in selected contemporary cultures.

4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works in the Visual Arts
Students analyze, assess, and derive meaning from works of art, including their own,
according to the elements of art, the principles of design, and aesthetic qualities.

4.1 Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social, economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the meaning or message in a work of art.
4.2 Compare the ways in which the meaning of a specific work of art has been affected over time because of changes in interpretation and context.
4.3 Formulate and support a position regarding the aesthetic value of a specific work of art and change or defend that position after considering the views of others.
4.4 Articulate the process and rationale for refining and reworking one of their own works of art.
4.5 Employ the conventions of art criticism in writing and speaking about works of art.

5.0 CONNECTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS, APPLICATIONS
Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in the Visual Arts to Other Art Forms and Subject Areas and to Careers
Students apply what they learn in the visual arts across subject areas. They develop competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and management of time and resources that contribute to lifelong learning and career skills. They also learn about careers in and related to the visual arts.

5.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the various skills of an artist, art critic, art historian, art collector, art gallery owner, and philosopher of art (aesthetician).

For a PDF version of this overview, click here.