Art from Within - The Art of Hilma af Klint
Curriculum Unit
Art from Within - Curriculum Unit Overview
There have been many ways in which artists use art to talk about identity and describe their experience with the world. Hilma af Klint, out focus artist, was an abstract artist who used painting and drawing to create a network of symbols to describe her personal world and identity. Students will discover their own symbols through the exploration of Klint’s techniques such as automatic drawing, color theory, and free drawing. Students will also learn about the principles of design used by Klint to create a harmonious and powerful composition with their abstract elements. While abstraction can be challenging for some students, my goal with this curriculum unit is to open students up to the possibilities of utilizing a few simple shapes and colors to communicate the message of their experience in the world. Each student will create a watercolor piece which we will combine into a quilt to be displayed.
Read MoreArt from Within - Historical and Cultural Context Lesson
To begin the unit on the work of Hilma af Klint, students will learn about her life and what the primary motivators for her art creation were. Students will watch a presentation and listen to a lecture on Klint while taking interactive notes in their sketchbooks. Students will spend the last few minutes of class practicing automatic drawing to music.
Read MoreArt from Within - Artistic Perception Lesson
During this lesson, students will break into groups and look at various paintings by Hilma af Klint. Students will first describe what they see, what kinds of shapes are being made, the color choices, and discuss the overall mood of the work. To record their observations, students will set up an observation capture worksheet in their sketchbooks. Students will share their observations with the class and discuss Klint’s artistic choices. Students will then write down inspiration and potential ideas for their own pieces, finally sharing with an elbow partner. As an exit ticket, students will write down one thing they might like to add to their own artwork based on Hilma af Klint’s paintings.
Read MoreArt from Within - Creative Expression, Skillbuilding
The skill-building lesson has three components. In the first lesson, students will learn how to create a balanced composition as well as create a focal point using shapes. Students will work in groups for this activity, using construction paper cutouts to build a composition. In the second lesson, students will learn about the basics of color theory and how to execute a triadic color scheme in their final piece. In the final skill-building lesson, students will practice using watercolor and learn the various techniques for executing their design. For homework, students will draw 5 potential designs for their watercolor paintings as thumbnail sketches in their sketchbooks.
Read MoreArt from Within - Creative Expression, Artmaking
Students will have three class periods to create their watercolor paintings. Students will come to class with their completed thumbnail sketches for potential designs. We will go over what makes a successful composition in abstract art as well as the main elements of Hilma af Klint’s work. Students will break into pairs and discuss their thumbnail sketches, talking about which one is the strongest or how it could be developed further. Students will then have the remaining class periods to work independently on their watercolor paintings.
Read MoreArt from Within - Aesthetic Valuing Lesson
In the final lessons of the curriculum unit, students will evaluate their work and the work of their peers. Working in groups, students will first discuss their work, their inspiration, what color scheme they used, and any symbols they’d like to share. Once students have shared, they will break into pairs and follow the Feldman Model of critique and complete a worksheet in their sketchbook. Once students have completed the critique, we will work on combining the paintings into a quilt to display.
Read MoreArt from Within - Historical and Cultural Lesson
To begin the unit on the work of Hilma af Klint, students will learn about her life and what the primary motivators for her art creation were. Students will watch a presentation and listen to a lecture on Klint while taking interactive notes in their sketchbooks. Students will spend the last few minutes of class practicing automatic drawing to music.
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