Welcome Back Parents and Students!
Colleen and I are looking forward to sharing out excitement with students this year as we focus on the lives and artworks of famous Art icons, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Frida and Diego will be an ongoing theme in our art classes all year long. Through out the year we will return to, or reference these artists so that almost all lessons have some type of connection. To kick off the first week of school, students will be asked to pose as Frida with props.
Not only is this a fun way to be introduced to an artist, but the physical act of posing as the artist and the association with props such as a uni-brow and monkey will allow all students to make a stronger connection with that artist. (Pics to follow!)
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| Colleen Dunbar Loves a good Artist Costume! |
WHY FRIDA?
Why not?? Seriously, one of the most influential Mexican Artists of the 20th century. She was the definition of feminist before it was cool and her paintings are chalked full of symbolism about her cultural identity, heart brake and immigration into the US. These works along with the murals of Diego Rivera allow us to touch on subjects such as the WPA, the Industrial Revolution and the Mexican Revolution. Plus the opportunity to overlap with the Spanish Department is very exciting!
This summer on a family vacation with her oldest, Colleen was able to visit Diego's second commissioned mural in North America completed in 1931.
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| San Fransisco, California |
While on Vacation with my husband this summer we were able to pop in to the MOMA for the day and see a few favorites:
To start out the week students will focus on the following: The Two Fridas, 1939 by Frida Kahlo.
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The painting was the first large-scale work done by Kahlo and is considered one of her most notable paintings.[1] It is a double self-portrait, depicting two versions of Kahlo seated together. One is wearing a white European-style Victorian dress while the other is wearing a traditional Tehuana dress.
QUESTIONS TO ASK:
- What’s going on in this painting? What do you see that makes you say that?
- Who are these women? What is their relationship?
- How are they dressed? Why are they dressed that way?
- How are the two women the same? How are they different?
- What is different about the hearts? What to you think that means?
- What is she holding (look at the close-up shots in this link, scrolling down the page)? Why is she holding that? Why is she using that tool?
- What do the blood, veins, and heart symbolize?
- What emotions are present in this artwork? What do you see that makes you say that?
- How does her use of color contribute to the feeling of the painting?
- What do you think this artist is trying to say here … What is the meaning or message?
After having students answer the above questions, we will then disclose the historical meaning and symbolism of the painting, according to Frida.
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