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Cubism Photo Montage

Lesson Plan Submitted by: Joe Applebaum, Brecksville-Broadview Hts. High S, Cleveland, OH
Unit: Cubism - David Hockney
Lesson Plan: Cubism and the Photomontage-Photo II
Grade Level: High School 9 through 12
Resources and more Hockney Lesson Plans - Student Handout by Mike Sacco

 

Objectives: The student will:

1). Be able to identify Cubist works (namely the works of Picasso and the Cubist-inspired works of David Hockney).
2). Develop compositional skills.
3). Continue the development of their sense of composition.
4). Learn to appreciate the visual aspects of one's surroundings.
5). Express or create a work showing a time frame.
6). Think of what the final composition will be while shooting.
7). Continue the development of critical analysis in a positive manner.
8). Respect the work done by others.

 


hockney      hockney

Zac Bubnick                                                             Cate Laskovics (click images for larger views)

This is always an award winning project for Joe. Shown are two Scholastic Gold Key Winners for 2005. (That shape is Cate's arm... better photo to come).

 

hockney      hockney
Photo Montage by Keara Anderson                                           Photo Montage by Katelyn Vershall

Materials:

Slides and handouts (history); camera, film - one roll of 36 exposure color. (NOTE: Obviously this lesson was submitted before the digital age swept in. Now you would want to have Digital Cameras. and you could Print. up as many prints as you wanted. You would probably want to use photo-quality paper..

Photos (double prints) to bring to following studio class (See note above), Rubber Cement., Mounting Board. (14-ply).


Links:

Internet Resources | See Handout by Mike Sacco

Procedures:

1). (History) Introduce the technique of Cubism-history of its beginnings, important artists who contributed to the birth of Cubism.
2). Show slides of Cubist works, discuss each one, ask students to identify the Cubist aspects/features.
3). Introduce works by David Hockney with slides. Discuss Cubist features in his work. Have students identify similarities-where/how he may have been influenced by Cubism.
4). Give students overview of unit.
5). Give students studio assignment.

 

Special Notes from Joe:

"I've been doing this with students for years, it can be a lot of fun. Most students aren't crazy about it at first, but after they have done it once they want to do it again. Here is a write-up of the lesson that one of my student teachers did for me once."

 

Here are the basics:  You could make cardboard viewfinders and have them practice standing in one place (it's very important that they don't move!)  and get a whole scene in 36 shots. Have them overlap whatever they are shooting. I always have my students try this with their cameras before they actually shoot the  scene. They have to make sure that they can get everything they want into the amount of shots they take. I suggest that they can have a person in it, and if they move the person around, they can be in the shot many times (as long as the person isn't overlapping where they were just standing)

 

One of the biggest problems, as with any photo, is that the students don't get close enough to what they are photographing.  I also have them make double 4x6 prints, mat surface if possible (glossy doesn't work as well, shows too many finger prints, rubber cement doesn't come off as easily, looks better, etc.) The double prints help for creativity (Walmart is cheap)  Oh, make sure that when they shoot the assignment that they don't just shoot a straight line.  They need to look up and down, if it's too long it won't fit on a board. I use 28x44 inch boards (they cut up perfectly for 11x14 which is what we mount most photos on. I have them tape (cellophane) the prints down on the board before they rubber cement it. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions - email Joe Applebaum"

 

hockney

Digital Photo Montage from Mark Anderson
- 8th grade lesson

Students at North Kansas City Schools in Missouri were inspired by the work of David Hockney in creating photocubism montage with digital images.  Multiple views were taken then combined into one composition. See more work on Mark's site - exhibit 14.


Additional Plans:

David Hockney Lesson Plan: Photomontage - Digital: Students will learn and use both digital cameras, computers, perspective, and planning techniques.  The final product will be a finished photographic piece that each student will create individually from photos taken with the digital cameras and printed from the computer on photo quality paper. - David Hockney Artist Study (Archive)

 

Teaching Linear Perspective:  Many artists are very interested in making two-dimensional artworks look three-dimensional. During the Renaissance, artists used mathematics and close observation to invent "linear perspective"-a technique that helps artists make things look three dimensional. This lesson teaches the basics of drawing forms in two-point perspective: Fantasy Buildings in Two-point Perspective (Archive)


Resources:

Videos:
Behind the Scenes 1: David Hockney. (1992)
Hosted by Penn and Teller, this video gives an entertaining and educational summary of depth techniques. Upper elementary and above. About 30 minutes. (See the DVD version. of this film)


Masters of Illusion. is an interesting introduction to perspective techniques of the Renaissance masters and how the same principles are used today in Hollywood's special effects. Using new technology, this video approaches old masters in an appealing way. 30 minutes. Available from Crystal Productions: 1-800-255-8629 for a catalog. Because copies of this video are rare, it is very expensive. Only available on VHS.

 

Books

Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective. - With 325 illustrations, accompanied by extensive quotes from the artist himself that illuminate the passionate thinking behind the work, "Hockney's Pictures" is destined to become a classic.

 

David Hockney (Modern Masters Series, Vol. 17). - Hockney's engaging personality, his quirky but always enlightening ideas about art, and his inexhaustible inventiveness are captured in the newest volume in Abbeville's renowned Modern Master Series. Illustrations.

 

That's the Way I See It. - Hockney continues his autobiographical reflections in a volume abundantly illustrated with the paintings, photographic collages, stage set designs, and works involving reproduction processes from the period of the mid-1970s to the present.

 

Additional resources for teaching perspective: Fantasy Buildings in Two-point Perspective (Archive)

 

Internet Resources for David Hockney:


THE BIG AMERICANS
The Art of Collaboration - High quality images with excellent discussion on each work
http://nga.gov.au/BigAmericans/themes.cfm#moving
http://nga.gov.au/InternationalPrints/Tyler/Default.cfm I like this distorted perspective.

Interesting article - THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Further adventures in opticality with David Hockney by Lawrence Weschler.

 

Do a Google image search and you will find some very nice photographs to go along with your research.

See contemporary digital work by artist, Harold Olejarz

From Harold: Images in the "Big Picture" series are panoramic since they present a wide view and provide an all-encompassing survey of a street or place. But, the images do not pretend to have been taken in one photograph. The images in this series are composed of twelve or more digital photos that have been collaged together to create spatial harmonies and disharmonies, in some passages the images seem to be continuous and in other passages images overlap and show only half of a person or car or 3 sides of a building.






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