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 Full Lesson Plan Here

The Warning Signs of Fear
High School (9-12)

Graphic Design (Photoshop)

Lesson Overview:

Fear is a fundamental and very human emotion.  It teaches us how to survive and makes us stronger each time we overcome it.  Through this lesson we will identify our fears, realize the rationale for those fears, and take power away from those fears.  Each student shall identify three of their personal fears, small or large, and generate a piece of work on each.  The work will share visual cues with street warning signs and warning symbols.  We will utilize the graphic design program Photoshop for the majority of our artistic creation, as the program is a great introductory tool in digital media integration.

Benchmark:

1. Applies materials, techniques and processes with sufficient skill, confidence, and sensitivity that personal intentions are carried out in artworks.

2. Describe the origins of specific images and ideas, and explain why they are of value in their artwork and in the work of others.

3. Demonstrate an improved ability to integrate structures, characteristics and principles to accomplish commercial, personal, communal, or other purposes of art.

4. Create media productions that demonstrate knowledge, contexts, values, and aesthetics.

Objectives:

Upon completion of the lesson students will be familiar with warning symbol iconography, will gain the ability t visually communicate their fears, understand what imagery best conveys the ideas of their fears, and have an introductory understanding of Photoshop processes which include but are not limited to: layers and layer settings, shape generation, color coordination, etc.

Art Content:

Big Idea:

Fear

Key Concept:

To understand and overcome fear we must visualize what it is that we fear and take away its power over us.  To do this we will simplify its impact by presenting it in a humorous way.

Essential Questions:

What is it that we fear?

What way can we show that fear?

How can we best warn others of our fear?

Artist:

Max Grundy

Background:  A painter, illustrator, and graphic designer for most of his life, and a teacher for over a decade, Max Grundy is an artist whose past works have focused on the aspects of fear in our culture and the idea of phobias.  Born in Bountiful, Utah he studied painting at Brigham Young University, graduating in 2003.

Big Idea/Key Concept: Fear.  Fear is the big idea around his work.  Key concepts usually focus around social phobias and aspects of different cultures that modernize and utilize fear to control populations, such as works of propaganda.

Boundaries: The work is mainly restricted to works of graphic design, paint, and illustration with works that focus on the warping of propaganda and utilization of pulp imagery.

Key Artwork

 Basophobia, Graphic Design              Traumatophobia, Graphic Design

Practices:

- Knowledge: Grundy researches source materials relating to works of propaganda and fear mongering among major social superpowers.

- Artmaking: The conceptual strategies focus on using the appropriate imagery and design to form a dialogue with the viewer about the use of fear.  The imagery must be shocking to the viewer and yet understandable.

Activities:

Activity 1:

Each student will choose three fears they have, large or small fears, and discuss them in small groups.  They will write down their fears on the activity sheet provided and conceive of ways to simplify their fears into single images.

Students will develop connections with each other through personal interaction and by sharing information about them.

Each student will provide a sketch idea for the final project of each chosen fear.

Materials needed:

- Handouts

- Pencils

Procedure:

- Activity will be on Day 1

- Handouts presented at beginning of class, class will be split into small groups, students will fill out handouts, students begin sketches to find ideas, homework will be to finish the sketches for the next day.

Activity 2:

Visual idea behind final art making activity will be introduced through a presentation of warning signs and symbols as well as the introduction of artist Max Grundy.  Focus will be placed on how to best integrate ideas of warning signs and symbols with the simplified visuals for each fear the students have generated in the previous activity.

Students will use sketches of previous activity to generate a new sketch integrating the idea of a sign border and the visual characteristics attributed to warning signs and symbols.

After the 3 sketches have been created students will exchange work between themselves for peer review.  The provided activity sheet will be completed and given to the student when their work is returned.

Focus will be on understanding that art is a communal process and that information from the outside can be utilized to expand one’s artist vision and final creation.

Students will need to finalize sketches for the 3 images to be produced for next class.

Materials needed:

- Visuals representing Max Grundy

- Visuals representing warning signs and warning symbols

- Peer review handout
Procedure:

- Activity will be on Day 2 and Day 3

- Day 2: Peer review handouts will be given out, presentations made of artist and icons to be used, students split into critique groups, critiques made on sketches, work started on new sketches

- Day 3: Sketches completed

Activity 3:

Final art making activity

With final sketches completed an introduction to Photoshop will be made for the class.  Day will consist of basic components that will be necessary for image creation (layers, shape creation, color controls, etc.).

Introduction will be made by teacher creating a single finished image to set as example for the class with detailed instruction on what needs to be done.

Objectives are:

- Use of shape tools to generate imagery.

- Appropriate colors chosen for final image that communicate chosen iconography.

- An understanding of layers shown through proper use and hierarchy generated.

- Visual crispness attributed to graphic design programs such as Photoshop.

Several days (maximum of 3) will be given to the students to complete their 3 images.

Materials needed:

- Computers with Photoshop

Procedure:

- Activity will be on Day 4 through Day 6 depending.

- Day 4: introduction to Photoshop given, project begun

- Day 5-6: project worked on until finish.

Activity 4:

Final peer critique on finished projects will take place.

Each student will present their finished images and be subject to a critique.

This is to instill the understanding that your art will be taken different ways by the audience that views it.

Critique will be much more open but notes must be taken by the artist being critique on what their peers say about the work (notes will be handed in with the finished projects at the end of the critique day).

 Materials needed:

- Items pertaining to presentation (either a projector to show art in larger scale or tacks to place art up on wall)

Procedure:

- Activity will be on Day 7

- Work shown in way that entire class can easily view, students will be chosen and discuss their work, other students will give a positive thought on the work and a thought on how it can be improved, student being critiqued will make note of this

Closure and Follow-up:

Once work has been completed and critique has been finished several questions will need to be answered.

- How did the group critique make you feel?

- How has this project helped you understand your fear?

- What is the next program you’d like to explore through digital media integration?

- What aspects of personal fear would you like to explore next?