Web Quest for Social Ethics and Modern Art
Objectives:
Ø To explore modern art movements.
Ø To articulate the relationship between the ethic of an age and its art.
Ø To examine some visual experiences as art commenting on or incorporating art.
Ø To select one artist and movement to examine and share with the class.
2 minutes. Briefly, only because we discussed it and you all seemed incredulous…here’s proof.
1. Now, open up an MS Word document, name it webquest.lastname, and save often [CtrlS quick save].
2. 20 Minutes. Go to this link and watch. A treat for the eye, but also a moment for the mind….what agenda, what ethical desires, what purpose inspired each of these images? As you watch, keep asking…over and over – For what purpose, what reason, what value, what ethical source…then go to your document.
Prompt: What ethical agenda governed the ‘artist’ who collected and blended these images? Consider what might have been omitted, what had been selected, and what effect the overall video gives to the audience? You might consider terms like beauty, pleasure, appropriation, distortion, community values, change over time, ethical, emotional, and logical appeals, agenda, purpose, profit….or you can be completely original, as long as your response is analytical and not merely a descriptive summation.
3.20 Minutes: Go to this link and listen to Pollock in his own words. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=623021317655048062
Then go to this link and watch the imitation of Pollock’s process…rather democratic, rather intriguing, rather indicative of a distinct social value. Watch for drip patterns, length of engagement, and percentage of the canvas used by each artist.
http://www.the-artists.org/art-movements.cfm
PROMPT: Describe the process by which the various pollockesque pieces were created. Comment on the agenda of the various contributors…what motive or value seemed to govern the way the ‘artist’ contributed to the canvas? How might each contributor complement or contradict the pattern? Your answer will reflect your own perception, so it cannot be too similar to anyone else’s….take pride in that.
4. 2 minutes: Unfortunately, the Nasher does not open until 12:00 today…but did you know someone may have seen you seeing this? Does that make you Part of the Art? No response needed; just be prepared to comment in class on the idea of being in the picture, so to say. http://nasher.duke.edu/exhibitions_hendricks.php
5. 20 Minutes: Go to this wonderful link and browse the movements…find a movement that you DO NOT KNOW anything about….I will be moving about the stations to be sure we have no duplicates. Read the brief description, choose a representative artist, and browse his works.
PROMPT: In your document, identify the movement, the dates of the movement, the description, the artist, and cut and paste one of his works into your document, sizing it to about 3” square. Then, considering your notes from yesterday, identify the ethical values that governed the artist and comment on how those values may or may not have clashed with the likely ethical values of his contemporary society. http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTH20thcentury.html