Joan Z. Jacobson
Time: One and a half hours.
Objectives
Students will construct an assemblage within a UNI-box. In it they project or forecast their future. Students will relate the three dimensional with the idea of looking ahead into their reality. Students will take ownership of this space in a way that will make it a personal space. Students will choose a color family that they will work with in their cube.
Materials
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6”x6”cardboard squares (5 per student)
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masking tape
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assorted National Geographic magazines to cut up
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12” rulers
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Travel Magazines
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brushes for glue
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colored markers
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fiskers scissors
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wallpaper paste
Do Now
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1. Students construct the Uni-box out of cardboard and tape.
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2. Students view Joseph Cornell’s box assemblages.
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3. Students make a thumbnail sketch for the UNI-box. I ask them to draw the inside of a cube and fill it with an object, a landscape or a dream which will represent their future. They then choose three colors from the same color family. (ie. Red, yellow, orange)
Procedure
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1. Students have a discussion about the box assemblages of Joseph Cornell.
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2. Students name two things they will take with them for their UNI-box.
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3. Students choose a color theme (three colors in the same family).
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4. Students assemble the parts inside the UNI-box.
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5. Students add color collage to their assemblage and add details that make it their own.
Closure (a written statement)
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“How will my UNI-box empower me ten years from now?”
Assessment
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1. Workmanship (33%)
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2. Effective use of color to convey meaning (33%)
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3. Does the UNI-box communicate the artist’s intention? (33%)
Chalk talk and writings about ourselves
The class will have a motivational “chalk talk” in conjunction with the photographs of teenagers from the book, “One Hundred Young Americans” by Michael Franzini. Following it, there will be a discussion to open up their imagination by visualizing themselves “ten years from now.” This will take the form of a “chalk talk.” I will write a phrase on the board, “How do you see this boy ten years from now?” I will show a photo of a male teen whose mohawkish haircut is clearly that of a rebel. A student will raise his hand, answer the question with a written answer on the board, and give the chalk to someone else. When that round has gone full circle, the students can react to another photo. I will hand out paper for them to put down their visual judgment about themselves.
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“How does my appearance inform others about me?”
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“How does a person’s appearance give us information about him?”
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“How does my appearance now inform me what I will be like in the next ten years?”
If they are hesitant to write about themselves, I offer the opportunity to make a sketch or to write about someone in the class. Since the photos in the book are rich in color and detail, I have handed out copies of select photos of a variety of teenagers taken from a cross section of the United States. I will ask them to write or sketch something using the photos as an aid, or drawing from themselves. These writings will work hand in hand with the “Linoleum Block Logo Prints” which will be designed for Lesson two.