Far Out Isn't Far Enough - The Tomi Ungerer Story

I love a good art documentary! I find myself lost in them, inspired by them, and wanting to share them with the world and often times my students.  After so many documentaries I start getting confused, sometimes forgetting details I loved about them in the first place.

Far Out Isn't Far Enough - The Tomi Ungerer Story

http://www.faroutthemovie.com/

Rating: 

Artist: Tomi Ungerer

Focuses on: World War II, Reality in children's art, Cartoon work, political cartoons, venom war, Eroticisum, sex in art

Would I share it with my students?  Though I love how he interacts with his culture and environment and feel that is an important part of art to share with my students, I would not show this film to them.   Half way through I was leaning on showing it to them for historical placement and understanding inspiration.  There were a few risky moments, but with a little timing those could be skipped.  About two-thirds in the focused changed to drawing eroticism. He did an entire series on rear ends saying  "Its the kind of smile you can hold in you hands; two cheeks."

Tomi Ungerer is known for his work in children's books, political cartoons during the vietnam war, and erotic drawings. First known for his children's books he gained a lot of popularity.  Though when his erotic drawings were discussed he lost all popularity and his books banned in all libraries.  

Overall personally I enjoyed this film, but it isn't age appropriate even for my high school students.

His work:

 

Art Teacher Rating:

2 of 5 Paints  

Art ideals are spot on.  I LOVE how he works with his cultural interactions but a large portion of this film would definitely be rated R.  You'll probably agree with me that erotic drawings and talking about being stoned while drawing isn't the best for students.  Some films I would suggest an except from, this film in order to fully understand it you need to see more than a couple minutes. 

Good inspirations, bad for subject matter.

This film can be found on Netflix.com

“In the age of information, ignorance is a choice.”

-Donny Miller

Two In One - Art 1

I have completely rethought how I start teaching art 1.  Taking a look at how the kids approach the project I picked something that even I found interesting but didn't restrict the students to just a few items.  Students for this project were given 1 theme;"Two In One."  This concept could be taken from a transformation or morphing of an object into another, or even 2 time periods depicted, 2 emotions, and so on.  To start the project we looked at some professional inspirational art.  ---->  Inspiration Pinterest

1. Students planned - Throwing around ideas the students were able to plan by making a pinterest board themselves, a list, or thumbnail sketches.

2. 1 page sketch - of the idea that found most motivated or interested by

3. Started on their project

Students were required to post a blog 1/2 way through their pieces.  This encouraged them to reflect on their difficulties and successes so far.  

Here are some of the finished products:

These are wonderful first projects.  I am proud of how hard these students have worked (especially due to the crazy snow days).

WHOooooHooooooo!  YAY!

4. Class critique using TAG

   T- tell something you like about the piece

   A- ask a question

   G- give a positive suggestion

Observation Time!

Hand Turkey Challenge

Inspired by Ms. Purtee's = "Hand Turkey Challenge" for her class, Ms. Sudkamp's Art 1s tried it out.  What do you think?

#sassiest turkey

Bob Ross as a hand turkey

To boldly go where no turkey has gone before.

How & Why I Use Choice In My Classroom - Part 3

This is part three of a week long series on choice in the art room...

By Kim Sudkamp

Student work - Self portraits (5th grade)

How I was introduced to the idea/What I first thought:
I've never been a fan of the "recipe" projects.  Who made them? The teacher or the students?  I've always encouraged my students to take the projects further, or put their own spin on it.  Even when I was in the elementary classroom last year.  But until I came to Apex high I hadn't heard of an open art classroom.  Purtee and Sands introduced the idea.  It seemed intimidating at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it coincided with my beliefs on art education.





How I'm implementing choice in Sculpture:
The open art room is scary, there is no doubt about that.  But it doesn't mean you don't have order or an understanding of materials.
These two student examples are from the same project and look nothing alike.

"Relief Project" (Material Choice: Clay)

"Relief Project" (Material Choice: Altered Book)

I base each project around a theme.  These themes change between a style of work ("relief") to conceptual ideas ("pressure").  I aim for these themes to be more open-ended and not limiting to material choices.  My general template looks like this:

Based on this model I form my projects.  My first project with my sculpture class was on "Vessels." 

What about teaching techniques?
With each project theme and materials choice I provide a pinterest page to the students.  The idea behind this is that the students can find what they need to know for their specific project while I provide more guidance.
Digital learning doesn't give a full spectrum of understanding materials that the students might need for their project.  Seeing something and actually doing it are completely different.  Every couple days I do a warm-up or demo for the students in the beginning of class.  They can choose to use it this technique if it is appropriate for their project. For example, I did a throwing demo about a month ago with the project "pressure." 1 student chose the wheel. Currently the students are working on "Repetition," and 5 students have chosen the wheel.  These students have used the Pinterest page, helped each other, as well as asked me for guidance in their work.  These warm-ups are about learning the techniques that may later be used to achieve the conceptional idea within their work.

"Vessels Project" (Material Choice: Clay)

"Vessels Project" (Material Choice: Other - Pencils)

How I tackle project time:

Each material lends to specific a specific time range.  In the beginning I had a difficulties with time management.  As I watch students work on the assignment I see what material will probably take the longest. As the first student finishes, I introduce the next project.  This might seem overwhelming, but as the student who is working on a more time consuming material they can also be thinking about their concept of the next. Due dates are very flexible in my classroom. If a student is constantly working I do not mind adding more time for them, but if a student is consistently off task I will give those students a hard deadline.  This might seem unfair, but with each student I have a discussion about project timeline.  They know what I expect.  If a student rushes through a project I have them consider how they could improve it, and did they achieve the concept they were going for?  These students if not ready to move onto the next project can work on their sketchbook assignment for the week.  Using this model takes a lot of patience and student observation, but the students are self motivated becoming passionate about their own pieces.  No longer do I hear "Oh, I trashed that, its stupid." or "Ugh! I hate working with clay!"

"Pressure Project" (Material Choice: Other - Wire/Tape/Ribbon)

If you'd like to discuss this further you can reach me by:
- Commenting below
- Twitter
- email


PART 1 by Melissa Purtee
PART 2 by Ian Sands
PART 3 by Kim Sudkamp
PART 4
PART 5

Grading... Its what I do.