A Teacher s Guide to Jun Kaneko Sculpture at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens Scale and Pattern Lessons Lesson Plans For Pre K through High School.

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1 A Teacher s Guide to Jun Kaneko Sculpture at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens Scale and Pattern Lessons Lesson Plans For Pre K through High School. Make the most out of your museum visit by using the following activities and guided questions that will help you and your students navigate through this special exhibition. This guide is based on the Shelby County Schools Visual Arts and Social Sciences Pacing Skills If you are interested in scheduling a pre visit please call the Dixon at About the Exhibit Kaneko is considered one of the key figures in the American Contemporary Ceramics Movement. His work in over seventy museum collections around the world. In the decade following his arrival to America in 1963, Kaneko taught at some of the nation s leading art schools, including Scripps College, Rhode Island School of Design and Cranbrook Academy of Art. He arrived in Omaha, Nebraska in the early 1980s for a workshop and was drawn to the large scale of an old beehive kiln at Omaha Brickworks. His enormous dangos (Japanese for rounded form ) were born out of his decision to make the largest ceramic piece that would fit through the kiln door. The Omaha Project was the first of several partnerships with industrial facilities to realize large scale, hand built sculptures. Kaneko has been based in Omaha since After two and a half years of technical research, he was able to produce the dangos of varying shape that currently enliven the Dixon gardens with their striking size and bright, bold colors. His interest is not only the aggressive impact of nine foot tall sculpture, but the effect they have on the space around them a concept that combines Eastern aesthetics and consciousness of space with Western scale. My main concern is with the space itself, says Kaneko, not the object that thing doesn t exist, actually, if there is nothing around it. So the point to the scale is just to pull [people] into it. Then, they just don t have a chance to compare. The dangos placed throughout the Dixon s seventeen acres encourage visitors to experience the space like never before: the works in the Cutting Garden invariably occupy their environment in a wholly different way than those on the South Lawn. While Kaneko describes his selection of the ceramic glaze colors as a personal preference, the orchestration of surface color intensifies the overall topography of the sculptures. Whether stripes, dots, or both; the balance of the marks and the space between them result in a dynamic play of decorative pattern and stylized abstraction. This element of playfulness, says Kaneko, comes from the experience of living in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where the funk movement had taken hold. This balance between the whimsical effect of the colorful glazes and the monolithic scale is what gives Kaneko s sculptures their power and appeal.

2 Pre K through First grade Activities: Patterned People Pigs Kaneko s work has several different categories. He is a painter, and a sculptor of ceramics and bronze materials. Some of his sculptures are creatures called Tanukis. Tanukis are mythical creatures who are a cross Between a raccoon and a dog. They stand upright and have an animal face. Jun Kaneko s Tanukis are filled with bright, bold patterns and colors. Objective Students will learn about pattern, rhythm in visual art, positive/negative space, and 3dimentional art. They will also learn about the Tanukis in Japanese mythology. Before your Museum Visit The students can make their own scavenger hunt to take with them to the museum. Ask them to divide a piece of paper in at least 9 squares, (more squares for older students). Fill each square with a pattern; dots, triangles, squiggle lines, squares, etc. Talk about the types of places you might find each pattern, and what they could represent. During your Museum Visit Bring your students scavenger hunts to the Dixon. While touring the Jun Kaneko sculptures, ask the students to check off a pattern every time they see one on a sculpture that resembles a design on their paper. Ask questions about the placement, neatness, and color of the patter Jun Kaneko used, and how it is different from their own pattern. Talk to your students about the size of the sculptures, and ask them why they think Kaneko made such big sculptures. Their answers may not be too far from the truth; that he wants to challenge himself, challenge the limitations of his materials, and make everyone notice the sculptures. After your Museum Visit Have a large piece of paper for each child to lie down on. The paper should fit almost their entire body. Take turns tracing each child on their piece of paper, avoiding the head, since they will draw their own heads later. After everyone has their outlines done, ask them to draw an animal head on top of their body using simple shapes. You can print out simply drawn examples of pigs, raccoons, dogs and bears for the students to look at. Last, decorate the inside with bright, bold patterns and colors. Third through Fifth Grade Activities: Sculpture Portrait Objective Students will learn about how to sculpt a face, translate 2 dimensional shapes to the third dimension, and color relationships. Before your Museum Visit Distribute little mirrors for the students to use to look at their faces. Talk about the parts of their the face; which is the highest point of the face? What shape are the cheek bones? Let them feel their eyes to realize the eye is a ball covered by the eye lid. Another activity they can do to help them understand the 3D breakdown of their face is to pair up and take turns draping a wet cloth over their face. This simplifies the planes of the face so the partner can understand it better. Ask them to draw their face using simple shapes. During your Museum Visit Bring sketching materials to your tour, or if needed, call the Dixon to request sketching materials. Pay close attention to the heads that are placed around the gardens. Each head has a different patterns and treatment. Ask your students how they feel when they look at the heads. Can a faceless head convey emotion? How does the size of the heads affect their responses? What if they were tiny? Allow some time for the children to sketch a few sculptures and patterns.

3 Third through Fifth Grade continued After your Museum Visit Distribute balls of clay. Each student should separate their clay into two. Have them roll one ball out to be the base. The other ball will be used to make the relief of their face. Pass out the sketches from the garden tour and the observational drawings of their faces. They should start by using simple shapes to build up the features, just like they did in their sketches. Instruct them to slowly build up the face. The shape of the face comes first, then the brow line and forehead, and the nose and chin, while smoothing the creases with wet clay. The eyes, mouth and other smaller Once they are dry, the students can paint them in vibrant colors and patterns like Jun Kaneko. Middle School Activities: Shape to Form Abstract Still Life Objective Students will learn shape to form (2D to 3D) techniques. Students will gain a better appreciation for Jun Kaneko and parts of Japanese culture. Before your Museum Visit Practice a few shape to form exercises. Make a circle into a sphere, a triangle into a cone, and a square into a cube. Once the students get comfortable with simple shapes, ask them to try rendering an apple or a cluster of grapes. During your Museum Visit Bring sketching materials to your tour, or if needed, call the Dixon to request sketching materials for your group. Have your group pay special attention to the Dangos, which are the oblong sculptures with patterns. Give them time to sketch a few and shade them according to the light source of the gardens. The patterning should lay across the Dangos to fit the form, so it helps with the appearance of a 3D shape. After your Museum Visit Set up a still life back in the classroom. Let the students use pencils and erasers to get the composition and shapes right before moving on to more permanent materials. Using a ruler or ellipsis, ask them to start dividing the objects into sections according to the perspective. Each section will be a different color or pattern. The end result will look abstract and almost cubist. High School Activities: Planar (angular) Self Portrait Objective Students will learn how to simplify the features of the face by using rulers and shape to form techniques. Before your Museum Visit Talk about color theory and make a few color studies of monochromatic, complimentary, triad, analogous, split complimentary, etc. (for more color scheme ideas, please see the Further Study page in this teacher packet.) Next, ask them to make a few blind contour drawings of their face, paying close attention to fine lines showing depth (such as cheek bones and the ball of the nose.) Then, using a ruler and pencil, redraw he face using straight lines. It will begin to look like an abstracted cubist portrait. During your Museum Visit Bring sketching materials, or call the Dixon to request sketching materials for group s visit. Let your group sketch a few Sculptures of heads using both blind contour and planar development. After your Museum Visit On large pieces of watercolor paper using a ruler and pencil, ask the students to draw their face, neck and shoulders.. They may also include background images they see in the mirror if there is too much negative space. Once the drawing is done, they can paint the face in a Jun Kaneko style.

4 Further Study Enhance your lessons about Jun Kaneko with these links. Learn more about Jun Kaneko from his own website Media coverage of Kaneko giant fanciful art of jun kaneko/ Jun Kaneko s Organization The Process of Creating Ceramics More on color schemes 460/kaneko legends exhibitopens at millennium park.html#.viilaundxpo US/Industry Leadership/Color Theory/Basic Color Schemes.aspx Your Field Trip to the Dixon: Quick tips The Dixon has many different types of tours to fit your needs. Please call (901) and ask for Amanda Bjorklund, or Amanda at abjorklund@dixon.org to help you decide which tour suits you and your students best. Pre visits: Teachers with their ID badge are free anytime. And you can schedule your previsit and have a walk through with a member of our education staff. Self Guided Tours: For teachers who have a specific agenda and a small group. Docent lead tours: for smaller groups and older students who want to get more in depth analysis and history of the exhibition and artists. Dixon Discoveries: For groups of 50 or fewer grades prek 5th who want an interactive tour and a hands on art activity. Sketching in the Galleries: For any teacher who requests sketching materials to enhance any tour.

5 JUN KANEKO Japanese, b Untitled, Tanuki, 2012 Glazed ceramics

6 JUN KANEKO Japanese, b Untitled, 2011 Glazed ceramics

7 JUN KANEKO Japanese, b Untitled, 2013 Glazed ceramics

8 JUN KANEKO Japanese, b Untitled, 2002 Glazed ceramics and steel