All works must be 9x12 inches and matted 12x16 inches

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1 Many of the artists showing in Turn the Page: The First Ten Year of Hi-Fructose are inspired by the Surrealist art movement. Building on this, MOCA is hosting a Surrealist Challenge. Open to grade K-12 students, we encourage you to create your own Surrealist artwork. Use this packet to learn more about Surrealism, some of the artists in the exhibition inspired by Surrealism, and to brainstorm ideas! All works that meet the requirements below will be shown at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. MOCA s Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose exhibition is committed to creating awareness of contemporary art. Contemporary art is the art of now. The artists are still alive, and they are still making art that is informative, imaginative and relevant. This exhibition features 51 important contemporary artists. These artist have been featured in the contemporary art magazine Hi-Fructose. Their works are now on view at MOCA. All works must be 9x12 inches and matted 12x16 inches Art work drop-off dates: November 5-8, 2016, 10am-5pm Exhibition dates: November 20-December 31, 2016 Opening reception: Sunday, November 20, 2016, 2-4pm Art work pick-up: January 3-13, 2017, 10am-5pm For more information go to or contact Rebecca Davidson at Rebecca@VirginiaMOCA.org. Please attach this label to back of artwork Student Name: Grade Level: Title of work: Medium: School: Teacher Name: Contact Phone Number or

2 Surrealism was a style of art and literature that originated in the late 1920s. It was inspired by dreams and experiences, rather than reality. Some Surrealist artists combined things that don't usually go together, like the telephone and lobster below. Others did automatic drawing, where you doodle on paper without thinking about it. A few well known Surrealist artists include Joan Miro, Man Ray, René Magritte, and Salvador Dalí. Surrealism continues to have a lasting effect on art. Some of the artists in Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi- Fructose are part of a contemporary art movement called Pop Surrealism. Pop Surrealism is a broad term to describe pop-culture infused art. Many Pop Surrealist artists combine pop culture with techniques inspired by past art movements. When you see Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at MOCA you will see how Surrealism influences Contemporary art. Salvador Dalí Lobster Telephone, 1936 Tate, London 2016 Joan Miró Head of a Catalan Peasant, 1925 Tate, London 2016 Man Ray Indestructible Object, 1923 Tate, London 2016

3 Fulvio di Piazza creates paintings that are often referred to as surreal, dark, and dystopian. Di Piazza's pieces deal with patterns of economic and environmental decline. He is interested in the damage that new technologies are doing to the environment. For example, the destructive mining process for materials needed to build smartphones. When describing this concern Di Piazza said, Man, with his idea of progress, does not consider that his actions have a devastating burden on the balance of nature. One of Fulvio di Piazza's big influences was author and theorist Jeremy Rifkin. Rifkin wrote about the impact of technology on the economy. The Surrealist art movement began as a literary movement, meaning it began with writing, not art. For this activity you will be inspired by books or stories that you love. STEPS: Brainstorm and sketch characters from your favorite books and stories. Next, brainstorm and sketch settings from your favorite books or stories. After you have brainstormed character setting ideas combine the settings with the characters. Make your combinations unique and unusual. For example, place a mermaid in a tree or on a mountain. Fulvio Di Piazza Ratspiderbat, 2013 Oil on canvas Courtesy of Galleria Giovanni Bonelli, Milan While you are working on your sketches, think about the composition of your characters within the new environment. While the goal is to have a juxtaposition between character and place, it should not look like the character is just floating in the scene rather than a part of it.

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5 Greg "Craola" Simkins paints the surreal scenes that pop into his head. For example, the painting Killing Time was inspired by a song. While listening to this song Craola started to daydream. The painting he created shows what he was imagining while listening to this song. Craola keeps a small sketch book in his pocket, and as ideas come to him he creates quick sketches. Later, he takes the strange characters he has sketched and puts them together. This is how he brainstorms ideas for his paintings. Killing Time shows a clock, which seems to be falling through the air as it fights a mechanical bird. Ghostly looking creatures watch the fight from the background. Craola was thinking about time while working on this piece, wishing he had the power to stop time, so he can slow down and relax. In this activity, you will be combining collage and illustration. Greg Craola Simkins Killing Time, 2014 Acrylic on panel Collection of Nick Cassavetes STEPS: Look through a magazine. Find two images that you find interesting and cut them out. Play with arranging the images in an interesting composition. Once you have figured out how they want the two images to relate, glue them to the back of the Surrealist Activity 2 page in the student handout. Think of a story to connect these two images. What is going on between them? What are they doing? What is around them? You can write your story down if you want, or just go to the next step. Draw the story of what is happening between your two images. Make sure to include enough details to help show others your story.

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7 Artist Camille Rose Garcia creates narrative paintings. Her paintings blend popular culture references, like Disneyland, with a sarcastic poke at modern society. She is part of the Lowbrow art or Pop Surrealism art movement, which came along in the 1970's. Pop Surrealism has its roots in underground comics, punk music, and street art, as well as the Surrealist art movement. Pop Surrealist works often has a sense of humor or sarcasm. Music plays a big role in Camille Rose Garcia's life. She makes a point of seeing live music whenever she can. Ghost of G Sharp Seven was inspired by one of her favorite singers, Shakey Graves. She drove four hours to see him play one night. It was a magical show for Garcia. The day after seeing Shakey Graves she started on this painting. For Garcia, this painting is about trying to make moments last. Think about your favorite song. How does listening to that song make you feel? STEPS: Camille Rose Garcia The Ghost of G Sharp Seven, 2013 Acrylic and glitter on wood panel Courtesy of the Artist and Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles Photograph by Karl Puchlik Play or think of your favorite song. While you are listening, think about how you feel. What does it make you think of? Do any images pop in your head? On the back of this paper, sketch everything that comes to mind when you listen or think about that song. Include anything and everything you thought while listening. Once you have finished your drawings add color to your paper. Think about the colors you can use and how they relate to your song.

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9 As a child Todd Schorr had a love for drawing, fantasy movies such as King Kong, and the cartoons by Walt Disney. commercial artist. After he graduated college, Schorr became a He worked on a variety of projects including album covers, movie posters, and magazine covers. Eventually, he became frustrated with the restrictions involved with creating work for other people. Schorr decided to quit the commercial art world and create his own art. Todd Schorr became one of the founders of the Pop Surrealist movement. He combines his love of cartoons with the painting techniques of the old masters. Schorr creates humorous narratives that comment on humanity. He questions how people that are so technologically advanced can have such primitive behavior when interacting with each other. You can , video chat, call all over the world, but people can still be rude or cold when talking to others face to face. Using Todd Todd Schorr The Last Polar Expedition of Commander Peary, 2011 Acrylic on canvas Courtesy of Alexander Bodecker Schorr s narrative style as inspiration, you are going to fill out a mad lib and illustrate what you wrote! STEPS: Write down a word for each part of speech below. When you are done, flip this page over and add your words to the story. Once you have done that, create an illustration for your story! 1. Noun: 2. Verb ending with ing: 3. Noun: 4. Verb ending with ing: 5. Adjective: 6. Adjective : Noun=person, place, animal, thing. Examples are car, bed, fish. Verb= action words. Examples are run, talk, smell. Adjective= descriptive words. Examples are beautiful, short, yellow.

10 Something had gone wrong. The latest update to the (1) had just been released, but it was (2) with (3). Everywhere I looked, people were (4) but the (5) part is, they were talking to each other, face to face. I have to get away from these (6) people before it messes me up, too.

11 Jennybird Alcantara creates detailed oil paintings that have dream-like narratives. Her paintings often combine females, nature and animals. She explores symbolism in her work. For example, in Creature of Saintly Disguise, the tiger represents a protector, while the bear is a scout, keeping an eye out for danger. The white, wispy flowers are the spirits of nature. The figure in the painting has multiple legs, meant to show her indecisiveness about which path to take. Like Jennybird, you are going to create a hybrid person/ plant/ animal. We are going to look to the Surrealists for inspiration. There was a drawing activity they did called Exquisite Corpse. They would work together on a drawing, each doing one part. They would fold the paper over, so they couldn't see what the other artists drew. Once the paper was filled they would opened it up and see what they created. For your next activity, you will be creating an Exquisite Corpse with your classmates. Steps: Jennybird Alcantara Creatures of Saintly Disguise, 2012 Oil on wood Fold this paper in to three sections. Courtesy of AFA Gallery Jennybird Alcantara, All Rights Reserved Starting at the top of the paper, you will draw a human head. When you are done, fold your paper over so you can t see the head. Then hand your paper to the person sitting on your left. The student will draw a torso that looks like a plant. They will fold the paper over again, and pass it to the third student. The third student will fill in the bottom section of the paper with legs that look like an animal. When all three sections are finished, the paper goes back to the student who started the head. It is up to that student to add color and a background.

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13 Once you have finished this packet it is time to start your own Surrealist inspired work of art. You can use ideas from the drawing activities in your own artwork. Bring your Surrealist artwork to MOCA between November 5th-8th. If it meets the requirements below it will hang in our Fleming Gallery. We are looking forward to seeing your art! All works must be 9x12 inches and matted 12x16 inches Art work drop-off dates: November 5-8, 2016, 10am-5pm Exhibition dates: November 13-December 31, 2016 Opening reception: Sunday, November 13, 2016, 2-4pm Art work pick-up: January 3-13, 2017, 10am-5pm For more information go to or contact Rebecca Davidson at