At the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) you can see an art exhibition called Turn the Page: The First Ten Year of Hi-Fructose. Many of the artists in the exhibition look at art from long ago. One type of art that they look art is Surrealism. Surrealism is a style of art inspired by dreams and fantasy. We are asking you to create a Surrealist work of art. MOCA's Surrealist Challenge is for all students in grades K-12. This packet will help you learn more about Surrealism. It will also tell you about some of the artists you can see at MOCA. There are art activities to help you think of ideas for your Surrealist work of art! All artworks that meet the requirements below will be shown at MOCA. Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose exhibition helps teach about contemporary art. Contemporary art is the art of now. The artists are still alive, and they are still making art. When you visit MOCA you will see sculpture, painting, photography, and much more. All works must be 9x12 inches and matted 12x16 inches Art work drop-off dates: November 5-8, 2016 Opening reception: Sunday, November 20, 10am-5pm 2016 2-4pm Exhibition dates: November 20-December 31, 2016 Art work pick-up: January 3-13, 2017 10am- 5pm For more information go to www.virginiamoca.org/surrealist-challenge 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: Contact Phone Number or email:
Surrealism was a style of art from almost 100 years ago. Some Surrealist artists painted their dreams, not real life. Some Surrealist artists put things that don't usually go with each other. Artist Salvador Dalí put a lobster with with a telephone! Some famous Surrealist artists are Joan Miro, Man Ray, and Salvador Dalí. You can see some of their art below. Salvador Dalí Lobster Telephone, 1936 Tate, London 2016 Man Ray Indestructible Object, 1923 Tate, London 2016 Joan Miró Head of a Catalan Peasant, 1925 Tate, London 2016
Artist Fulvio di Piazza worries about the way technology is changing the world. You can buy things without having to go to a store, or play games with people all over the world from your house. You can do almost anything without having to talk to another person face to face. di Piazza wonders if this a good thing. What will happen in the future if people don't have to talk to each other? What do you think? Fulvio di Piazza likes to read. One of his favorite authors is a man named Jeremy Rifkin. Rifkin wrote a book about the way technology is changing the world. Surrealism began with writing. Some Surrealist writers wrote about their dreams. This gave the Surrealist artists the idea to paint their dreams. For this activity you will be inspired by books or stories that you love. STEPS: Think about characters from your favorite books and stories. Sketch these characters Next, think about places in these books and stories. Sketch these as well. Fulvio Di Piazza Ratspiderbat, 2013 Oil on canvas Courtesy of Galleria Giovanni Bonelli, Milan Once you have done your sketches done, think about how to combine the characters and places. Think about putting a your character in a setting from a different book or story. You want the picture to look unusual, but the character should look like it belongs there. For example, if you drew a mermaid, put them in a tree or on a mountain.
Artists get ideas from lots of different things. Sometimes artists look at the world around them. Sometimes they draw their dreams, like the Surrealist artists. Think back to the picture of the lobster and the telephone by Salvador Dali. Do you usually see a lobster on a phone? It is ok to have things that don't belong together in your art. That is one of the beautiful things about art. You can make it show whatever you want. Killing Time shows a clock that is falling through the air. It is fighting a robot bird. In the background you can see creatures watching the fight. Is this somethig you would see in real life? Greg "Craola" Simkins was thinking about time while working on this piece. He was wishing he had the power to stop time, so he can slow down and relax. In this activity you will combine things that don't usually go together. Greg Craola Simkins Killing Time, 2014 Acrylic on panel Collection of Nick Cassavetes STEPS: Look through a magazine. Find two pictures that you find interesting and cut those pictures out. Figure out how you want to place them on the paper to make an interesting picture. Glue them on the back of this paper. Think of a story to connect these two pictures. 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 what is happening between your two pictures. Make sure to include enough details in your drawing to help show others your story.
Artist Camille Rose Garcia grew up near Disneyland, in California. When you look at her paintings they might remind you of Disney cartoons. She also looks at a lot of comics, street art and Surrealist art. It is important for artists to look at different types of art. It helps them get ideas for their own artworks. Music also plays a big role in Camille Rose Garcia's life. She tries to see bands play 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 good times last. Think about your favorite song. feel? STEPS: How does listening to that song make you 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 to or think about that song. Include anything and everything you thought while listening. There is no right or wrong thing to draw, and it doesn t matter if your drawings make sense. 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.
As a child Todd Schorr loved drawing, movies, and cartoons. As an adult, Schorr created art for album covers, movie posters, and magazine covers. This was work he was dong for other people. After a few years he got tired of making art for other people. He decided to make his own art. He quit his job and started painting. Todd Schorr's paintings often tell funny stories about people and the way they act. We have so many ways of talking to each other thanks to technology. You can email, video chat, call all over the world. He wants to know why people don't treat each other better when they talk face to face. For this activity we are going to look at words and how we use them. You are going to fill out the mad lib below and illustrate what you wrote! Todd Schorr The Last Polar Expedition of Commander Peary, 2011 Acrylic on canvas Courtesy of Alexander Bodecker 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.
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.
Jennybird Alcantara creates paintings that look like they come from dreams. Her paintings usually show women, nature and animals. Sometimes all mixed up together. Look closely at the woman in this painting. She has a person's face, but her feet look like hooves. If you look at her eight legs, you can see that they turn in to trees at the top. Her skirt is a forest. Is she a person, plant or animal? You are going to create your own mixed up creature. To do this we are going to look at a drawing activity the Surrealist artists did. 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. After the drawing was done they would unfold the paper and see what kind of creature they created. Sometimes they would look really crazy. activity, the crazier the better! For this Steps: Jennybird Alcantara Creatures of Saintly Disguise, 2012 Fold this paper in to three sections. Oil on wood 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 to hide your drawing. Hand your paper to the person sitting on your left. That student will draw a torso that looks like a plant. They will fold the paper over pass it to their left. 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.
Now that you have finished the five enclosed drawing activities it is time to start on your Surrealist inspired work of art. Use what you have learned from this packet to formulate ideas for your work. Remember, any work brought to MOCA that meets the requirements below will hang in the museum. We are looking forward to seeing your Surrealist artwork! 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 www.virginiamoca.org/surrealist-challenge or contact Rebecca Davidson at Rebecca@VirginiaMOCA.org.