Sunday, October 18, 2015

Free Form Shape Mobile Installation







Second grade culminated their unit working with paper, by creating these free form shape mobiles. In preparation for these paper mobiles, we examined Brooklyn based artist Mia Pearlman and her vast use of paper to create installations (defined as art created for a specific space) inspired by weather patterns. Students learned a variety of paper sculpture techniques and created two types of paper sculptures using a base. The following class we compared French artist Henri Matisse with American artist Alexander Calder and discussed how both of their artworks incorporated shapes hard to describe and often seen in nature.  We defined those types of shapes as FREE FORM and compared them to other shapes such as GEOMETRIC and SYMBOLS.  Next, we used Matisse’s method of drawing with scissors, which he became very interested in during the last part of his life when confined to a wheelchair.  

With created a variety of FREE FORM SHAPES with our scissors by curving or point the edges of our geometric shapes and even adding some NEGATIVE SPACE with some cut outs.  The last part of this project, was to attach them to a string so they could become mobiles.  After closely observing the “father of mobiles” Alexander Calder, we defined a mobile as a type of KINETIC ART (ART THAT MOVES).  Our finished free form shape mobiles were combined to form an installation that hung in our halls. This art piece is also a test for how much self control our little ones have when passing it by in the halls.  

Mia Pearlman


The Creole Dance, Henri Matisse, 1950


Fish, Alexander Calder 1944










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