Anca, grade 5

cut-paper collage
STUDIO artist: Damali Miller

Resources: Viewing the work of artists who work abstractly with line and shape to create compositions helps students see that this is an area of art that one could spend a lifetime exploring. It is valuable to view and discuss not only the well-known work of Matisse, Kandinsky, and Stuart Davis, but also the many, many abstract artists here and all over the world.... Students can look at compositions inspired by and in response to things that are realistic, but remain abstract. (For example, Davis’ abstract compositions about the city and Matisse’s shapes inspired by large plant leaves or ferns, seen in photographs of his studio.) Working either with a few shapes and, possibly, a limited palette, or working with many shapes and a wider range of colors, viewing different artists’ work will show students a wide range of approaches.

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