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Joan Mitchell with her dog Georges du Soleil in Springs, New York, ca. 1953. Photograph by Barney
Joan Mitchell (2/12/1925-10/30/1992) Women's history month, Abstract Art (Painting, printmaking, ink painting)
Joan Mitchell was born on February 12, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois to a wealthy family. Her mother was a poet and novelist and her father was a well known physician who enjoyed creating art. Joan attended the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. She created abstract landscapes but her style continued to metamorphize into further abstraction with arches, gestural lines, drips, and washes that seem to guide the eye from the center out through patterns created by forms. After Joan graduated in 1947, she traveled to France for a year long fellowship. When she returned in 1949, she joined the New York School of Painters and Poets. She began to develop a reputation as a young leading Abstract Expressionist after she exhibited her work in 1951 at the 9th Street Show. She became a well known painter and printmaker. In 1959, Joan moved to France where she continued to work as an artist. As an artist, Joan felt it necessary to put her feelings into her work. She is known to have read poetry before painting and is know to have said, "Music, poems, landscape, and dogs make me want to paint... and painting is what allows me to survive." Joan associated letters with colors, tones, and hues which made poetry all the more meaningful in her artistic process. Joan passed away in 1992. During her lifetime, she achieved success. Her work has been exhibited numerous times in New York and Paris, and Joan was the first women to have a solo exhibit at the Musee d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris. She received many awards for her work and gained international fame.
L'Arbre de Phyllis, 1991; Oil on canvas
L'Arbre de Phyllis, 1991; Oil on canvas
La ligne de la rupture, 1970; Oil on canvas
La ligne de la rupture, 1970; Oil on canvas
Untitled, 1985; Pastel? Soluble crayon?
Untitled, 1985; Pastel? Soluble crayon?
Bedford I, from Bedford Series, 1985; Lithograph in color
Bedford I, from Bedford Series, 1985; Lithograph in color
Sold for $25,000
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost, 1874-1963
Possible Variations by grade:
K Crayons, acrylic, watercolor
1 Crayons, acrylic, watercolor
2 Crayons, acrylic, watercolor
3 Chalk pastel, acrylic, water color
4 Chalk pastel, acrylic, water color
5 Chalk pastel, acrylic, water color
6 Chalk pastel, acrylic, water color
7 Chalk pastel, acrylic, water color/or alcohol inks
8 Chalk pastel, acrylic, water color/or alcohol inks
Art Lesson
Art Lesson
Artist: Joan Mitchell
Movement(s): Abstract Art
Supplies needed:
Heavy weight paper, chalk pastels, sponges, acrylic paint, watercolor, brushes, water cup, paper towels
Learning Objectives:
Students will explore the layering of different mediums including chalk pastel, acrylic paint, and watercolor.
Students will explore the idea of putting their feelings into their work with inspiration from a poem.
Students will practice working neatly with art media which can become very messy.
Essential Questions:
How can a person capture feelings in a work of art?
How can one art form inspire another art form?
Can something that appears simple such as Abstract Art, be very complex?
Hook:
Students will be encouraged to explore their own feelings as they listen to a poem by Robert Frost. They will first listen to the poem and consider how they feel as a result, and then students will receive materials to begin their assignments with.
Description:
The class will learn about Joan Mitchell and analyze several examples of her artwork. Students will be asked to consider the essential questions and will then listen to The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Students will receive either crayons or pastels and begin creating on a heavy weight piece of paper trying to capture their feelings with consideration for what colors or line types or forms might represent their mood. Once students are complete with crayons or pastels, they will use a sponge and apply thinned acrylic paint sparingly. After the paint dries, students will apply watercolor how ever they feel captures the mood of their work.
Sequence:
Day 1: Intro to Joan Mitchell, analysis of her work, essential questions, poem, crayon or chalk pastel layer
Day 2: Sponging sparingly of acrylic paint in way or color scheme that enhances the work
Day 3: Addition of water color in a way that captures the mood intended by the artwork
Day 4: Analysis of student work compared to the work of Joan Mitchell
Vocabulary:
Joan Mitchell: An Abstract artist who was born in 1925 and became
Abstract Art: Art that attempts to represent reality using shapes, colors, forms, lines, and textures without creating any distinguishable objects.
Mixed Media: The use of several different types of art materials to create an artwork
Lithograph: A printmaking process that involves the use of a grease pencil over limestone or a zinc or aluminum thin sheet of metal. The design is drawn onto the limestone or metal plate with a grease pencil. Then an acid bath (gum arabic and nitric acid) is applied to the surface and left for an hour. The acid bath damages the surface that wasn't covered by the grease drawing in such a way that the surface accepts water but not grease. After removing the printing plate from the acid bath, the grease drawing is washed away using turpentine. Before printing, the printing plate will be sponged with water that will stay where the acid touched the printing plate. The parts of the plate where the grease pencil was will accept oil based ink which will be rolled on,
National Core Art Standards
VA:Cr2.1.6a Demonstrate openness in trying new ideas, materials, methods, and approaches in making works of art and design.
VA:Cr3.1.6a Reflect on whether personal artwork conveys the intended meaning and revise accordingly.
VA:Re.7.1.5a Compare one's own interpretation of a work of art with the interpretation of others.
VA:Re8.1.5a Interpret art by analyzing characteristics of form and structure, contextual information, subject matter, visual elements, and use of media to identify ideas and mood conveyed.
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