Coordinate Planes and Mondrian

Piet Mondrian (1872 – 1944) was a Dutch painter regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Mondrian is known for being one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art. He changed his artistic direction from a somewhat realistic painting style to an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic vocabulary was simple geometric elements. Mondrian limited himself to the use of the three primary colors, black, white, gray and only vertical and horizontal lines when creating his art. To learn more about Piet Mondrian, his evolution as an artist and his style, watch this quick video.

For this art project you will be creating a piece of art in the basic style of Mondrian, using a coordinate plane. A coordinate plane is a two-dimensional number line where the vertical line is called the y-axis and the horizontal is called the x-axis. These lines are perpendicular and intersect at their zero points. This point is called the origin. A point in a coordinate plane is named by its ordered pair of the form of (x, y). The first number corresponds to the x-coordinates and the second to the y-coordinate. The axes divide the plane into four quadrants. For this project you will combine what you know about Mondrian, coordinate planes, and ordered pairs along with what you know about the elements of art and the principles of design.

Steps:

1. Create a piece of grid paper for yourself using a ruler and very light pencil lines (they will need to be entirely erased later). Be sure to include all 4 quadrants in your coordinate grid and go up to at least 10 on each axis.

2. Plot points for the first 4 quadrilaterals using the data provided on the data sheet.

3. Add at least 3 more quadrilaterals using your own ordered pairs. They can be anywhere on the piece, be sure to record your pairs on the data sheet.

4. Color using the elements of art. You will have a minimum of 7 quadrilaterals to color in. You will use the primary colors only and color them in using what you know about the elements of art. Fill in the shapes using the elements of line, shape, texture and value (see instructional video). It is ok to repeat the elements you choose.

5. Consider the principles of design as you decide on the placement of the colors and the shapes that you add to the piece. Have you considered repetition? Emphasis?

6. When you are finished, use your ruler and a black marker to add both horizontal and vertical lines wherever you choose. Consider framing in the different shapes and adding a few random lines for variety.

7. When you are finished, erase all additional lines and share your work with someone. Explain to them what you learned about Piet Mondrian and the type of work he created. Explain the use of the coordinate plane and how a coordinate plane and ordered pairs are used to locate things in the sky, on a map and elsewhere. Consider taking a virtual field trip to the Guggenheim Museum to view some of Mondrian’s work together.

8. Finally, complete your Artist’s Statement. You can use this form or you can write about your own. Be sure to discuss the process of your artwork, how you created it, explain the artistic choices you made, share one thing you love about your piece and one thing you would change if you could.