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Lesson Title: Japan—Traditional & Contemporary Comparison

Author: Barbara Denton

Class and Grade level(s): Grades 7-9

Goals and Objectives - The student will be able to:

o Define relief printmakingo Stylize a drawing of nature by simplificationo Identify the traditional woodcut Mt. Fuji series by Hokusai and two paintings by Shimomurao Recognize the differences between Hokusai prints and Shimomura paintingso Recognize a relationship between Japanese prints and the stylized art of today

Curriculum standards addressed:

o Visual Arts Standard 1: Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes related tothe visual arts

o Visual Arts Standard 2: Knows how to use structures and functions of arto Visual Arts Standard 4: Understands the visual arts in relation to history and cultureso Visual Arts Standard 5: Understand the characteristics and merits of one’s own artwork and the

artwork of others by understanding some of the implications of intention and purpose inparticular works of art

Time required/class periods needed: Two weeks, or ten individual one-hour classes

Primary source bibliography:

Art & Man: Japanese Prints, Special Feature on Hokusai. February, 1989, Vol 19, No. 4, ISSN 0004-3052. Published by Scholastic under the direction of National Gallery of Art

Bloom, Dwila, 1994, Multicultural Art Activities Kit, The Center for Applied Research in Education, Simon & Schuster Company

Buckley Ebrey, Patricia, Ed., 1993, Chinese Civilization: A sourcebook, Second Edition, p. 27. The Free Press, New York.

Corwin, N. Roger Shimomura: Delayed Reactions. Lawrence, KS: Spencer Museum of Art, 1995. Doherty, Charles, 1997. International Encyclopedia of Art: Far Eastern Art. Concise overview of art, history, & culture of Asian and Australian continents.

Field, Catherine, 2000. Nations of the World: China. Raintree Steck-Vaughn Pub. NY. Overview of China today. Good color phots, Junior High level reading. 130 pages.

Lippard, Lucy. Mixed Belssings: New Art in a Multicultural America. New York: Pantheon, 1990.

Mittler & Ragans, 1999, Understanding Art, Teacher’s Manual, Glencoe McGraw-Hill, New York.

Murphy, Rhoads, 2001, East Asia: A New History, Second Edition, Chapter 6: Longman, New York.

Serwer, Jacquelin. American Kaledioscope: Themes and Perspectives in Recent Art. Washington DC: National Museum of American Art, 1996.

Other resources used: n/a

Required materials/supplies: Watercolor or tempera paints, brushes, watercolor paper,

pencils, drawing paper

Vocabulary: Traditional, Contemporary, abstract, stylize, non-objective, woodcut, relief printing,

positive space, negative space, Japan, linoleum cutter, brayer, printing plate, Mt. Fuji, flat colors, symbolism, iconography, harmony, balance

Procedure:

Key Ideas: Traditional Japanese artists like Katsushika Hokusai liked to do prints based on nature. Contemporary artist Roger Shimomura’s ideas come from the ways that Japanese Americans value family, and the immigrant experiences of successive generations. When Hokusai did a landscape that depicted an actuaplace (as in Rainbow at Mitakegura, or the series known as The Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji) the effect is more like a stylized set than a real scene. Shimomura’s use of flatly painted surfaces and pop culture icoare stylized by simplification.

Overview The instructor may wish to tell this background story to address the beginning of the practice of simplifyingart to stylize, or abstract as it was introduced to the Western art world in the middle 19

th century.

On a Gray winter day in Paris in 1856, an artist was waiting to speak to his printer. He was wandering around the dark shop when his eye fell on a colorful little book neatly hidden in a corner. He began leafinthrough it and was amazed at what he saw: fierce warriors swinging enormous, gleaming swords; panoramic landscapes with majestic mountains reaching into the mists; delicate plants seen in totally different ways—all drawn with sure, flowing lines and the most brilliant and unusual color combinations hehad ever seen. These images were far from “realistic,” but they were so alive they seemed to come right the page. When the printer came in, the excited artist demanded to know where he had gotten the wonderful new book. The printer was puzzled for a minute, then explained that the book he was looking ahad come from Japan, in a shipment of porcelain. It had been used as packing material and he was just about to throw it away. The artist took the book and hurried to show it to his colleague, painter Edouard Manet. It was soon evident from their paintings that many other artists working in Paris at the time – EdgaDegas, Mary Cassatt, and a few years later, Paul Gauguin and Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh—had also seen some of these radically new and different Japanese prints.

P rimary source bibliography:

White, John Howell. December, 1997. Roger Shimomura: Reviving ancestral voices, in School Arts. Vol 97, No. 4, pages 25-28.

Internet

Roger Shimomura http://www.sheldon.unl.edu/HTML/ARTIST/Shimomura_R/SSII

Shimomura on the Internet http://www.artcyclopedia.com

Assessment/evaluation: Students will be assessed on the following:

o See attached documents

Procedure:

Procedure: Day 1: (Art Criticism)

1. View examples of The Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai. Read and discuss the background information about the artist and traditional block prints.

2. Choose one of the series and do a simple critique. End the critique with a simplified sketch of the reproduction.

Day 2: (Art History) 1. View examples of artwork by Roger Shimomura. 2. Read and discuss background information about the artist. (It would be great to invite the artist

to vist the class, but background research should be completed first). This could include an internet search of galleries that show the artist’s work.

3. End class with a simplified sketch of the reproduction discussed. Day 3: (Art History)

1. Compare and contrast the work of the two artists. 2. Group work for 20 minutes, then students lead the discussion.

Day 4: (Production) 1. Students will begin planning their own paintings by doing a series of preliminary sketches of

nature. 2. Final paintings will combine something from nature and something from their own past that

includes a relative or a trip you have taken. 3. If weather is nice take students outside and draw leaves, flowers, and/or small insects in great

detail. They will be simplified later. 4. Another choice is to bring these elements into the classroom as a still-life. 5. Simplify by eliminating detail and retaining shapes, then reduce shadows and flatten colors.

Day 5: (Production) 1. Using memory and/or props, students will make sketches of a past travel experience. 2. Students should be prepared to explain all symbolism in their art. 3. Work elements of the sketches from nature together with the personal drawings. 4. Cut out key shapes and arrange if necessary. Tracing paper is useful for this step, or use the

window as a light box. 5. Some of the shapes should be repeated for harmony and balance. 6. Establish your main point of emphasis.

Day 6: (Production) 1. Finalize the drawing for the painting and make a color palette based on one of the color theories

previously studied. 2. Refer to these colors and repeat them for unity in your painting. 3. Begin to paint by using as many of the colors from your palette as you can, spreading them

throughout the picture plane for balance. Day 7: (Production)

1. Paint Day 8: (Production)

1. Finish painting. 2. Add some outlines for emphasis. 3. Re-visit the criteria page and if necessary, rework parts of the painting to improve it.

Day 9: (Aesthetics) 1. Students will mount paintings and hang at eye level (if possible) to be ready for self evaluations. 2. Fill out individual self evaluation papers and grade rubrics.

Day 10: (Self-Evaluation: Art Criticism) 1. Student lead verbal self critique based on written critique from the day before.

Name____________________________________________________ Date___________ Class________

Art Criticism Guidelines Tilte__________________________________________________ Date____________________________ Artist___________________________________________________________________________________ Art form/medium _______________________________________ Dimensions ______________________

1. Description a. Subject matter (Identify the recognizable objects, if any) b. Sensory qualities (Describe the qualities of line, shape/form, texture, light/value, color, space) c. Technical qualities (Describe how the materials, tools, and techniques are used)

2. Analysis

a. How is the work planned? (Identify the kind of balance, rhythms/movements, proportions, points of emphasis, pattern, evidence of unity and variety)

b. If the work has some subjects you recognize, what relationships do you find between them?

3. Interpretation a. What are the main expressive qualities—sensation moods, ideas—communicated to you?

What expressive language can you use to state these qualities? b. Identify any important analogies between the expressive qualities and other things you know

or feel. c. What are some of the most important causes within the work of the effects you have

identified in a and in b? d. How is the work related to other ideas or events? (Examples: The artists’ world or culture,

human traits and feelings, the natural world, history, ideas about beauty, other ideals.)

4. Judgment a. What are you judging this work? Have you described, analyzed and interpreted the artwork?

If not, do this before you try to judge it. b. What criteria are appropriate for judging this work? Why? (identify the sources of your

criteria. These might include requirements for a studio activity given by your teacher, general knowledge from your life experience, or your knowledge of art and art theories)

c. For each question, give reasons (cite evidence in the artwork) to support your judgment. d. Summarize your judgment.

Art Criticism Worksheet Name_______________________________________________________ Date__________ Class_______ Artist _______________________________________________________ Title of Artwork _______________________________________________ Dimensions __________________________________________________ Description Subject Matter (identify the recognizable objects, if any.) _______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Sensory qualities Describe the different kinds of line ______________________________________________________________________________________

What shapes or forms are used and how? ______________________________________________________________________________________

What textures are used in the artwork? ______________________________________________________________________________________

What colors are used the most? ______________________________________________________________________________________

Where is the strongest color used? ______________________________________________________________________________________

Technical Qualities Describe what materials are used ______________________________________________________________________________________

How can you tell? ______________________________________________________________________________________

What tools would the artist have needed to make this art? ______________________________________________________________________________________

Analysis How is the artwork planned? (What kind of balance is used?) _____________________________________________________________________________________

Is any shape or line used more than once? How many times? ______________________________________________________________________________________

Is any color repeated more than two times? What color and where is it used? ______________________________________________________________________________________

Interpretation How does this artwork make you feel? Does it have a mood? ______________________________________________________________________________________

Hokusai/Shimomura Abstract by Simplification Painting Student Self Evaluation Name ____________________________________ Answer the following questions in complete sentences, and be prepared to talk about your painting, using this paper as a guide.

1. What color theory did you choose to feature in your painting?

2. Name the key colors you used based on the chosen color theory?

3. What kind of balance did you use? Explain how you know.

4. Point out and describe in words where the main point of interest is located.

5. What element of design did you use to establish the main point of interest?

6. Point out (in words here) what main shapes you used and how you repeated them to unify the composition.

7. Describe one problem you had with your painting and how you solved it.

8. In what way would you change your painting if you were to do it over again?