- the most general characteristics of the chosen artist's style and
- how the artist was influenced by the socio-political situation at the time.
- Design a logo for the company. It should incorporate some or all of the general characteristics of the four artists. The choice of symbolism should be based on political events of the time (past, present or fictitious).
- This design should be done on a computer, using a graphics programme if possible.
- The students should (a) search the Internet for a gallery (international or national) that supports Resistance Art and (b) draw up a proposal to send to the gallery. This proposal should state what kind of artworks the company supports, why, and what the general styles of their artists are. Also, it should be stated what political situation the artists are responding to. This should also be done with graphic design techniques if possible.
(Starts in a similar way to Lesson 1 and then uses the information in a different way.)
Desired Outcomes: Students develop general research skills using the Internet, create artistic graphic design using a computer, and employ simple business strategies and marketing skills.
Time: 2-3 hours (several computer sessions)
Number of students: Dependent on the number of computers available with Internet access.
Method:
Step 1: (Background research)
The students should form groups of four. Using the Cooperative Learning structure called Jigsaw, each group member selects one particular artist and reads the information given on this site. They will become an "expert" on this artist by doing the research in order to teach fellow group members about this artist. Each "expert" should focus on the influences on the artist and the general style of each artist. If desired, the teacher can follow the same method suggested in Lesson Plan 1 where this research is done in pairs.
Again, each "Expert" chooses one work that shows:
Step 2: The group should now reform. Each "Expert" in turn should use the chosen work to show the group the general characteristics and influences of the socio-political situation on the artist.
Step 3: (Becoming Art Dealers)
Once each student has shared his/her expertise on their artist, the group should brainstorm the main reasons causing Resistance Art in South Africa. (It might be helpful to put each idea on individual pieces of paper so that the group can see them more clearly, move them around to cluster similar ideas and organise the ideas into some kind of framework, as needed). With this information they should create an art-dealing company (with it's own unique name) that represents Resistance Artists working in the present, in the past, or even in the future (if the students want to be particularly creative). This company can be international or based in a specific country of their choice.
The group (i.e. the Managing directors of the Company) must do the following:
Extension:
This lesson can be extended by focusing more heavily on the business side. The teacher could decide that each group must also research what is required when running a gallery. How does the gallery decide what kinds of artworks they're going to display? Who decides on the prices artworks will be sold for? What percentage of this does the gallery receive? How important a role do galleries play in the career of an artist? Does the artist have to pay to use the gallery? If so, how much? The teacher can set these questions and more to the students, requiring them to do more research on the Internet, or even primary research, by visiting actual galleries in their area. It is also possible to have the art students team up with accounting, economics or business students from other subject departments to achieve these outcomes.