Eco-Art eConversations: Elementary Lesson Plan: Nature is art!

Introduction to the Curriculum

An ecological art curriculum employs art as a means for studying and promoting respect for the relationship and the interaction of all living things. It should be exciting, hands on, interdisciplinary, and should engage students through various methods, such as teamwork, research, integration of technology, and exploration of ecological issues in the students' community.

The goal of an eco art education curriculum should be to inform and enable students to utilize art and technology as a means of exploration, expression, and communication, in order to understand and assume their role within their community and the environment.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Elementary Lesson Plan: Nature is art!

Teacher: Yadira Toledo

Age: 6-9 Grade Level: 1-4

Title: Nature is art!

This lesson can be modify to fit the needs of all ages.

Brief History:What is "Environmental Art"?

Artwork created by artists concerned with the state of our environment worldwide, and with their local situation. Environmental artists often work in these ways:Artists interpret nature, creating artworks to inform us about nature and its processes, or about environmental problems we face. Artists interact with environmental forces, creating artworks affected or powered by wind, water, lightning, even earthquakes.

Artists re-envision our relationship to nature, proposing through their work new ways for us to co-exist with our environment.Artists reclaim and remediate damaged environments, restoring nature in artistic and often aesthetic ways.Ecological art, or eco-art to use the abbreviated term, addresses both the heart and the mind. Ecological art work can help engender an intuitive appreciation of the environment, address core values, advocate political action, and broaden intellectual understanding.

Ecological art is much more than a traditional painting, photograph, or sculpture of the natural landscape. While such works may be visually pleasing, they are generally based on awe inspiring or picturesque, preconceived views of the natural world. Ecological art, in contrast, is grounded in an ethos that focuses on communities and inter-relationships. These relationships include not only physical and biological pathways but also the cultural, political and historical aspects of communities or ecological systems.The focus of a work of art can range from elucidating the complex structure of an ecosystem, examining a particular issue, i.e. a type of relationship, interacting with a given locale, or engaging in a restorative or premeditative function.

Eco-art may explore, re-envision, or attempt to heal aspects of the natural environment that have gone unnoticed or reflect human neglect. The work may challenge the viewer's preconceptions and/or encourage them to change their behavior. Metaphor is often a key element of ecological art. Metaphors help both to make apparent existing patterns of relationship and to envision new types of interaction.

National Education Technology Standards

1.Basic operations and concepts
2.Social, ethical, and human issues
3.Technology productivity tools
4.Technology communications tools
5.Technology research tools
6.Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools

NAEA Standards:

1.8 Research

3.8 Science, Technology and Human Endeavors

4.3 Environmental Health

4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions

4.8 Humans and the Environment

9.1 Production of Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.3 Critical Response

9.4 Aesthetic ResponseOwls of Huitapec.

images are on the site

(Housing project for endangered owls) Reservoir Tree (for roosting and nesting by colony nesting water birds)

Goal: To grow and awareness of ECO ART.

Objectives: Students will/ be able to:

Discuss the meaning or purpose of art in nature.

Make their own image using tools in sketch it and a scene in nature.

Use skills learn through Photoshop as well as Google link.

Teacher’s Prep Visuals:

1. computer

2. magazines

Supplies and materials:

1. slides

2. internet google earth, sketch it, ask.com

3. pictures

4. magazines

Teaching:Discuss the difference between environmental art from humans and art within the land or nature. Show images to test the knowledge of students. Have students go on the links listed on a link sheet and have them pick an image they would like to interpret or improve themselves on sketch it.Ulrike Arnold

Directions:
1. Students will get in groups of four.

2. Look at several images on the internet.

3. Students will then decide what continents they will like to research.

4. Find an artist from that country and look at ECO Art.

5. Look at the natural scenes and pick one of each.

6. Write a short summary of artist chosen.

7. Go into Sketch it and make a landscape of your own natural scene.

8. Have a critique and share natural image. ECO ART

Extensions:Students can go to Photoshop and change their image.

Critique/Assessments:At the end of the class students will share their images.

Closure:Students will put their image on our class site.

Time Budget:Two -45 minute classes

Safety Concerns:Take 5 minute breaks after 20 minutes to rest eyes.

Vocabulary:

Art Eco
Photoshop
Sketch It
Google

Earth Eco design

Bibliography:

www.greenmuseum.org

www.artecodesign.ca/history.php

www.highbeam.com

http://ecodesign.bioneers.org

www.ecoartspace.org

http://artsedge-kennedy-center.com

http:/www.wsu.edu

http://www.weartist.org

http://www.sfsu.edu/~gallery/eco/Arnold.htm

http://greenart.info/guide/painting.htm

http://www.studiotara.net/ecoart/

3 comments:

norcrossl said...: I love this lesson plan! I think it is imprtant for children to be aware that artists do not necessarily have to use paint to be a great artist. Especially in today's world, where environmental issues are so prevalent, this is a great topic and activity to discuss with students.; October 20, 2008 at 10:57 AM
lebuck8 said...: This lesson provided a lot of great links and insight into Eco-Art. It helped me get a good feel for what Environmental Art can be.; October 26, 2008 at 8:57 AM
tovias8 said...: I got a lot of helpful insight not only from this lesson plan, but also from the links on the bibliography. nice work!; October 26, 2008 at 2:01 PM

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History of Ecology Art Education

Lynne Hull, Reservoir Tree for roosting and nesting by colony nesting water birds (greenmuseum.org, 2007)

Lynne Hull, Owls of Huitapec- Housing project for endangered owls (greenmusuem.org, 2007)

The 27 th Avenue Solid Waste Management Facility and Recycling Center. © City of Phoenix. This could be a museum but it is the Phoenix Solid Waste Treatment Facility.

Environmental art in the late 1960’s and 1970’s was site-specific and included land art which was a response to the traditional outdoor sculpture that didn’t relate to it’s natural surroundings. However, the works of that time are now criticized for their lack of respect for the environment. Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1969) was provocative in its day. Now it is seen as causing permanent damage to the wildlife and the actual land. Christo also was criticized for wrapping the coast line of Sydney, Australia in fabric. Even though it was a temporary art work, the fabric affected the wildlife in a negative way.

In the classroom, art teachers for years have been addressing recycling and conservation. Making art with found objects and unwanted items from home has been happening for decades. Now with the internet and technology available as resources, students can understand the importance of ecology on a global scale. Goggle Earth as an educational tool has endless possibilities in the art room. The early ecology art educatio project of June Julian at http://www.nyu.edu/projects/julian/ illustrates the meshing of art, ecology, and technology.

“In our present situation, reconnecting art with life and with the natural environment is a matter of absolute priority. We have the freedom to choose other courses, but for each of us at the present time, this is the biggest challenge to our creativity in the deepest sense of the term.”
(Gablik, 2004)

Now a resurgence in ecology art is causing artists to not damage or disrupt nature in its natural form. Andy Goldsworthy’s work is biodegradable and could actually help the environment. Christo is still creating outdoor spaces but with greater sensitivity to the spaces and materials he uses.
Environmental art “helps improve our relationship with the natural world”. ( Hull, 2007)

Ecology art has made its way in to education. By integrating art and environmental awareness, one learns that our impact on the earth is permanent and that it needs to be addressed. Al Gore’s 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth has brought more attention to the issue of pollution and depleting recourses. Now as educators, we need to inform our future students of the implications of their actions. Preservation and conservation of nature are crucial to the survival of the earth, not just humankind.

Ecological art encompasses the political, ethics and aesthetics of responsible art making. The work of Emmet Gowin brings social consciences to the public though his photography of the “scars of the earth”(Williams, 2004). Through ecology art education, design doesn’t have to be limited to “green” materials, however, the awareness and sensibility to our future is in the forefront.

Works cited:

Gablik, S. (2001). The art critic .
Retrieved April 14, 2007, from http://greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php\

Julian, J. (1997). A world community of old trees.
Retrieved April14, 2007, from http://www.nyu.edu/projects/julian/

Williams, T. (2002). The earth stares back. In Gowin, E. (Ed.), Changing the earth (pp. 125-131). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.

Eco-Art Education Curriculum Philosophy

An ecological art curriculum employs art as a means for studying and promoting respect for the relationship and interaction of all living things. It should be exciting, hands on, interdisciplinary, and should engage students through various methods, such as teamwork, research, integration of technology, and exploration of ecological issues in the students' community. The goal of an eco art education curriculum should be to inform and enable students to utilize art and technology as a means of exploration, expression, and communication, in order to understand and assume their role within their community and the environment.

Eco-Art eConversations

Introduction to the Curriculum

Ecology Hall of Fame, Google Earth & SketchUp Lesson Plans, Personal Introductions

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Elementary Lesson Plan: Nature is art!

3 comments:

History of Ecology Art Education

Eco-Art Education Curriculum Philosophy

Objectives of Eco-Art

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