Lesson Plan Submitted by Kathy Black
Elementary art teacher in North Syracuse, NY.
Procedures:
I discuss and show examples of the early 20th century Ashcan Artists of
New York City and how they painted their environment as it was, with
wash hanging on lines between buildings, fences, broken windows, the
elevated trains and of course, trash cans. Then I have students select
2 large sheets of paper, a pair of scissors and either
cray-pas or colored chalk, and a piece of paper towel or scrap paper.
One sheet of paper is cut in one continuous line, from one side of the
paper to the other in the shape of a city skyline consisting of a
variety of buildings of different heights. The student selects one of
the cut skyline "stencils" and applies the coloring material on the
edge. This stencil is placed on the background paper and the color is
pushed up off the stencil and onto the background paper. More than one
level of stencil color may be applied to simulate overlapped buildings.
The student then places details of what he/she may find in the city,
such as people, street lights, vehicles, signs stores, airplanes, etc.
Material
Links
Resources
Books
The Ashcan Artists and Their New York, 1897-1917
- This book presents 100 of the greatest paintings, pastels, drawings, and prints by a group of artists derogatorily dubbed the Ashcan School by the critics: George Bellows, William Glackens, Robert Henri, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan
The Ashcan Artists' Brush With Leisure, 1895-1925
- Featuring some of the Ashcan school's most vibrant and outstanding works, this book demonstrates unequivocally the zeal with which these artists and their circle embraced the world of play enjoyed by all levels of society.
Poster
New York City (Cityscape 1931) Art Poster - 24x36
or