Four posters with artwork and text

Images courtesy of James Rees.

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Teaching Resources

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Words With Power

Messages in Mixed Media

Project Prompt:

Create an artwork that incorporates text. Carefully choose your words to communicate ideas about contemporary life.


Parameters:

  • Respond—in writing or sketches—to one of these questions (or something else you’re excited to explore!) in your sketchbook:
    • How has the Covid-19 pandemic changed your life?
    • What does “coming of age” mean to you?
  • Distill your ideas, creating a simple, clear message. Then think about how to visually represent it.
  • Use the elements of art and principles of design 
  • to make sure your composition is easy to read. Focus on color, scale, value, and contrast. 


Experiment at Home:

Try using found text. Look in newspapers, magazines, books, and even phrases heard on TV. 


Before you begin, check out these examples by James Rees’s students at Provo High School in Provo, Utah!


Mixed-Media Ocean Life

Article Type

Elements
Ideas
Features
Studio Project

Teaching Resources

Text-to-Speech