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Art History Remix

Art Detective Escape Room

Use what you’ve learned to make an original artwork

March / April 2023

Art History Remix

Two enlargeable colorful paintings by Matisse

Henri Matisse, (1869-1954), Madame de Pompadour, Pavillon de Marsan, 1951. Lithograph. Image ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource, NY. Artwork ©2023 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

MATISSE: What elements or principles pioneered by Henri Matisse, whose work is shown above right, do you think Marjorie plays with in her painting, above left?

Project Prompt:

Select an artist who inspires you and analyze examples of their work.
Create an original artwork incorporating elements of art and principles of design that reference your chosen artist’s work without copying it.

Parameters:

Study artworks by your chosen artist and take notes about how they work with the elements of art and principles of design.
Identify compositional techniques that you’d like to explore.
Make sketches, experimenting with your subject and composition.
Choose a medium that will allow you to best utilize the elements of art and principles of design you plan to use.
Don’t forget: Be inspired by your chosen artist, but don’t steal.

Enlargeable close-up image of a person with glasses and image of person dancing

Robert Longo (b. 1953), Men in the Cities Triptych (For the Pompidou), 1980. Graphite, pencil, and charcoal. ©CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY/©2023 Robert Longo/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

LONGO: How does Megan use Robert Longo’s color palette, right, while using a different compositional structure, above?

Close-up image of a person with glasses and image of person dancing

Experiment at Home:

Flip through magazines and identify compositional techniques in the advertisements you see. Experiment with these in an original artwork.

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

Slideshow title page. Text, "Hands-On Project Art History Remix"

Use what you’ve learned to make an original artwork

Art History Remix Hands-on Project

Students from James Rees’s class at Provo High School in Provo, Utah, learned how some artists use the elements of art and principles of design. Then they developed original artworks inspired by the artists they studied—without copying them. Click through to see helpful tips and examples before creating your own original work.

Download the full lesson plan here.

Lesson by and photographs courtesy of James Rees at Provo High School.

Image of students working on Scholastic's Art History Remix assignment

Select an artist whose work inspires you. Analyze their work using the Graphic Organizer: Art History Remix skills sheet. Take notes about how they use the elements of art and principles of design. Then circle the elements of art and principles of design that you’re most excited to experiment with.

Make thumbnail sketches to begin working out your composition. As you develop your ideas, think about the medium, color scheme, and scale that will best convey your ideas.

Image of students painting in a classroom

Then create your final artwork. Remember: You should be inspired by your chosen artist, but you shouldn’t copy their work.

Study how Marjorie experiments with shapes in her painting, right. How is her work related to Henri Matisse’s, left?

Robert Longo, whose work is shown on the left, is known for his hyperrealistic black-and-white images of figures. How does Megan explore a similar subject in a new way in her work on the right?

In this composition, Victor Vasarely plays with three-dimensional shapes using contoured lines. How might a student artist expand on this idea? Click through to find out!

Image of a drawing using shading to show illusion

The student artist who completed this work creates the illusion of three-dimensionality using shading.

How are these paintings by Andrew Wyeth, left, and Dayna, right, similar? How are they different?

Now it’s your turn! How will you use what you’ve learned about inspiration and appropriation to create an original artwork? Turn to pages 14-15 of your March/April 2023 issue of Scholastic Art to see more examples from the students at Provo High School.

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Art Detective Escape Room

Objectives:

Students will create art detective avatars for themselves. They will work together to solve clues about heists and forgeries throughout history.

Time: 3 class sessions

Standards: VA1, VA6, VA11

Materials:

1. pencils

2. paper

3. colored pencils and/or markers

4. UV flashlights

5. UV markers

6. magnifying glasses

7. red cellophane or red transparent tiles

8. envelopes

9. scissors

Vocabulary:

authentic, avatar, heist, fake, forgery

Modify Project for Grades K-3:

Complete the escape room as a whole class. Project the clues onto a screen at the front of the classroom. Brainstorm and solve the answers to clues together.

Photo of students working on a detective activity

Preparation:

1. Download the Teacher Detective Report, the Student Detective Report, the Clue Preparation document, and the Detective Notebooks. Screen the content in the Student Detective Report before sharing it with the class.

2. Divide the class into teams of 4-5. Print enough Student Detective Reports for each group.

3. Use the Clue Preparation document to prepare the clues in the Detective Reports before the second session. Place each group’s clues in an envelope or a box. These will serve as the Detective Kits. Print a copy of the Detective Notebook for each student. Choose which version of the Solved Clues in the Detective Notebooks is appropriate for your students. One version includes some letters for extra help.

4. Please note: This lesson and related materials are meant as a starting point. Please feel free to adapt the lesson and clues based on available time and resources. This should be a fun and creative experience for you and your class!

SESSION 1

1. Use the March/April 2023 issue of Scholastic Art to review the definitions of authentic, heist, fake, and forgery with students.

2. Distribute one copy of the Detective Notebook to each student. Explain that each student will become an art detective for the next few classes to solve real art heists and forgeries from history. Discuss how students will work together with teammates to solve clues in an escape-room-style scavenger hunt.

3. Have students envision themselves as art detectives. Ask: What clothing, facial expressions, tools, or other details do you associate with detectives? Each student should use the medium of their choice to make an art detective avatar in their Detective Notebooks.

SESSION 2

1. If you haven’t already, see the Clue Preparation document to prepare the Day 2 clues.

2. Distribute one Detective Kit per team. Explain that the kits contain clues about heists and forgeries. It is the students’ job as art detectives to collaborate with their teammates to solve the mysteries.

3. Students should work together to solve the Day 2 clues and fill in the answers on the last page of their Detective Notebooks. Remind students that they should be stealthy so they don’t accidentally uncover clues for other teams.

SESSION 3

1. If you haven’t already, see the Clue Preparation document to prepare the Day 3 clues.

2. Teams should work together to solve the clues for Day 3.

3. When students have finished, use the Teacher Detective Report to check answers.

4. Invite students to discuss any challenges and/or successful moments they experienced while solving the clues with their classmates. Encourage members of each group to report what they learned about heists and forgeries along the way.