KeithHaring–ArtasSocialCommentary

Grade:5thMedium:PrintmakingLearningObjective:StudentswillobservetheartworkandsocialcommentaryofartistandmuralistKeithHaring.Usingartvocabulary,theywillarticulatetheirideasandopinionswhilelisteningandrespondingtoothers.Theywillcreateartthatconveysamessageinasimilarstyle.

Author:LaurelleGraves

ElementsofArtLine:theflatpathofadotthroughspaceusedbyartiststocontroltheviewer’seyemovement;alongnarrowmarkorstrokemadeonorinasurface.Therepetitionoflinescancreatetexture,pattern,andgradationsofvalue.Shape:atwo-dimensional(flat)areaenclosedbyaline.PrinciplesofDesignContrast:cancreatevarietybyshowingdifferenceswithintheelementsinanartwork,suchassmooth/roughtextures,light/darkcolors,orthick/thinlines.Emphasis:wheretheeyetravelstoinaworkofart.Alsodescribedasthefocusorcenterofinterest.Itcreatesvarietyandisusuallyuniqueinsize,color,textureorshape.Pattern:repeatedelementsinanorganizedway,createsunity.AdditionalVocabularyWordsComposition:theuseoftheprinciplesofdesigntoarrangetheelementsofvisualartstocreateapieceofartwork;thewayindividualdesignelementsarecombinedtoexpressaparticularidea.Symbol:animagethatrepresentssomethingelse.Variety/Unity:Componentsthatmakeaninterestingcomposition.Master:Inprintmaking,themasteristheoriginalimagethatisreprinted.Inthislessonit’stheStyrofoamplate.Itcouldalsobeastamp,awoodcut,anetchingetc.

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Materials&Supplies

• PrintmakingPaper• Brayer• PrintmakingInks• StyrofoamPrintingPlates• Non-porousPlexiglasSurfaceor

PaperPlate

• OilPastels• CopyPaper(whiteandcolor)• PermanentMarker• ColoredPencils

Context(Historyand/orArtists)KeithHaringwasaprolificAmericanPopartistandmuralistinthe1980s.HewasborninReading,PennsylvaniaonMay4,1958.Heshowedaninterestinartfromaveryearlyageandhisfamilyhassaidallheeverdidwasdraw.HewasinfluencedandinspiredbyDr.SeussandWaltDisneybuthisfatheralsodrewcartoonsforaliving.Afterhighschool,KeithwenttoschoolinPittsburghforcommercialgraphicarts.Hequicklydecidedthiswasn’tforhimandmovedtoNewYork.ItwasinNewYorkthatKeithfoundathrivingartcommunity.In1980,KeithnoticedunusedadvertisingpanelsintheNewYorkCitysubwaysystems.Hewasinspiredbytheunusedspaceandboughtaboxofwhitechalk.Haringknewthatwhateverhedrewwouldhavetobeabletobeunderstoodbythequicklypassingsubwaypassengers.Heusedboldlines,easilyrecognizabledesigns,andsimplestoriestoconveyamessageoneachpanel.Muchofhisworkspokeaboutsocialissues.ThesubwaypassengerstooknoticeandsoonHaringbecameacelebrity.Thentheentirecityandartworldtooknotice.Haringnowhadinternationalrecognition.Peoplerespondedtohisart,butHaring’sbeliefswerecontradictorytomostoftheartworld.Haringbelievedthatartbelongedtothepeopleandeveryonedeservedart.Often,ifhisartwasinamuseum,Keithinsistedonhavingapieceoutsideofthemuseum,sopeoplecouldenjoyhisartwithoutpayingtoseeit.EventuallyKeithopenedastorecalledthePopShopwiththegoalofbringinghisarttothemasses.Hebelievedinthepowerofartandworkingcollaboratively.Muchofhiscareerwasspentworkingwithchildrenandcharities.HaringwasdiagnosedwithAIDSin1988.HeestablishedtheKeithHaringFoundationwhichexiststodaywiththepurposeofprovidingfundingandimagerytoAIDSorganizationsandchildren’sprograms.Haringdonatedmuchofhistimeandworktowardshischaritableworkandlovedworkingwithchildren.Theimpactofthisphilanthropyisseentoday.Haringpassedawayattheageof31onFebruary16,1990.Althoughhislifewasshort,hehadatrulyprolificcareer.AdvancedPreparationBecomefamiliarwithKeithHaringbyvisitingharingkids.comandHaring.com.HaveexamplesofHaring’sworkavailabletoshowstudents.

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Tips&Tricks

• Usepermanentmarkertodrawdesignonthecopypaper.Itcanbeeasilyseenthroughthepaperandeliminatestheneedfortracingpaper.

• Onlyusebright,highlypigmentedcoloredpencils.Thismakesiteasierforthestudentstoseewhichlinestheyhavealreadytraced.

• Whenwritingaword,planlettersizesoastofitevenlywithinthespace.• Tapethefoamprintingplatetocopypaperwhiletracing.• Havestudentscreatetheirartworkwithamarker.Thelinesneedtobebold.Athickmarker

willensurebold,thicklines.• Setupmultipleprintingstationsaroundtheroomwithdifferentcoloroptions.

DiscussionPoints

• KeithHaringoftenused“tags”andrepeatingsymbolsandlinesinhisartwork.Whatdothesetagsrepresent?

• Whatdothelinesaroundthefiguresrepresent?Dotheyexpressanemotion?Wouldtheartworkfeelthesamewithoutthem?

• Doesaddingcolortoonlyoneshapechangethefeelingoftheartwork?• Doesaccentingonesymbolwithanothercolormakeanimpact?Wouldthepiecefeel

differentifitwasallonecolor?• Whataresomeworthwhilecausesorissuesthatareimportanttoyou?• Howcanyouconveyyourmessageinyourownminiatureposter?• Findevidenceoftheelementsofartandprinciplesofdesignlistedabove,whenobserving

Haring’swork.

ReflectionPoint(AssessmentofLearningObjectives)Studentswill:observetheartworkandsocialcommentaryofartistandmuralistKeithHaring;articulatetheirideasandopinionswhilelisteningandrespondingtoothers;createartthatconveysamessageinasimilarstyle;useartvocabulary.

InstructionsforLessonWhilediscussinghisbiography,showworksbyKeithHaringbyvisitingharingkids.comandHaring.com.Specificallyfocusontheartworkwithblackandwhitebackgroundsandoneaccentcolor.Alsostudythecharitypostersectionbriefly.Havestudentssettleonawordthatconveystheirpersonalmessage.

1. Demonstratehowtotracetheoutlineofthefoamprintingplateontothecopypaper.Thisis

thespaceforthecomposition.Informstudentsthattheirdesignmuststaywithinthissoastofitontotheprintingplate.Remindthemtousebold,thicklinesandfewwords.Haring’s

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workwasimpactfulbecauseitssimplicitymeantthatitcouldquicklybeunderstoodbypeoplepassingbyonthesubway.Bold,simpleshapesandshortwordswillworkbest.

2. Modelplanningadesignsothatitfitsthespace.Drawlightlyandmeasurethewidtheachletterwilloccupybeforeaddingit.Makeafewexamples,usingwordsvolunteeredbystudentsearlier,sotheyseehowdifferentlengthwordswillbe‘squeezed’intothespaceevenly.

3. Studentswillmakeanerasabledesignontheirpaper,adjustingituntilitlooksright,withenoughvarietyandunitytocreateinterest.Havethemgoovertheirdesignwithmarkerstoensuretherearenotinydetailsmissing.

4. Totransferthedesignontotheprintingplate(themaster),turnthepageoversothe

originaldrawingisnowfacedownontheprintingplate.Sincethisistypography,thetextmustbeinscribedbackwardsonthemaster(printingplate)sothatitappearsproperlyinthefinishedprint.Traceoverallofthelineswithadullcoloredpencil.Ifthepencilissharp,itwillpuncturethematerial.Thecoloredpencilallowsthestudentstoseewhichlinestheyhavealreadytracedandthewaxallowsittoglidesmoothlywithoutgettingcaughtontheprintingplate.Theycantapeeachsidetotheedgeoftheplatesotheydon’tliftthepaperuntiltheentiredesignhasbeentransferred.Itisdifficulttorealignthepaperandplateoncemoved.

5. Oncethedesignhasbeentransferred,havethestudentsretracetheirlinesdirectlyonthe

plate,toensureathick,deep,boldline.Studentscantraceovertheirlinesmultipletimesuntilthedesiredeffectisachieved.Remindthemthatthecolorfromthepencilwillnotshowinthefinishedartwork.

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6. Theplatesarenowreadytobeprinted.Theinstructorwillsquirta2”lineofinkontothe

non-poroussurfaceanddemonstratehowtorollthebrayerleft-to-rightandupanddowntoloadwithanevenlayerofink.Shewillthenrollitacrosstheprintingplatetomakeanevenlayer.Iftheinklayeristoothinitwon’tcoverevenly.Ifit’stoothickitwillhavesmallripplesthroughout.Thiswillaffecttheprint.

7. Demonstratehowtocarefullylaydowntheprintmakingpaperorsmoothcardstockandburnish(handruballsections)theirdesigntopressinkintoalllines.Itisimportanttotaketimeandreallymakesuretoburnishallareasofthedesign.

8. GentlypullthepaperawayfromtheStyrofoamplate,sothatstudentsseetheresult.Setasidetodry.Havestudentsmakeaprint.

9. Remindthemthattheycanmakemultipleprintswiththesamecolorinkwithouthavingtodoanyadditionalworkwiththeprintingplate,atleastuntiltheinkisusedup.Whenyouwanttochangethecolor,carefullywashtheplateoffinthesink.Theplateswashoffveryeasily.Theyneedtobehandledcarefullybecauseanycreaseswillshowupinlaterprintings.Nosoapisneeded.Simplyrununderlukewarmwaterandpatverydry,sinceanydripswilldilutetheink.Theplateisnowreadytoprintanewcolor.Ifyoudon’twanttowash,youcansqueezeanewcolorintothesamenon-poroussurfacewhichwillmixwiththeold.

10. Printasmanycopiesaspossibleintheallottedtime,reservingtimeforclean-up.Theartist

shouldsignandnumbereach‘keeper’(successfulprint).Somecanbeprintedondifferentcolorsofpaper.Somecanbeprintedindifferentcolorsofink.Somecanbeprintedwitharainbowrolloftwocolorsofinkcombined.

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11. Printsdryquickly.Takesomeofthedryfinishedprintsinblackinkonwhitepaperand

accentjustoneortwoareaswithabold,brightcolorusingoilpastel,similartoKeithHaring’sstyle.Tryaccentingadifferentpartoneachprinttoseewhichoneismoreimpactful.

12. Discusstheimpactofthedifferentprintsasaclass.13. Displayoneofeachstudent’sprints.Taketheremainingprintsandhavethestudentstrade

withotherstudents.Haringbelievedthatartwasforthepeopleandshouldbeaccessibletoall.Oneofthereasonshealwayslovescreatinginthesubwayswassothateveryonecouldenjoytheartworkforfree.Encouragethestudentstosharetheirartworkwithasmanypeopleaspossible.

ReferencesandAttributionsLessonwrittenbyLaurelleGraves.“Biography.”HaringKids,KeithHaringFoundation,www.haringkids.com/master_k_bio.htm.Haring,Kay.KeithHaring:TheBoyWhoJustKeptDrawing.PenguinYoungReadersGroup,2017“InHisOwnWords.”Beginnings|KeithHaring,www.haring.com/!/about-haring/beginnings#.WmVyZzdG200.

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NotesforEducators

21stCenturyThinkingSkillsObserving,MakingConnections,Visualizing,Sequencing,Comparing/Contrasting,Summarizing,DeterminingMainIdea,DecisionMaking,Evaluating.

WAStateLearningStandards(VA:Cr1.1.5)a.Combineideastogenerateaninnovativeideaforart-making.(VA:Cr1.2.5)a.Identifyanddemonstratediversemethodsofartisticinvestigationtochooseanapproachforbeginningaworkofart.ThishappenswhenexploringHaring’sapproachtocommunicatingamessage.(VA:Cr2.1.5)a.Experimentanddevelopskillsinmultipleart-makingtechniquesandapproachesthroughpractice.(VA:Cr2.2.5)a.Demonstratequalitycraftsmanshipthroughcareforanduseofmaterials,tools,andequipment.(VA:Cr3.1.5)a.Createartiststatementsusingartvocabularytodescribepersonalchoicesinart-making.Thishappenswhenusingvocabularyduringgroupdiscussions.(VA:Re7.1.5)a.Compareone'sowninterpretationofaworkofartwiththeinterpretationofothers.Thishappenswhensharingopinionsandprints.(VA:Re7.2.5)a.Identifyandanalyzeculturalassociationssuggestedbyvisualimagery.Thishappenswhenexploringsymbolism.(VA:Re8.1.5)a.Interpretartbyanalyzingcharacteristicsofformandstructure,contextualinformation,subjectmatter,visualelements,anduseofmediatoidentifyideasandmoodconveyed.(VA:Cn11.1.5)a.Identifyhowartisusedtoinformorchangebeliefs,values,orbehaviorsofanindividualorsociety.

ArtsIntegrationOpportunitiesSocialstudies:researchcurrentevents,commonpublicsymbols.Opinionwriting.