A few wonderful artists to check out:

I find so many inspirational artists online- in this post I'll share a few of the ones I've found recently. In our daily online exploration, we are inundated with images and works from a seemingly endless stream of artists. It is important to slow down and appreciate them sometimes.

An idea for a class activity:

Have students research and explore art sites online and make a list of 10 artists that inspire them. Using curriculum/project-specific criteria, have them narrow down their list to the 3 most inspirational and course-relevant artists. Have them prepare a brief slide show presentation with examples of the artists' work, a bio and 1 example of the application of the critical analysis process to analyze 1 work from each of their chosen artists.

Here are 3 that I choose:

Dan McCarthy: http://www.danmccarthy.org

Beth Zaiken: http://www.bethzaiken.com/projects.html

Song Kang: http://www.song-kang.com


Enjoy!

- Patrick

Back To The Future Project

I've always loved the first Back To The Future and this past spring I used it in my grade 10 Media Arts class for a few arts assignments.

The purpose of first Back To The Future assignment was to help students develop their ability to analyze works of media arts- starting with a format they are comfortable with- film.

Using the critical analysis process, the students watched Back To The Future and made notes and observations about some some of the dominant themes of the film. Such as: time, scientific invention, 50's culture, 80's culture, music and friendship.

The they made connections between the themes they identified and the way the film-makers presented their story- what was included in the shot? what music was used and when? how were the two different time periods portrayed? How is friendship represented?

One interesting observations that one student made was- the director included 88 clocks in shots throughout the film. Coincidence? - Probably, but interesting to note. What we can say for sure is that the film-makers went out of their way to include clocks, watches and time displays in every important scene in the film, constantly reminding the viewer that time is ticking.

The purpose of the second Back To The Future assignment was to have the students choose an idea from the film to create a product to commemorate the film- a kind of memorabilia for the 30th anniversary of the film.

Here is one example:

- Patrick