Matisse was a French artist who was well known for the outstanding use of color in his works. Although primarily known for his paintings, Matisse was diagnosed with cancer late in life, and was since confined to a wheel chair.
Instead of letting this define both he and his ability to make art, Matisse instead challenged his disadvantage to make several amazing cut out works. To elaborate, with the help of an assistant, he would cut and arrange different shapes in order to create, often massive, paper collages. Through research, I have found an excellent representation for how Matisse handled this new style of creation. It states,
'The cut out was not an renunciation of painting and sculpture: he called it “painting with scissors.” Matisse said, "Only what I created after the illness constitutes my real self: free, liberated.” Moreover, experimentation with cut-outs offered Matisse innumerable opportunities to fashion a new, aesthetically pleasing environment: "You see as I am obliged to remain often in bed because of the state of my health, I have made a little garden all around me where I can walk... There are leaves, fruits, a bird."'
http://www.henri-matisse.net/cut_outs.html
In my own attempt at recreating this type of collage, I used red and black construction paper, as well as red and black tissue paper, to create a triptych of similar shapes placed in the three areas I created. As a future educator, I believe this project would be great for middle school students. In my opinion, they are at an age where they could understand the concept well, as well as how to use the materials efficiently for a finished piece.
Lesson Plan:
Title: Matisse Triptych
Unit: Paper Manipulation
Grade Level(s): 3rd-4th grade/ Intermediate
Medium: Collage
Suggested Time: One Class Period
Instructional Objectives:
*Students will apply the problem solving steps to the creative process (KS Standard S3/B3).
*Students will learn how to overlap shapes.
*Students will identify and apply characteristics of art works from a moment or culture
Instead of letting this define both he and his ability to make art, Matisse instead challenged his disadvantage to make several amazing cut out works. To elaborate, with the help of an assistant, he would cut and arrange different shapes in order to create, often massive, paper collages. Through research, I have found an excellent representation for how Matisse handled this new style of creation. It states,
'The cut out was not an renunciation of painting and sculpture: he called it “painting with scissors.” Matisse said, "Only what I created after the illness constitutes my real self: free, liberated.” Moreover, experimentation with cut-outs offered Matisse innumerable opportunities to fashion a new, aesthetically pleasing environment: "You see as I am obliged to remain often in bed because of the state of my health, I have made a little garden all around me where I can walk... There are leaves, fruits, a bird."'
http://www.henri-matisse.net/cut_outs.html
In my own attempt at recreating this type of collage, I used red and black construction paper, as well as red and black tissue paper, to create a triptych of similar shapes placed in the three areas I created. As a future educator, I believe this project would be great for middle school students. In my opinion, they are at an age where they could understand the concept well, as well as how to use the materials efficiently for a finished piece.
Lesson Plan:
Title: Matisse Triptych
Unit: Paper Manipulation
Grade Level(s): 3rd-4th grade/ Intermediate
Medium: Collage
Suggested Time: One Class Period
Instructional Objectives:
*Students will apply the problem solving steps to the creative process (KS Standard S3/B3).
*Students will learn how to overlap shapes.
*Students will identify and apply characteristics of art works from a moment or culture