Sixth Grade
Pop Art Words
Roy Lichtenstein (1923 - 1997) was an American artist who was one of the originators of the Pop Art movement. In the 1950s and 1960s young American and British artists wanted to make art that was inspired by things from popular culture, using advertising logos, brand names, television and cartoon characters and other consumer products in their art. Lichtenstein was especially fascinated by print mass media, most notably cartoon and comic book illustration, as well as newspaper advertisements. He is best known for his comic book parodies (meaning he imitated the style of comic books, but with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect). His style is easily recognized by its characteristic bold lines, bright colors, dot patterns, and sometimes words. Today we are focusing on those large, graphic words for our art project.
Lichtenstein's best-known work from his comic book period is "Whaam!," which he painted in 1963, using a comic book panel from a 1962 issue of DC Comics' All-American Men of War as his inspiration. Lichtenstein often took images made by others (such as an actual comic book) but he would enlarge them, simplify them and rework them. In this case, the painting is over 5-1/2 feet tall by 13 feet long! The painting's title, "Whaam!" is a very important part of the design--with its color and lines as part of the explosive action of the scene, it really adds to the impact.
Also notice how Lichtenstein uses the design conventions of a comic strip: the speech bubble, flat primary colors (do the students remember that the primary colors are red, yellow and blue?), and ink-dot patterns that remind us of the commercial printing process. In printing, dots of simple colors could be put close together so the viewer's eyes combine them to see even more color variations. Dots that are farther apart create lighter areas, and dots that are close together create darker, more solid-looking color areas. But, even though Lichtenstein imitated the look of the mechanical printing process, he carefully painted his images by hand.
By making paintings look like huge, blown-up comic strips, including those printing style dots and simple colors, Lichtenstein made people think about how images are made and where they come from.
Also notice how Lichtenstein uses the design conventions of a comic strip: the speech bubble, flat primary colors (do the students remember that the primary colors are red, yellow and blue?), and ink-dot patterns that remind us of the commercial printing process. In printing, dots of simple colors could be put close together so the viewer's eyes combine them to see even more color variations. Dots that are farther apart create lighter areas, and dots that are close together create darker, more solid-looking color areas. But, even though Lichtenstein imitated the look of the mechanical printing process, he carefully painted his images by hand.
By making paintings look like huge, blown-up comic strips, including those printing style dots and simple colors, Lichtenstein made people think about how images are made and where they come from.
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The Project
Prep - 1 hour (time included to make sample)
Print -
Materials
9 x 12 pieces of construction paper in bright colors, 2 different colors per student
9 x 12 piece of white construction paper, 1 per student
1 copy of dictionary page, Lichtenstein, 1 per student (make copies on Duplo in office)
markers (2 boxes)
glue bottles or glue sticks
scissors
black Sharpies (kept in office)
Art Project
-pass out white paper for students to start on their action word
-pass out black Sharpies and markers
-have students return black Sharpies and pick up 2 pieces of bright colored construction paper to mount their word on
-pass out dictionary page to students
-ask students why they are using that particular dictionary page (the country of Lichtenstein is on that page - there is no real significance of this to this artist; it is just for fun!)
-encourage students to take their time and layer their construction paper
-encourage students to use lines, squiggles, or other action designs to help draw the eye to their word
-pass out glue bottles for gluing
-collect all materials when students are done
-remind students to put their name on the back of their artwork
-please put all supplies away in art room
Print -
Materials
9 x 12 pieces of construction paper in bright colors, 2 different colors per student
9 x 12 piece of white construction paper, 1 per student
1 copy of dictionary page, Lichtenstein, 1 per student (make copies on Duplo in office)
markers (2 boxes)
glue bottles or glue sticks
scissors
black Sharpies (kept in office)
Art Project
-pass out white paper for students to start on their action word
-pass out black Sharpies and markers
-have students return black Sharpies and pick up 2 pieces of bright colored construction paper to mount their word on
-pass out dictionary page to students
-ask students why they are using that particular dictionary page (the country of Lichtenstein is on that page - there is no real significance of this to this artist; it is just for fun!)
-encourage students to take their time and layer their construction paper
-encourage students to use lines, squiggles, or other action designs to help draw the eye to their word
-pass out glue bottles for gluing
-collect all materials when students are done
-remind students to put their name on the back of their artwork
-please put all supplies away in art room