Week Three - Abstract Expressionism
The ever popular art movement, abstract expressionism, was our main topic in class this week.
Abstract art is probably best explained through examples. So we looked at paintings from some pioneering expressionists. Specifically, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Wassily Kandinsky and Linda Hopkins.
We talked about how the paintings:
don’t look like literal objects
evoke feelings
were not made with typical brush strokes
We used Crayola tempera paint for our paintings. Tempera is a water-soluable paint commonly used in elementary schools due to their combination of easy clean-up, relative saturation, and kid-friendly compounds.
The class went THICK on the paints, so they just dried this morning.
Chloe (1st Grade) actually made two paintings, each following examples I shared in class. Her first painting was structured and featured identical square shapes. Her next one (above) was open, expressive and showed more technique.
Similarly, Rylee (3rd Grade) also created a wonderful piece showcasing her exploration in techniques and space. She typically works very small and orderly so it was great to see her work more freely.
Despite our time limitations, Quinn (1st Grade) was able to create some depth to her work through the layering of paint. She happily tested one technique after another.