Great Teaching Ideas

Process Standards:

• Goal 2.5 perform or produce works in the fine and practical arts

Content Standards:

• Fine Arts 5. Visual and performing arts in historical and cultural contexts

  Time Allowance: three 90-minute blocks

  Description: Pop art portrait in the style of Roy Lichtenstein. -- caricature, benday dots

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  Classroom Component:

   

  Lesson:
  
  This lesson would be easily incorporated into a unit on Pop Art. The students will begin by looking at and analyzing Roy Lichtenstein's style and work from the 1960s. It will be important to discuss subject matter, line, Benday dots, color and intention. To get the idea of Benday dots, it would be helpful for the students to look at magazines or newspapers using a magnifying lens. The students will brainstorm a list of popular characters, fictional or otherwise. Examples may include the president, rock stars, athletes, television personalities, movie heroes and/or villains. Each student will select a character that they feel represents current popular culture. They will "borrow" this person's image and interpret it using Lichtenstein's style. The students will plan their design with pencil and newsprint, trace the design to white, heavier stock paper, and execute using tempera paint. The students will be required to utilize flat areas of clean color, bold black lines of varying thickness and Benday dots. To apply the dots, the students will use Q-tips and paint.
  
  Implementation Plan:
  
  1. Students need some preliminary practice with tempera paint on heavy paper.
  2. Roy Lichtenstein's work is introduced. Show examples. Point out Lichtenstein's use of Benday dots. Explain that they were used by newspapers to achieve the appearance of value using only black ink. They can also be used to achieve the appearance of different colors by visually blending two colors. The students may choose to use the dots as shadows, highlights or just to achieve color blending.
  3. Brainstorm celebrities/personalities as possible subject matter. They must be readily identifiable. Thought or speech bubbles help viewers identify the character.
  4. Show the students the samples and discuss what works and what needs improvement. Point out that a caricature is a simplified portrait, not a photographic rendering.
  5. Students will design their portrait on 12 x 12 newsprint and then trace onto heavier stock.
  6. Paint portrait using tempera paint.
  7. Use Q-Tips to stamp the Benday dots. For best results, keep the dots evenly spaced and uniform.
  8. Clean up edges with a permanent marker. Use heavier lines where needed.
  Art Objects Used for Inspiration and Motivation:
  
  For this activity, the term "art objects" may need to be used loosely. Excellent sources for inspiration would be comic books, coloring books, newspapers, magazines, CDs, and t-shirts.
  
  Vocabulary:
  
  Roy Lichtenstein
  Pop Art
  Benday dots
  
  Accommodations:
  
  Students with language disabilities may need extra guidance if they choose to use thought or speech bubbles.
  
  

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  Project Assessment Sheet

  Name: _____________________________________
  
  Project: Lichtenstein Portraits
  Class: Design
  
  

  CRITERIA VALUE	Neatness	Likeness	Visual Impact	Benday Dots
  3	Paint is smooth, Sharpie lines are neat and effective, entire surface is used.	My cartoon is a good caricature of the real person.	Overall project is bold, pleasing to look at and interesting.	Dots are evenly distributed in a grid pattern and they add to the interest of the picture.
  2	Very slight neatness errors.	My cartoon conveys the type of person I wanted to represent.	My project is either too small, too light, or not bold enough.	My dots are slightly messy.
  1	Noticeable errors but it still has good parts.	It's hard to tell what type of person I am representing.	My project is not interesting to look at.	My dots are very messy.
  0	Huge mess!	It's hard to tell that I drew a person.	I should start over.	I didn't use dots.
  Weight

  
  Total: _________/12
  
  Using COMPLETE sentences, answer the following:
  
  Why do newspapers use Benday dots?
  
  
  
  
  What type of message do you want your cartoon to convey?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  Resources:
  
  http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/ The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation
  
  http://www.artchive.com/ftp_site.htm Mark Harden's Artchive
  
  http://www.rareposters.net/index.cfm Rare Posters and Prints
  
  Alloway, Lawrence. Roy Lichtenstein. Modern Masters Series. New York: Abbeville Press, 1983.
  Livingstone, Marco. Pop Art: A Continuing History. New York: Thames & Hutton, Inc., 1990 & 2000.
  
  

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  Student Samples:

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  For additional information contact :
  Cathy Green
  Penney High
  Hamilton R-II
  (816) 583-2136
  EMAIL: greenc@hamilton.k12.mo.us