Vincent Van Gogh
March 30, 1853 - July 29, 1890
Art Movement : Post-Impressionism
Art History:
Spring Semester 2008
Henri Matisse
December 31, 1869 - November 3, 1954
Art Movement: Fauvism
Wassily Kandinsky
December 16, 1866 - December 13, 1944
Art Movement: Expressionism/Abstraction
Salivador Dali
May 11, 1904 - January 23, 1989
Art Movement: Surrealism
April Antunez
Annie Oberlies
Asher Bhakti
Breena Moon
Hudson Ashby
Life Rather
Nocona Jodrey
Ravi Fernandes
Willow Smith
Inspired by Van Gogh's revolutionary use of wild colors, energetic brushstrokes, and heartfelt interpretations of the world he saw, our art history students painted their impressions of a blue glass vase with three sunflowers. The results, as seen below, are vibrant, fun, creative and full of life...
When discussing the life & art of Matisse, we focused on his lifelong devotion to art-making and his determination to continue working despite progressively-challenging physical disabilities. In his "old age," Matisse was unable to stand at an easel so, ever adaptable, he began working from his wheelchair, using scissors to "carve" painted paper into expressive, organic shapes that were later arranged into giant murals by his studio assistants. These cut-paper collages were the inspiration for our own paper mural displayed in Laurel Tree's main hallway. Students worked together to create a large forest and underwater scene using construction paper, freehand scissor work, and their overflowing imaginations. Here's a few highlights of the finished piece.
Kandinsky's art was deeply influenced by music. Art historians believe that this was due, in large part, to a unique condition known as synaesthesia, a neurological condition in which two senses crossover or combine. In Kandinsky's case, when he listened to music, he saw shapes, colors, and lines in the same moment. I challenged the students to listen to a piece of music and to create a visual language that translated that music into image. They had a number of soundtrack selections to choose from and in the end, two pieces emerged as favorites: the playful "Cantina Band" track from the original Star Wars movie and the eerie composition called "The Shaft" from the movie, Alien. One student chose the title track from the movie Galaxy Quest. Can you guess which piece of music each student chose as their artistic inspiration?
Annie Oberlies
Asher Bhakti
Hudson Ashby
Life Rather
Ravi Fernandes
Willow Smith
Breena Moon
April Antunez
The Surrealists were a group of artists fascinated with using dreams and games of visual & verbal chance to generate imagery. To complete this semester's art history class, students played a variety of Surrealist-inspired games such as "The Exquisite Corpse" and "Mad Libs"
Laurel Tree Art History class:
Spring Semester 2008
