Replicating a Gaudí work of art Art/PE/Music individual Have students look up Gaudí’s work (books or Internet) and select a work of art that they like. Provide materials to make a paper mache sculpture (newspaper, wallpaper paste, wire and/or stockings for support) or materials to make a cloth sculpture (cloth of different thickness and textures, sewing supplies). Allot several class periods over a two-week period for students to conceptualize and realize their sculptures. Set up a Gaudí exhibit. Have students talk about the sculpture they made (why they chose it, how they conceptualized and realized it) and link it to Gaudí’s techniques and architectural philosophy. Designing an informational booklet about Modernismo Art/PE/Music, Language Arts individual Send students to research Modernismo on the Internet. Ask students to identify the essential characteristics of the movement, as well as the main artists who were part of the movement. Ask them to synthesize the information, one idea per paragraph, and to illustrate each idea with pictures of artwork with a short explanation of the pertinence and relevance of their choice. Collect and publish on the class website. Creating a Modernismo brochure Art/PE/Music, Language Arts individual, small group Send students to research Modernismo on the Internet. Have students select one or several aspects of the movement, and express these essential aspects of the movement in a brochure. Criteria: the averted reader/viewer of the brochure must be able to recognize the aspect(s) of Modernismo illustrated in the brochure. Mapping the location of Gaudí’s work in Barcelona Art/PE/Music, Social Studies class, pair Go to http://www.map-of-spain.co.uk/map_of_barcelona.htm or to any other site that will provide a full map of Barcelona with streets and common landmarks. Print it out, enlarge it if necessary and make as many copies as you have students. Divide students into groups of 3-4, and send them to the computer lab to research Gaudí’s work and where they are located. Ask students to mark the location of each and every Gaudí building on their map, labeling them. Tell students that this is a competition and that the team that gets all of Gaudí’s works (buildings as well as other works of art) onto their map wins. You might want to make a list of Gaudí’s works to give out to students, as this might ease their search. A list of major works and their location is available at http://www.gaudi2002.bcn.es/english/. Each student in a team needs to have his/her map complete and appropriately labeled to ensure the win. When all students have completed their maps, or after the first team wins, gather students and ask them to help you position Gaudí’s work on transparency. Charting Gaudí’s work Art/PE/Music, Social Studies class, individual Make a time line on butcher paper, starting with Gaudí’s birth date and ending with the date of his death. Write down the name of every sculpture or architectural artwork that Gaudí accomplished in his lifetime on separate small pieces of paper, and place in a hat. Ask each student in turn to select one (or more) piece of paper, and to research the starting and completion dates of the selected artwork. Hand students one (or several) post-its and ask them to write the name of the artwork they researched on it. Ask them then to post their post-it next to the completion date on the timeline to create a bar graph of Gaudí’s creative years. Once the timeline has been completed, ask students to present the timeline and discuss the information they added to the timeline. Identifying defining features in Gaudí’s work Art/PE/Music, Language Arts class Present students with several pictures of Gaudí’s work (slides, books or Internet). Go over the pictures in sequence several times. Ask students to give their general impression of Gaudí’s work (whether they like it or not, and why). Then ask the class to define what the different pieces of artwork have in common: what makes them different from other sculptures or buildings? What makes them Gaudí’s artwork? Make a list of defining characteristics and post for the duration of the Gaudí unit. Critiquing Gaudí’s artwork Art/PE/Music, Language Arts class, pair If students are not used to critiquing architectural art, Provide them with a few sample critiques of different artists (preferably sculptors and architects). In class, ask them to identify together what those critiques have in common (language, format, elements that are present/absent, etc.) and how they differ (voice of the critic, personal sensibilities, etc.). Pair students and give each pair one representation of Gaudí’s artwork. Students are to brainstorm with their partners the different elements that would enter into a critique of the work. Assign as homework (or do in class if time permits) the writing of an individual critique of the studied artwork. The artwork being critiqued must be clearly identified, at least by name and date of completion. Collect the critiques, evaluate them, return them to students for a possible rewrite. Compile them into a Gaudí book of critiques and place on the class website. Finding differences between Gaudí’s work and other artists’ (sculpture/building) Art/PE/Music individual, pair Pair students. Present each pair of students with a picture representing one of Gaudí’s artwork and another picture representing the work of another artist on the same theme. Ask pairs of students to brainstorm the differences between the two works of art and to make a list of the identified differences. Ask them to individually write a compare-contrast paper on the two works of art. Creating a Gaudí mask Art/PE/Music individual, class Give students a template for a mask, and provide them with art and craft supplies. Ask students to create a mask that will represent one aspect of Gaudí’s art/life or that will be true to Gaudí’s vision. Students must think it out and be ready to explain the artistic decisions they made in the creation of their masks. Have students explain their reasoning before wearing their masks for a Gaudí parade. Interviewing Gaudí Art/PE/Music, Language Art, Social Studies class, individual, pair Send students to the library and/or the Internet to research Gaudí’s life and art. From their research, ask students to prepare ten questions for an interview, five of which they know the answer, five of which they would have liked to be able to ask Gaudí. Pair students and assign each partner the letter A or B. The students in group A will role-play Gaudí and the students in group B will act as the interviewer. Interviewer are to ask their ten questions and record the answers on paper. When all B students have interviewed their A partners, break up the pairs. Ask students to form new pairs with all A students becoming B students and interviewing a new partner. When all students have been in turn interviewer and artist, ask them to take their notes as interviewers and to write an art magazine article about Gaudí. Collect articles and publish in the Gaudí Gazeta, or class journal. Presenting Gaudí’s life Art/PE/Music class, small groups Send students to the library and/or the Internet to research Gaudí’s life and art. Assign students to groups of four. Each student will research one aspect of Gaudí’s life: The Catalan traditions and identity and their importance on Gaudí’s art. The artistic movements that inspired Gaudí’s art . Gaudí’s personal history and how that impacted his art. Gaudí’s works and his relationships to his friends/patrons. Ask students to coordinate their presentations of Gaudí’s life. Offer flexibility in the presentation mode that students may choose: poster board, multimedia presentations, play, song and dance, etc. Evaluate each presentation with the rubric (give the rubric to students as they start their projects, so as to know the criteria on which they will be evaluated). Taking a virtual tour of Gaudí’s Barcelona Art/PE/Music, Social Studies class, pair, small group Ask students to form groups of 2 to 4 partners. Ask students to research Barcelona and the influence of Gaudí on the Spanish city. Ask groups of students to create on PowerPoint (or another presentation software) a virtual tour of Gaudí’s work in the city. Evaluate each presentation/tour according to the rubric (give the rubric to students as they start their projects, so as to know the criteria on which they will be evaluated). Making a Gaudí-like legacy bench Art/PE/Music class After having studied Gaudí’s art, vision and influences, ask students to brainstorm ideas for a courtyard bench that would exemplify Gaudí’s style. Give them a few days to mull it over, and refine ideas with students. As a class, make a final decision as to what the bench will look like. Brainstorm the structural specifications for the bench and make a blueprint. When you feel confident that all the details have been worked out, gather the necessary materials and start the construction. All the students may participate in the detailing of the whole process, from conceptualization to realization, or parts of the process may be assigned to volunteers with final approval by the class. Make the dedication of the bench a school event and publish pictures of process and finished products on the school website and newsletter. Making a collage of angle-less objects Art/PE/Music individual Provide students with old magazines, glue, scissor, and markers. Ask students to cut objects that show no angles from the magazines, and to arrange them as a creative collage in the spirit of Gaudí’s organic shapes of nature. Playwriting Gaudí’s life Art/PE/Music, Language Arts class, individual, small groups Ask students to research Gaudí’s life and work. Ask students to select moments or events in Gaudí’s life that interest them. Have them get into groups of like interests. In their groups, they will develop staging and dialogues pertaining to their selected Gaudí event, and learn their parts to perform in front of the class or in front of the school. Playing with Gaudí’s words Art/PE/Music, Language Arts individual Hand out the WonderWord sheet and ask students to complete it. Designing a Gaudí park Art/PE/Music, Math class, individual On a map of your school’s area, find an existing park. Enlarge the park’s outline, and hand a copy to each student. Ask students to conceptualize on their map a park Gaudí’s style. They must mark the placement of the buildings and sculptures on the map, and offer a separate detailed schematic/drawing of the artwork they propose to put in their Gaudí park. Showcase the parks and publish on the school website. Redesigning buildings Gaudí-style Art/PE/Music, Math individual Ask students to select a building in their cities/towns/neighborhoods. They are to obtain pictures of the building facades. You may also elect to provide pictures and blueprints of buildings if more appropriate. Ask students to put on Gaudí goggles and re-conceptualize their buildings to make it a Gaudí façade. Students are to draw and possibly paint their buildings.