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Middle Level: Grades 6-8Middle-Level Standard: Artistic Creativity and Performance
Use arts terminology descriptive of the visual elements of artworks (e.g., color, shape, line, light, texture, space).
Use arts terminology descriptive of technical processes involved in creating various art forms.
Create a color variation study that involves painting four compositions. (See Activities, Art.)
To extend study of Billboard's theme and Hartigan's working technique, construct a collage that expresses the mood of the local community, and then use the collage as the model for a painting. (See Activities, Art.)
To enhance understanding of Hartigan's style, draw or paint a common object (e.g., a chair) in an abstract manner by leaving out details, simplifying, exaggerating, and changing various elements. (See Activities, Art.)
Examine how Hartigan conveys the "essence" of New York City in Billboard, and then draw the essence of an object. (See Activities, Art.)
Explore the concept of cities and towns having personalities by reading and discussing works such as Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Sinclair Lewis's Main Street, and John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Do a sketch or create a collage that captures the personality of the place described in the story. (See Activities, Language Arts.)
Compare visual elements to musical elements, discussing how they are similar and different. (See Activities, Music.)
While listening to selections of jazz music, "draw" the music and then discuss the visual compositions. (See Activities, Music.)
Listen to the song "My Favorite Things" and a jazz version of it by John Coltrane, and then compare and contrast the melodies, tempos, and instruments used. Discuss how the jazz improvisation of the original song abstracts melody just as Hartigan abstracts images to create Billboard. (See Activities, Music.)
Discuss how Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" and Hartigan's Billboard reflect life in New York City in the 1950s. (See Activities, Music.)
Create an improvisation of a well-known song and play it on a musical instrument. (See Activities, Music.)
Create and play a musical composition based on Billboard. (See Activities, Music.)
Research facts about a community, county, state, or country and then design a billboard that promotes visiting that area. (See Activities, Social Studies.) Research facts about a particular place and time (e.g., New York City in the 1950s) and then create a collage that conveys the essence of that place and time. (See Activities, Social Studies.)
Research facts about major events that occurred in New York City in the 1950s and in the local community in the 1990s, and create two separate corresponding collages. Compare and contrast the subjects of the collages, and project future changes (e.g., environmental, technological) based on the changes reflected by the collages. (See Activities, Social Studies.)
Take photographs that capture the personality of a particular community or neighborhood and make a collage from the photographs. (See Activities, Social Studies.)
Gather information about a major historical event or period (e.g., Civil War, Great Depression, the 1950s), and then create a collage that captures the essence of that event or period. (See Activities, Social Studies.)
Gather information about a person of historical significance (e.g., Thomas Jefferson, Florence Nightingale, Martin Luther King, Jr.), and then create a collage that captures the essence of that person's life. (See Activities, Social Studies.)
Grow crystals from various formulas, draw the crystals, and discuss the kinds of lines and shapes that are evident. (See Activities, Science.)
Make a drawing of Billboard using only straight lines, circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, and other geometric shapes. Analyze and discuss the effects of repetition and overlapping of shapes. (See Activities, Math.)
Middle-Level Standard: Artistic Interpretation
Use appropriate arts terminology to describe the visual elements of Billboard, express ideas about the painting, and identify the characteristics of its style.
Interpret Billboard by responding to questions that help explore Hartigan's creative intent and the reasons behind her visual choices.
Describe personal reactions to Billboard by responding to association questions (e.g., reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with artist's viewpoint).
Explain how Billboard reflects a social, cultural, or historical context.
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