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Middle Level: Grades 6-8Middle-Level Standard: Artistic Creativity and Performance
Use arts terminology to describe the visual elements of artworks, to describe techniques used in creating artworks, to express ideas about artworks, and to identify artistic traditions and styles representative of diverse world cultures.
Become aware of the symbolic content in art (e.g., attributes that identify mythological characters, meaningful colors).
Write a myth on one of the following themes and then create a work of art that visually interprets the myth and incorporates attributes:
- A myth that celebrates the victory of good over evil (e.g., myth associated with Door Knocker in Form of Medusa)
- A myth about a hero who has both human and superhuman qualities (e.g., myth associated with Hydria)
- A myth that explains a belief or practice (e.g., myth associated with King's Crown)
- A myth that has animal or beast characters (e.g., myth associated with Chief's Rattle).
- A myth that explains a natural phenomenon (e.g., myth associated with Cassone).
Do various art projects that reflect functions of the unit's artworks. These are suggested projects that could involve sketches or sculptural forms or both:
- Headgear that symbolizes the special powers of the wearer (e.g., King's Crown)
- Headdress symbolic of an animal's qualities that would be useful for a human (e.g., Antelope Headdress)
- Container that is useful and decorated with scenes from a favorite story (e.g., Hydria)
- Door knocker for the front door of a family's home and that includes attributes representative of the family's members and their interests (e.g., Door Knocker in Form of Medusa)
- Rattle that has images from a favorite children's story and that could be used in telling the story (e.g., Chief's Rattle).
To complement study of Denis's Orpheus and Eurydice, draw while listening to a variety of musical compositions; use different colors and lines to suggest the rhythms, melodies, and instrumentation.
To complement study of the Presentation Box and the concept of perspective, draw a three- dimensional object from different points of view.
Middle-Level Standard: Artistic Interpretation
Gain ideas and information from listening to presentations about the historical and cultural context, mythological representation, function, and style of each of the unit's 24 artworks.
Describe the visual choices that artists made in creating the unit's artworks by responding to questions that can be answered by looking at the works. (See the "Look" questions about each artwork.)
Interpret each of the unit's artworks by responding to questions that help explore an artist's creative intent and the reasons behind the artist's visual choices. (See the "Think" questions about each artwork.)
Read online or listen to audio recordings of myths that inspired creation of the unit's artworks, and evaluate how the unit's artworks interpret the myths and/or represent mythological characters. (See Downloadable Resources for audio files.)
Select two or more artworks from the same category (e.g., Hero Myths) in the online Mythological Comparisons chart, and develop a chart that compares the artworks according to these categories: medium and technique, function, size, cultural origins, and style.
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