Art Masterpiece: Royal Tide V*, by Louise Nevelson Keywords: Sculpture (“Found Object Sculpture”), Assemblage, Unity, Mono

Art Masterpiece: Royal Tide V*, by Louise Nevelson

Keywords: Sculpture (“Found Object Sculpture”), Assemblage, Unity, Monochromatic

Grade(s): 3rd – 4th

Activity: Classroom collaborative “found art/assemblage” sculpture – craft stick version

*Most of Louise Nevelson’s found object/assemblage sculptures can be used instead of Royal Tide V.

“Only a few basic forms unify the art of all periods, the rest are variations.”

About the Artist:  Louise Nevelson was born in Russia in 1899. Her family moved to Maine when she was six years old to escape persecution of the Jews.  During the move she went into a candy store and saw shelves lined with canisters full of different kinds of candy. This later gave her inspiration for her sculptures.  Nevelson knew when she was very young that she would be an artist; she decided to be a sculptor when she was seven years old.  Nevelson didn’t get very good grades in school and felt like she didn’t fit in.  As a child she collected shells and stones and put them in little boxes.  Her father owned a lumber yard and she like to play with pieces of scrap wood. How do you think the exposure to wood affected her career?

Chandler Unified School District Art Masterpiece Program, Chandler, Arizona, USA

 Nevelson didn’t become very well known until she was 60 years old – it took 30 years of hard work before she started to sell any of her work.  Nevelson’s sculptures are made up of found objects; literally things that she found and gathered along the side of the road and city streets. She used crates and boxes and filled them with old chair legs, broom handles, cabinet doors, even toilet seats. She also got stuff from junk shops!  Louise Nevelson liked to wear unusual clothes – she was described as a cross between Catherine the Great and a bag lady.  Nevelson’s son Myron (Mike) grew up to be a sculptor too. Her granddaughter, Neith Nevelson, is also an artist.  Nevelson died in 1988.

About the Artwork: Found object art describing art created from undisguised, but often modified, objects or products that are not normally considered art (often because they already have a non-art function.) Pablo Picasso first publicly utilized the idea when he pasted a printed image of chair caning (a wicker chair seat) onto his painting titled Still Life with Chair Caning. Nevelson carefully arranged the objects in her sculptures in order to tell a story. The stories her sculptures tell are about her experiences as a Jewish child relocated to America from Russia, as an artist training in New York City and Germany, and as a hard-working, successful woman.

Possible Questions: 1. Does this look like a work of art? Why or why not? This is called a sculpture, which is a three-dimensional work of art. (Paintings and drawings are two-dimensional.) 2. Ask the students to describe this sculpture; what do they see? Royal Tide V is made up of boxes, various pieces of wood, chair legs, etc. This type of sculpture is called assemblage, which means art that is put together from various and different odds and ends. Have you ever seen anything like this before? 3. What kinds of shapes do you see? Are some of the shapes and pieces repeated? Unity, in art, is the quality of having all the parts of the artwork look like they belong together, even if they are all (individually) different.

Chandler Unified School District Art Masterpiece Program, Chandler, Arizona, USA

4. What colors do you see? This piece is monochromatic or all one color. Nevelson felt that if she painted her sculptures all one color that it would allow the viewer to see the shapes and lines without the distraction of color. This helps with the unity of the sculpture as well. All of Nevelson’s sculptures are monochromatic. 5. Nevelson’s father owned a lumber yard and she like to play with pieces of scrap wood when she was a child. How do you think the exposure to wood affected her career?

Activity: Classroom collaborative “found art/assemblage” sculpture

Materials Needed:  Tacky glue, one bottle per student  Craft sticks (popsicle sticks), 14 per student  Found objects,* several per student  Gold spray paint, one can per class.  Newspapers (or other recycled papers) *See “Preparation” below for information about collecting these things.

*Some ideas for “found objects” are: bobbin spools, buttons, single earrings, half used pencils, paper clips, errant puzzle pieces, screws, nuts, old Happy Meal toys — any small, lightweight object will work well. This is a good way to clean out a backpack, junk drawer, garage, or a desk at home to use for their assemblage.

Preparation: There is a note at the end of this lesson about bringing in found objects, as well as asking for extra adults to come help with the project. The more adults that can come and help out during this project, the better. The classroom teacher can help you photocopy the note and distribute to parents.

Adults should wear grubby clothes and shoes. Spray painting is involved.

This project takes some extra time afterwards (when adults will spray-paint the art.)

Chandler Unified School District Art Masterpiece Program, Chandler, Arizona, USA

Find a good spot outdoors, in the grass, where the art can be spray painted. Double-check with the teacher that the spot you’ve chosen is okay. Grass is best because the over-spray will be cut off the next time the grass is mown. DO NOT spray paint on sidewalks or asphalt!

Process: 1. Pass out newspapers and have students cover their desktops. Pass out craft sticks and glue bottles. Explain to the students that they will be building a square platform first, which they will later glue their found objects on. 2. Have them pick one stick and tell them to write their name in the middle of it. (Pencils are fine for this.) Then, turn that stick so their names are face down. Then, using that stick and three more, they will glue the four sticks together to form a square.

3. Next, have them layer their remaining sticks on top, like a floor. You can show students how to build their platform using the classroom document camera. (Ask the teacher for assistance if you are unfamiliar with the doc- cam.)

4. Have students arrange some of their “found” items on the panel. When they are happy with their arrangement, they may glue the items down.

Chandler Unified School District Art Masterpiece Program, Chandler, Arizona, USA

5. Once students are finished, have them carefully pick up the newspaper (with their artwork on top) and take it outside to the spot you’ve picked out. 6. Adults should spray paint all visible surfaces (but not the back) of each piece. 7. If you choose to display the platforms, they could be displayed together on a bulletin board and held up with thumbtacks overlapping the edges.

Chandler Unified School District Art Masterpiece Program, Chandler, Arizona, USA

Examples:

Chandler Unified School District Art Masterpiece Program, Chandler, Arizona, USA

Art Masterpiece Louise Nevelson’s “Royal Tide V”

Dear Students and Parents –

On ______we will be learning about the artist Louise Nevelson. She created sculptures using found and discarded objects.

Please send in small, unneeded objects. (They won’t be useable after our lesson.) This is a perfect time to empty out the “junk” drawer in your kitchen or garage. Some ideas are: bobbin spools, buttons, single earrings, half used pencils, paper clips, errant puzzle pieces, screws, old keys, nuts and bolts, old Happy Meal toys — any small, lightweight object will work well.

If you can help us on this day, please come! The more adult help we have, the better this project works. The lesson is just one hour long.

This is a fun lesson and the students always enjoy it. Thank you for your assistance in making this Art Masterpiece lesson a success!

Chandler Unified School District Art Masterpiece Program, Chandler, Arizona, USA

Parent Note:

Louise Nevelson (1899 – 1988) was an American sculptor known for her monochromatic wooden wall pieces. Her sculptures appear puzzle-like, with multiple intricately cut pieces placed into wall sculptures. Nevelson remains one of the most important figures in 20th-century American sculpture.

Today in Art Masterpiece, students created their own “found art” sculpture.

Chandler Unified School District Art Masterpiece Program, Chandler, Arizona, USA