Oversized Pop Art Drawing

Andy Warhol April lesson Plan for Fifth Grade Oversized Pop Art Drawing

Please use the teacher’s computer to open the lesson plan located on Patterson’s website. It is located in the Art Awareness area in the Fifth grade tab titled April. Use the teacher’s Smart board or overhead projector to display the art examples on the chalkboard and use for discussion questions. There will not be a trifold board for this lesson.

Biographical Information Andy Warhol was born on August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He is most famous for being involved in the pop art movement and was called the Prince of Pop. When he was young he showed that he was very talented at drawing and painting. He studied commercial art and when he was about 21 he went to New York and worked as an illustrator for some famous magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. In was during this time that he also created album covers and other promotional material for music groups. In the 1960’s Warhol decided to paint daily objects that were mass-produced like Coke bottles and Campbell’s Soup cans. This art form was termed Pop Art. The purpose of Pop Art was to connect art and life.

Pop Art is a western cultural phenomenon. Its center was America. It was born in New York and London, which were the new art centers of the western world. As a result, the cultures of the entire world have become Americanized.

The subject matter of Pop Art is made up of ordinary objects from everyday life. The objects are distorted, enlarged, simplified and colored differently. Commercial materials and techniques are used to produce the art, such as silk-screen printing and photography. Pop Art showcased real life in America. Following is a quote by Andy Warhol. It helps us understand why he chose such ordinary subject matter.

“What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca-Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca-Cola, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.” – Andy Warhol

*Please ask the students if they have any comments regarding this quote. Throughout his career, Warhol led a very quiet life. He was intensely private and was very selective about the people he let into his life. His friends were famous actors, artists, singers, and other celebrities. He created a studio space that he named, “The Factory.” It was in this studio that he created his art and spent most of his days. In 1987 Warhol died as the result of complications of gallbladder surgery. He artwork remains very popular and is copied by many other artists today.

Vocabulary Words Pop Art - a form of art that shows objects or scenes from everyday life and uses techniques of commercial art and popular illustration. Complimentary Colors - a color directly opposite another on a color wheel and providing the greatest contrast to it. Repetition - the act or process of repeating or being repeated. Silk-screen Printing - involves the use of stencils to transfer a design. Paint is applied to a silk or nylon screen and soaks through areas of the screen not blocked by the stencil. By using several stencils a number of colors may be used in a single print. Silk-screen printing was developed as a commercial medium, it is also used by modern artists.

Discussion Questions Here are a few questions to ask the students while showing examples of Warhol’s works of art.

Why do you think he chose to paint this? How is this different than other works of art you have seen this year? (not much to be interpreted) Do you feel this is art? Why or Why not? Why do you think he repeated such ordinary objects in his painting? Does repetition make the art more interesting? Why did he paint the Campbell’s Soup can in different color stories?

Today you are each going to draw a picture in the Pop Art style. Just as Warhol did, you will draw a picture of an every day object. Magazine ads have been included in the supply bucket. Let the students pick an object for one of the magazine ads to duplicate. Remember, Warhol drew his items to scale, but manipulated color and size.

Oversized Pop Art Drawing Materials: Project example, white paper, oil pastels, crayons, magazine ads where students can chose an object to draw. (Product logo, pop can, cereal box, person, etc.)

1. Give each student a piece of paper and a few magazine ads to look at. Have the students pick an everyday object to draw. They will be drawing this object just as Warhol did. The students will enlarge the object and include all details. 2. Once the student is finished drawing the object, they will add color. They do not need to color the image exactly the same as it is shown in the magazine. Andy Warhol was famous for manipulating color and using complimentary colors. 3. If time allows, have the students show the class their drawing.

Andy Warhol Five Coke Bottles Soup Can