Masterpiece: The Lovers, 1923 and Three Musicians, 1932 by Pablo Picasso

Keywords: Cubism, Shape, line, Mixed media Grade: 6th Grade Month: December/January Activity: Fractured Friend: a Cooperative Collage TIME: 1-1/2 hours

Meet the Artist:  Picasso was born in Spain in 1881.  His father was an artist who taught at a local university and he encouraged Pablo at an early age to pursue his artistic talents.  At the age of 11, Pablo and was sent to art.  Picasso’s artworks changed significantly through his career and he created hundreds of paintings and sculptures.  He married and had 4 children. When they were younger, he was a fantastically fun dad. He would draw on tablecloths, did magic tricks and would prepare birthday dinner celebrations made up entirely of chocolate.  He became most well known for his Cubist paintings. Cubism emphasized line, shape and color. It was a modern art style that is not realistic in nature, but based geometric shapes. It started out with neutral colors, but eventually became a very colorful style.  Picasso was very outspoken, opinionated and eccentric. He never threw anything out, hated the telephone, and refused to dust his studio. He loved keeping an odd assortment of pets, including goats, reptiles, a monkey and always some Afghan Hounds. He loved any publicity and made sure he was always reading something about himself.  He was a prolific painter, and even in his 90th year, he painted 200 paintings. He was still working on the day he died, at 92, of heart failure.

Possible Questions: o Compare and contrast the two prints. Notice the years. o Describe the lines. What shapes do they make? o What colors do you see? Are the colors bold or muted? o Are they mainly warm or cool colors….or, are they balanced? o What do you see in the painting? o How old do you think the man and woman are? o What time period are they from? o Why do you think Picasso painted this painting? What do you think inspired it? o What title would you give this painting? o What grade would you give it?

Activity: FRACTURED FRIEND: A Cooperative Collage

Materials Needed: 9”x12” white construction paper, 9”x12” colored construction paper scraps, fabric scraps, foil, magazines, scissors, glue stick, student’s own pencil, red, yellow, blue, brown, black, white tempera paints, 6 compartment egg carton for paints, paper plates for mixing, medium sized paint brushes.

Process: 1. Divide the students into groups of 2-3. All of the children will be creating a collage of the other student in their group. 2. Give each student a piece of white construction paper and have their pencils ready. 3. On each workstation, place an assortment of colored construction paper scraps, fabric scraps, foil, and magazines; pour each paint color into each egg compartment to be shared. For each student: 2-3 paint brushes, a paper plate, scissors, and glue stick. 4. Have one student (the model) get into a comfortable pose in an area near their partner (the artist). The artist looks at the model and does a quick sketch of them on the 9”x12” white construction paper. They don’t need to focus on the detail and it doesn’t have to look exactly like them, just the general shape of the body parts. The artist may want to add other details of their friend (holding a book, playing an instrument, wearing a hat). Encourage them to fill the page. Note: You may want to demonstrate how to draw the body using simple shapes on the board. 5. When first student/artist is done, switch so the other student becomes the artist. Each student keeps the sketch of their model for remaining activity. 6. When both students are finished, paint in the shapes and/or use the colored construction paper and magazines, cut geometric shapes that fit within the shapes they made of the body parts. These pieces may overlap or be edged up against each other depending on their creativity. Glue in place. 7. After they are finished with painting and/or gluing shapes and the piece is reasonably dry, mark out some large shapes like puzzle pieces on the piece using their pencil. Squares, triangles and other Cubist shapes work well. First, cut out the portrait and then cut the portrait piece apart using the pencil lines as a guide. 8. While students are cutting, pass out a sheet of the 12”x18” colored construction paper to each student. 9. Next, have the students arrange the cut pieces on the colored construction paper in a “fractured” manner. They can be in order or out of order, upside down, side-ways, etc. When they are satisfied with arrangement, glue the pieces onto the colored paper. 10. When all the pieces are glued on the paper, design or glue a few more shapes in the open spaces to experience Picasso’s idea of collage. 11. Have them title their collage and sign it on the front.

Photograph of Pablo Picasso and Other Works

Self Portrait

Chicago Sculpture, c.1960 The Dream, 1932 Guernica, painted for the Spanish Pavilion of the 1937 Worlds Fair

Girl Before a Mirror, 1932 Boy

Mandolin and Guitar, 1924

Harlequin and His Companion, 1901