Romare Bearden memory collages

With children's busy schedules, it's not often they get to reflect on a memorable time in their young lives. In this unit, my sixth-graders had an opportunity to return to a special event they experienced and re-create it in the form of a collage. Reflection is a good thing.

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

To begin, we studied one of the best collage artists of the 20th century, African-American Romare Bearden. I felt it was important for my students to understand where his images came from and what they meant. Students looked at some examples of his work, including Three Folk Musicians, as well as a wonderful book, Romare Bearden: Collage of Memories, written by Jan Greenberg (HNA Books; 2003).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In class, we watched the video, Romare Bearden: Visual Jazz (L&S Productions), which focused on his life and inspirations. Students gained a sense of where he derived his imagery from: memories of his family and community, his love of jazz music, and his experience as an African-American in the 20th century. We also noted that not all of the images were positive.

Once we gained a better understanding of his symbolism, we looked at his work in a more formal way. I asked them to pay attention to the sense of space on the picture surface: how he overlapped papers and textures to create interest and space. We also analyzed how he changed the placement and size of objects to either push them in the back, or bring them to the front of the picture plane. Vocabulary included foreground, background, composition, collage and texture.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

TIME TO BEGIN THE COLLAGES Students began with a planning sheet. Here, I explained to them that they should think back to an important memory, not necessarily a happy one. They started out by drawing this memory on a 12" x 18" sheet of paper. The collage, which was to be done separately, would be the same size on different paper.

I stressed the importance of drawing large and zooming in on the action, in order to reduce the negative space. Students also had flexibility in the design. For example, if they couldn't remember an aspect of the environment, they could make it up. Students could also take out anything that was not important to the memory.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Once the sketch was complete, they started the collage. Sixth-graders have a tendency to start with the details; therefore, to make a collage, they needed to think differently. I explained to them that a collage was made out of layers and to begin, they must start with the layer that is the farthest away. Some students referred to it as the "bottom layer." They worked from the background to the foreground, from the major shapes to the smallest details.

Focus was placed on shapes--their size and angles. Students were also encouraged to use a variety of edges, including various cutting techniques, as well as ripping and tearing. Some drew in small details, such as facial features, as it was more accurate than trying to make them with paper. I discouraged drawing large images, however. I felt the majority of the works should be done with various papers and materials.

Once the collages were complete, I asked my sixth-graders to describe the memory and explain why it was important for them to remember. I included these personal captions with the pictures in the display. The student work was assessed with a scoring key that included vocabulary.

Through their Romare Bearden memory collages, my sixth-graders were able to re-create a special moment in their life. For some, it was even cathartic. Cutting and gluing and playing with "puzzle pieces," as I called them, gave my students freedom from the restraints of simply using pencils.

Furthermore, this was a wonderful project for kids who think they can't draw or who are apprehensive about drawing. Students with a wide range of abilities were successful and happy with the results.

RESOURCES

* Video: Romare Bearden: Visual Jazz. L&S Productions (www.landsvideo.com).

* Book: Greenberg, Jan, Romare Bearden: Collage of Memories. HNA Books, 2003.

* Reproduction: Three Folk Musicians, 1967.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Middle-school students will ...

* reflect on a memorable time in their life.

* learn about collage artist Romare Bearden.

* make a collage.

VOCABULARY

* Background

* Collage

* Composition

* Foreground

* Overlapping

* Texture

MATERIALS

Drawing

* 12" x 18" white paper

* Graphite pencils

* Erasers

* Colored pencils

Collage

* 12" x 18" construction paper

* Variety of papers

* Found materials

* Glue sticks and scissors

Denise M. Cassano teaches art at Scarsdale Middle School in Scarsdale, N.Y.

COPYRIGHT 2007 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning