Melting Clocks and Donald Duck: Discovering connections Between Dalie and Disney
Overview
The final project I chose to create is one of the "intrapersonal" learning style choices. This project is a webquest developed for classroom use in the realm of art education. My webquest, "Melting Clocks and Donald Duck: Discovering Connections Between Dali and Disney" http://questgarden.com/author/create/preview.php?u=79896&l=7989...
was developed for classroom teachers and museum educators to bridge connections between the still images of Salvador Dali's Surrealist style and his moving images sharing this same style. This webquest also draws a comparison between Dali's animation collaboration with Walt Disney and other works created by Disney in that same year. The purpose of establishing this comparison is for students to understand the uniqueness of Dali's animation compared to other Disney animation styles at that time.
This webquest is intended for use in a unit focusing on "modern art". As a museum educator for modern art museums, I often face the feat of challenging students to consider the grand question of "what is modern art?" in a short period of time. Although it is difficult to address this broad question in only one portion of a lesson, it is beneficial to introduce this concept of "modern art" and allow students to question and brainstorm what it might mean and how it can be interpreted in many ways today.
Rationale
William Kist wrote, "Through moving pictures, still photography, dance, theatre, music, and visual art a person can 'speak' just as directly and individually as through the medium of print" (Kist, 2005, p.2). The purpose of this project is to allow students to focus on how non-print media, such as painting and film, can communicate ideas and evoke emotions.
This project was also very much inspired by the presentation and writings of Alan Teasely. Teasley's concept of "how to read a film" allowed me to consider how I can connect this process to "how to read a painting". Teasley, however, has developed three different ways to read a film by breaking it down into its: the literary aspects, dramatic aspects and cinematic aspects. Dissecting aspects of an image, still or moving, is a good way for students to truly learn and analyze what they then notice as a whole. I hoped to apply this process of dissecting images in order to provide a structure that can be used for discussion of paintings as well as film. This is highly applicable to students' lives as both formats of art are very familiar to students. Alan Teasely shares, "Students have prior experience with film-almost all of it positive" (Teasely, 1997, p.4). Although this art form is familiar to nearly all students, he also emphasizes that an educator can use film to push students beyond the boundaries of what they already know, "In every film unit we've taught, there has been at least one "aha!" moment when students learn something they didn't know about film techniques, or genre conventions, or the psychological and social nature of interpretation" (Teasely, 1997, p.5).
In addition to gaining new realizations about the medium itself, students can also learn more about how various forms of non-print media can be used as tools for communication. In his book, New Literacies in Action, author Alan Kist states "Not only are today's adolescents very cognizant of the fact that a filmmaker is making a statement, they themselves are frequently making multimedia presentations to their classmates at school that often include moving images and sounds" (Kist, 2005, p.4). He then goes on to question this statement by examining if students truly do make these connections between what they see and the author's intent. Kist's book examines exactly how students can gain a greater understanding of the communicative powers of non-print media within the classroom environment, which, again, was the basis for this project.
Procedures
This webquest begins by asking students to brainstorm "what is modern art?" by creating a list of words they associate with "modern". This will serve as a useful tool in the conclusion of the lesson as students will look at these words again to see if they can be used to describe the work of Dali in comparison to another animation from that time. Students will then participate in an inquiry-based discussion about Salvador Dali's painting, Persistence of Memory. Here, they will be introduced to the concept of "surrealism", not just as a movement in art, but also considering what surrealism might mean outside the realm of art history. Students will then gather in pairs and read a quote by Dali which holds one of his own definitions of surrealism. Students will discuss and share their interpretations of this statement.
Once students have explored Dali's painting, they will be shown two clips of one of his animations. This animation, Destino, was the product of a collaboration between Dali and Walt Disney in 1945. During each of the two clips, students will complete a worksheet breaking down what they see, hear and how they feel as a result of experiencing this clip. This chart was derived from that of Alan Teasley and his viewing guides for watching films. After watching both clips, students will discuss the animation as a whole and determine possible connections with Dali's painting viewed previously. Students will also be asked to share what the animation communicates that the painting does not.
Students will move then from observation to interpretation by processing what they have gathered from both art forms viewed. For example, they will be asked to consider how and why the element of time plays a part in the moving and still images viewed. Next, students will view an animation, Cured Duck, created by Disney in 1945 without the collaboration with Dali. While watching this clip, students will complete a section in the earlier chart for "Clip #3. After reading the comments written for all three clips, students will share the fundamental differences between Destino and Cured Duck. To conclude this discussion portion of the lesson, students will review their lists of words they associate with "modern" and determine which works of art they viewed might be described by any of these words. Thus, asking students their opinion, what makes this "modern", if at all?
As a museum educator, I construct lessons for students based on information shared from the teacher regarding what their students are studying and their goals for that course. I then implement this lesson and provide the classroom teacher with relevant post-visit materials I have created to allow students to develop their own activities to enhance their learning of the concepts discussed earlier. Therefore, the "activities" portion of this lesson consists of a series of differentiated projects students can choose according to their own learning styles. This model for differentiated activities was based on that of Nicole and Ryan Goble's lessons on mindblue.com. Ideally, students will exhibit their projects to one another and then consider how all the concepts learned about Surrealism might have challenged the norm at the time. Does it still challenge the norm today? Why or why not? Finally, the class will be asked to reveal what kinds of art are new today that challenge the norm? Would you call this "modern"?
Questions
Through this lesson, I hope that students will begin to question, "What makes modern art 'modern'?" thus, determining, "How can certain works of art challenge the norms of society?". It is also hoped that students will make connections between film and the still image, "What can one medium do that the other cannot?". This question should also be extended through the differentiated activities students select. By exploring Surrealism in fashion, music, writing and even connections to science, students can link these forms of media to compare and contrast them as ways of communication.
Bibliography
Kist, W. (2005). New literacies in action: Teaching and learning in multiple media. New
York:Teachers College Press.
Teasley, A. & Wilder, A. (1997). Reel conversations: Reading films with young adults.
Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
The final project I chose to create is one of the "intrapersonal" learning style choices. This project is a webquest developed for classroom use in the realm of art education. My webquest, "Melting Clocks and Donald Duck: Discovering Connections Between Dali and Disney" http://questgarden.com/author/create/preview.php?u=79896&l=7989...
was developed for classroom teachers and museum educators to bridge connections between the still images of Salvador Dali's Surrealist style and his moving images sharing this same style. This webquest also draws a comparison between Dali's animation collaboration with Walt Disney and other works created by Disney in that same year. The purpose of establishing this comparison is for students to understand the uniqueness of Dali's animation compared to other Disney animation styles at that time.
This webquest is intended for use in a unit focusing on "modern art". As a museum educator for modern art museums, I often face the feat of challenging students to consider the grand question of "what is modern art?" in a short period of time. Although it is difficult to address this broad question in only one portion of a lesson, it is beneficial to introduce this concept of "modern art" and allow students to question and brainstorm what it might mean and how it can be interpreted in many ways today.
Rationale
William Kist wrote, "Through moving pictures, still photography, dance, theatre, music, and visual art a person can 'speak' just as directly and individually as through the medium of print" (Kist, 2005, p.2). The purpose of this project is to allow students to focus on how non-print media, such as painting and film, can communicate ideas and evoke emotions.
This project was also very much inspired by the presentation and writings of Alan Teasely. Teasley's concept of "how to read a film" allowed me to consider how I can connect this process to "how to read a painting". Teasley, however, has developed three different ways to read a film by breaking it down into its: the literary aspects, dramatic aspects and cinematic aspects. Dissecting aspects of an image, still or moving, is a good way for students to truly learn and analyze what they then notice as a whole. I hoped to apply this process of dissecting images in order to provide a structure that can be used for discussion of paintings as well as film. This is highly applicable to students' lives as both formats of art are very familiar to students. Alan Teasely shares, "Students have prior experience with film-almost all of it positive" (Teasely, 1997, p.4). Although this art form is familiar to nearly all students, he also emphasizes that an educator can use film to push students beyond the boundaries of what they already know, "In every film unit we've taught, there has been at least one "aha!" moment when students learn something they didn't know about film techniques, or genre conventions, or the psychological and social nature of interpretation" (Teasely, 1997, p.5).
In addition to gaining new realizations about the medium itself, students can also learn more about how various forms of non-print media can be used as tools for communication. In his book, New Literacies in Action, author Alan Kist states "Not only are today's adolescents very cognizant of the fact that a filmmaker is making a statement, they themselves are frequently making multimedia presentations to their classmates at school that often include moving images and sounds" (Kist, 2005, p.4). He then goes on to question this statement by examining if students truly do make these connections between what they see and the author's intent. Kist's book examines exactly how students can gain a greater understanding of the communicative powers of non-print media within the classroom environment, which, again, was the basis for this project.
Procedures
This webquest begins by asking students to brainstorm "what is modern art?" by creating a list of words they associate with "modern". This will serve as a useful tool in the conclusion of the lesson as students will look at these words again to see if they can be used to describe the work of Dali in comparison to another animation from that time. Students will then participate in an inquiry-based discussion about Salvador Dali's painting, Persistence of Memory. Here, they will be introduced to the concept of "surrealism", not just as a movement in art, but also considering what surrealism might mean outside the realm of art history. Students will then gather in pairs and read a quote by Dali which holds one of his own definitions of surrealism. Students will discuss and share their interpretations of this statement.
Once students have explored Dali's painting, they will be shown two clips of one of his animations. This animation, Destino, was the product of a collaboration between Dali and Walt Disney in 1945. During each of the two clips, students will complete a worksheet breaking down what they see, hear and how they feel as a result of experiencing this clip. This chart was derived from that of Alan Teasley and his viewing guides for watching films. After watching both clips, students will discuss the animation as a whole and determine possible connections with Dali's painting viewed previously. Students will also be asked to share what the animation communicates that the painting does not.
Students will move then from observation to interpretation by processing what they have gathered from both art forms viewed. For example, they will be asked to consider how and why the element of time plays a part in the moving and still images viewed. Next, students will view an animation, Cured Duck, created by Disney in 1945 without the collaboration with Dali. While watching this clip, students will complete a section in the earlier chart for "Clip #3. After reading the comments written for all three clips, students will share the fundamental differences between Destino and Cured Duck. To conclude this discussion portion of the lesson, students will review their lists of words they associate with "modern" and determine which works of art they viewed might be described by any of these words. Thus, asking students their opinion, what makes this "modern", if at all?
As a museum educator, I construct lessons for students based on information shared from the teacher regarding what their students are studying and their goals for that course. I then implement this lesson and provide the classroom teacher with relevant post-visit materials I have created to allow students to develop their own activities to enhance their learning of the concepts discussed earlier. Therefore, the "activities" portion of this lesson consists of a series of differentiated projects students can choose according to their own learning styles. This model for differentiated activities was based on that of Nicole and Ryan Goble's lessons on mindblue.com. Ideally, students will exhibit their projects to one another and then consider how all the concepts learned about Surrealism might have challenged the norm at the time. Does it still challenge the norm today? Why or why not? Finally, the class will be asked to reveal what kinds of art are new today that challenge the norm? Would you call this "modern"?
Questions
Through this lesson, I hope that students will begin to question, "What makes modern art 'modern'?" thus, determining, "How can certain works of art challenge the norms of society?". It is also hoped that students will make connections between film and the still image, "What can one medium do that the other cannot?". This question should also be extended through the differentiated activities students select. By exploring Surrealism in fashion, music, writing and even connections to science, students can link these forms of media to compare and contrast them as ways of communication.
Bibliography
Kist, W. (2005). New literacies in action: Teaching and learning in multiple media. New
York:Teachers College Press.
Teasley, A. & Wilder, A. (1997). Reel conversations: Reading films with young adults.
Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
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