Parade of Objects

For this art activity, students practiced their art criticism skills. We started by just looking at the print, "Parade of Objects" by Jean Debuffet, and responding to what we saw. My favorite response? Lauren said, "It looks like a bunch of robots sitting around the table eating lasagna." :)  Students also commented on color, line, and shape.

 Next, students focused on how it made them feel. Kolby said it made him feel "stressed". Many students agreed with that idea.

To close the lesson, I invited students to see if they could "make" objects out of the shapes in the art print. Students were quickly able to identify several objects including food items, animals, and other items. We discussed how we can easily make identifiable items without intending to.

Students then took this idea back with them to their seats. We started by just drawing a line design over a blank sheet of white construction paper. No pencils, only Sharpies! This had students worrried. They also had to make a continuous line that covered their paper, no stopping. When students completed this step, they were encouraged to find a few spots where they could identify some objects. Students turned their shapes into dogs, fish, people, etc. They finished by incorporating color, a focal point, and lines as Jean Debuffet did in his own print. Fun! Check out our work below.

The Original: Parade of Objects by Jean Debuffet