Art History Game Day!

With the beat of Will Smith in the air and the taste of gummy bears, the Art History class spent the day playing games. Playing games? Seriously?! First you let the students write the quiz questions and now you're playing games. Don't you ever learn anything in that class? Well, yes, we do. we just have an interesting way of doing it.

OK, so what is game day? Well, groups of students spent the week developing a playable game. The games had to be informative, original, well crafted and fun! It's hard to get all four so most games lean heavy in one direction or another. But all were fun to play. We even invited a few other classes to stop by. Everyone had fun and learned a little something too!

Write Your Own Art History Quiz...

Doesn't it seem silly that the teacher puts out all this Art History information and then gets to decide which questions should be on the quiz? Wouldn't it make more sense if the students decided what part of Art History they wanted to learn? I did... and thats when I decided to start letting the students write the quiz questions. Here is how it works...

I ask everyone to write a question but I do pick the top ten. I think this helps encourage them to write interesting questions. I take photo's of their questions and LCD them on the board.

Here are the top 10 quiz questions from our unit on Northern Renaissance art. Take the quiz. See how well you do! Answer key below.

The Quiz:

1. (above): Who is the painter that can be identified by ominous skies?

2. What are two characteristics of Mannerism?

3. Where did Caravaggio get stabbed?
(Note: the class was quick to point out that Caravaggio wasn't the stabbee but the stabber. Also, this is a Baraque question so the answer will come next week.

4. Best Greek painter?

5. Durer apprenticeship?

6. What is the world's most frequently stolen work of art?

7. He couldn't think of a question but I put it on the quiz anyway ;)

8. What was ironic about Durer's rhino?

9. How can you tell the artwork was created by Durer?

10. How many ears does the lamb in the Ghent Altarpiece have?


Answers:

1. Who is the painter that can be identified by ominous skies?
El Greco

2. What are two characteristics of Mannerism?
Twisted bodies and going off the page

3. Where did Caravaggio get stabbed?
Caravaggio stabbed a man in the groin over a tennis bet.

4. Best Greek painter?
El Greco!

5. Durer apprenticeship?
Goldsmith. This is the standard answer to almost any Renaissance artist. 

6. What is the world's most frequently stolen work of art?
The Ghent Altarpiece

7. I'm not sure what the right answer to number 7 is.
We'll find out on Monday when we self grade the quizzes.

8. What was ironic about Durer's rhino?
He never saw one.

9. How can you tell the artwork was created by Durer?
His crazy signature!

10. How many ears does the lamb in the Ghent Altarpiece have?
Four

The 2015 Dada Exhibit

We had an excellent turn out for the opening of our second, non-annual, Dada Exhibit!  Works by Dada Artists currently enrolled in  the Art History class are prominently displayed in the Media Center.

I'll let the work speak for itself but will include the titles below. The show will run till the end of the year which is Friday so see it before it's gone!

Unwanted Nozzle

Rocky

The Stick of Truth

 

I Hate My Mom

Jar

Stairway to Heaven

My Hopes and Dreams

Two Steps Back

Shoelace in Pckle Jar

 

The Jessica. 

Medium: Jessica

Sugar Hill Wave : in Bottle Caps!

Several weeks ago, environmental artist Bryant Holsenbeck  worked with our Art History class to recreate a work of art using recycled materials. The class chose Magritte's Son of Man as our image.They only had one day to complete this project. afterwards, the bottle caps were placed back in storage. Check out that image here!

Today, we attempt a much larger, more complex image. It's a mix of the Wave and the Sugar Hill Gang logo. This image was 10' x 16' large, and spread out over 8 tables. I use the past tense "was" when describing the mural because we only had one class period to complete it and when we were done, it was entirely dismantled.

Of course working on a project like this can raise many questions. We pondered one question all class long. The question was, "What is Wonder Mike waiting for?" See answer below.

I said a hip hop,
Hippie to the hippie,
The hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it
To the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie,
To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.

In the Video: You have one class to assemble and then dismantle a 10' x 16' mural mashup between the Sugar Hill Gang Logo an The Great Wave off Kanagawa.... using only bottle caps. Go!

the answer to the question, "What is Wonder Mike waiting for?" can be found in the songs fifth verse when Wonder Mike raps the followign lines.. 

"I said, I can't wait 'til the end of the week
When I'm rappin' to the rhythm of a groovy beat."

Putt Putt: Art History 2015

Golfers from around the country... or at least, from around Apex High, lined up in the courtyard to take their shot at being the Putt Putt Champion! With almost nine holes to play, golfers enjoyed a challenging selection of Art History par 3 holes to choose from.

The Egyptian History including Hippo hole

 

The street art Banksy Rat hole

Warhol

 Nefertiti

The Wave

Watch out for the soup can hazards!