FOUND/RECYCLED ART

I. CLASS: 5
th
- 6
th
grade class 40 minutes.

II. TIME NEEDED: 6 Class periods, 40 minutes

III. ART HISTORICAL BACKGROUND RELATED TO LESSON:
Many artists, especially modern and contemporary artists, create art that is of a
conceptual nature, where the process and materials are chiefly to serve an idea behind
the piece. Many artists use eco-friendly, recyclable, and appropriated materials in
their artwork. Artists like Andy Goldsworthy pioneered what is called land art
which uses the natural materials of the earth, in their natural environments, to create
artwork. Other artists like Ha Schult, a German conceptual artist, uses recycled
materialsgarbageto create his sculptures. Schults sculptures are often placed in
famous landmarks such as the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China, and down
town New York City. Like Andy Goldsworthy, Schults art can be said to occur in
its natural environment as well, since these are major tourist sites which are often a
victim of pollution. But the idea of recycling used materials in art is not a new idea
either. A hundred years ago there was an artist name Marcel Duchamp who
pioneered the use of found objects in art in what he called readymades, and
foreshadowed the conceptual art movement. Perhaps his most famous piece is of a
urinal that he placed into a public art show, challenging the notions of the time of
what can be considered art, and making the point that the idea behind a work of art is
just as important as the skill or craftsmanship used to make art. Today, using found
objects (readymades) and recycled and appropriated materials has been commonplace
in art, and sparks new discussions and viewpoints for conceptual and aesthetic
considerations.



IV. SUBJECT: The class will hypothesize and experiment with random recycled
materials to create a 3D sculptural piece of somethinganythingthat can be found
in nature. By nature, we mean something that is not man-made. So the students will
be contrasting the ideas of the man-made with the natural world by creating a piece
(mimicking the scientific process) that represents the natural world by using man-
made, recycled artifacts (garbage).

V. EQUIPMENT / AV MATERIALS: PowerPoint presentation of environmental &
found artworks including works by Andy Goldsworthy and Marcel Duchamp,
physical reproductions (books) of Andy Goldsworthys work as well as dozens of
books on cells, plants and animals with photos to be used as references for students to
get ideas from.

VI. SUPPLIES: For 20 studentsmasking tape, scissors and newspapers are placed in
bins on table in the front of the classroom, glue guns (3 per group table, 15 total)
placed on group tables, glue sticks (to be dispersed by teacher as needed) and random
recycled materials are placed inside group bins (1 per table, 5 total) placed on the
group tables with items including: clear plastic sheets, bottle caps, rubber circles,
beads, metal and telephone wires, yarn, strings, green cloth, vinyl records of various
sizes, plastic Easter grass, cardboard tubes, egg cartons, popsicle sticks, zippers, wine
corks, earrings, metal rings, colored fake feathers, Styrofoam spheres, straws, and
various cardboard and plastic cups and containers, and other miscellaneous plastic
pieces.

VII. OBJECTIVES:
Academic Skills: Students will learn about the scientific method by seeing how it
applies to creative art-making processgathering raw materials/data, hypothesizing
how the materials/data can be connected to create a work of art/theory, experimenting
to see if the hypothesis works, and finally comparing their results with the original
hypothesis. They will also learn about art historical figures that have used found
objects in their work, as well as art vocabulary terms used to explain and describe
their work.
Craftsmanship Skills: Students will use drawing tools to plan out potential
compositions, and then use those hypotheses to construct a 3D sculptural work of
art using mixed media materials, including (but not limited to) working with hot glue
gun, wire, tape, and string as ways to connect piece together.
Cognitive Skills: Show an understanding of the difference between man-made and
natural materials, objects, and forms.
Higher Cognitive Skills: Consider the conceptual and aesthetic aspects of using
recycled materials and garbage as a means to create something beautiful.
Creative Skills: Use random materials to think creatively about how to use them to
create a successful work of art






VIII. BENCHMARKS AND STANDARDS: (6
th
grade)
A. Ohio Benchmarks and Standards in the Visual Arts:
1PE: Describe how art and design elements and principles are used in artworks to
produce certain visual effects and create meaning
6PE: Use observations, life experiences and imagination as sources for visual
symbols, images and creative expression
2PR: Experiment with a variety of techniques and working methods when
creating an original work of art
3PR: Generate ideas and engage in thoughtful planning when solving a visual art
problem
1RE: Explain what makes an object a work of art using a range of criteria

Benchmarks and Standards in Other Disciplines:
Mathematics:
- Patterns, Functions, Algebra: Analyze, represent, and model solutions to
problems using representations (e.g. sketches & maquette).
- Geometry and Spatial Sense: Students identify and compare characteristics of
2D and 3D elements within art and use spatial reasoning to create a work of
art that fits coherently together.
Science:
- Scientific inquiry: Students will learn how to use the process of inquiry to ask
questions, hypothesize, experiment, and analyze their results to find solutions
to a problem.
- Earth Sciences: Consider the differences between natural objects and man-
made artifacts and how recycles materials contribute to an understanding of
environment problems and issues.
English:
- Language Acquisition: Students are introduced to the specialized vocabulary
of 3D works and classification i.e. Readymades, found art, land art, and
armature, maquette, form

IX. LEARNER OUTCOMES: Students will mimic the scientific process by
progressing through the standard art-making process, including creating thumbnail
sketches of the various ideas (hypotheses) and then experimenting with a variety of
tools and materialsincluding random recycles scraps and materials, glue guns, tape,
scissors, etc.to problem solve and implement their ideas into 3D forms that
represent something from the natural world (e.g. plants, animals, planets, etc.).

X. SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: Scissors and other sharp recycled materials e.g.
aluminum pop cans and metal wires should be used with caution as they can cut or
puncture skin if used inappropriately or carelessly. Also, by experimenting with
certain materials such as vinyl records where a student might want to break them to
create some visual effect, they again should use extremely caution as pieces can go
flying around and create sharp edges that can easily cut themselves or other students.
Gardening gloves are optional for students that wish to use them to avoid cuts and
scrapes from these materials.



XI. ALTERNATIVES TO THE LESSON: The lesson is open-ended enough to make
especially for the ability to accommodate for all types and levels of learners. For
lower achieving students there is the option to create simple forms, where there are
fewer elements required to create their shapes e.g. plants or flowers, where only 3 or
4 elements might be required to pull off a successful representation.

XII. THEORIES/THEORISTS RELATED TO LESSON: Howard Garner and his
Multiple-Intelligence theory will be useful in that there are various aspects of this
assignment which require the student to perform various visual, tactile, kinetic, inter
and intrapersonal tasks involving cooperation, collaboration and self-reflection.
Students will also be encouraged to think of a theme that is personally meaningful to
them i.e. create a work that shows a personal connection or significance to the
artifact(s) they choose to work with. This utilizes John Deweys Constructivist model
of starting with the students own interests and background knowledge about these
common items that they encounter on an everyday basis (but never consider to be art
materials). This makes their work of art more personally enriching and meaningful to
them by bringing their own experiences to bear on a material they choose to work
within.

XIII. ACADEMIC LANGUAGE: The students will be hearing and utilizing words such
as art vocabulary words as: Organic and geometric shapes, appropriation, found art,
mixed media, environmental art, fashioning, fabricate, armature, maquette, and
Readymades. Non-art vocabulary term to be aware of are: Natural, Artificial, artifact,
environmental, ecology, recycled, and pollution.

XIV. PROCEDURE:

1. Introduction: The project will be introduced by showing examples of artists and
art work which utilizes natural and recycled material to create works of art, such
as Andy Goldsworthy, Ha Schultz, and Marcel Duchamp.
A. Motivation First, I will perform an informal Creativity test where Ill ask
students to write down as many uses for a paper clip they can think of in 3
minutes. I will then, by a show of hands, see how many student thought of at
least 5, more then 5, more than 8, more than 10, etc. Then I will ask a random
student to pull out of their pocket, or somewhere in the art room, a random
object, and then set it on a platform on the table in the front of the room to be
presented as a Readymade art object, and tell the kids that they just created
found art.
B. New and Reviewed Experiences Students will have familiarity with drawing,
from all previous art lessons, cutting with scissors from the previous stencil
project, using ruler from the 1
st
Minecraft project, and using mixed media to
create a 3D work of art from the most recent plaster mask project. New
experiences will be using an assortment of random household and recycled
materials to create some use for them they were never intended to be used for


(i.e. making art). More specifically, many students will likely be using glue
guns for the first time.
2. Distribution of Materials and Implements: 5 Boxes of recycled materials will be
set up for students to come up and browse through and pick their raw materials
from. Tables will be called up 1 at a time, consisting of groups of no more than 4
at a time. 1 Helper will be chosen to pass out drawing paper for students to create
thumbnail sketches of their hypotheses.
3. Work Period: Students will be given 5 work days to complete assignment.
A. Day 1: Gather materials and begin to hypothesize how they can be fashioned
together by creating thumbnail sketches of what they think is do-able.
B. Day 2: Students will continue to hypothesize (sketch out ideas) and then
physically work out (experiment with) different techniques of how to fashion
materials together (i.e. creating small maquettes).
C. Day 3: Students should begin creating their final pieces (work day)
D. Day 4: Students continue to work on their final pieces (work day)
E. Day 5: Student should finish working on fashioning together all their pieces
into a coherent whole and be display-ready. This will be the last days students
can work on their project.
F. Clean Up: Each group will be responsible for collecting and cleaning up their
desks and storing their projects, and all materials used in their creation.
4. Teacher-pupil Appraisal of the Art Activity: During the activity I will be walking
around to check if each student is making progress and at the end of each session
a quick formative assessment will be applied by asking review questions about art
vocabulary terms and concepts including art historical questions.

XV. EVALUATION OF STUDENT WORK: The students will be evaluated on
whether they completed all tasks of the assignment Followed classroom
procedures, demonstrated their ability to hypothesize by creating at least 3 thumbnail
sketches of different possible ideas, and created a work of art using at least 4 different
recycled materials that resemble an object in nature.
Assessment of student ability to
complete art activity
0 Points 1 2 Points 3 Points 3.5 4 Points
Follows procedures in order to
focus time wisely on project
Not following
procedures
Following some
procedures
Following all
procedures
N/A
Creates at least 3 thumbnail
sketches the show student thought
about different possibilities for
creating their art piece
Does not
create any
sketches
Draws 1 or 2
thumbnail
sketches
Creates all 3
thumbnail sketches
(hypotheses)
Creates 5 or
more
thumbnail
sketches
Creates a work of art the
represents something in the
natural world with at least 4 or
more different elements
Art work is
not complete
or has less
than 4
elements
Has at least 4
elements but
doesnt represent
something in
nature
Has at least 4
elements fashioned
together in a way
the it resembles a
natural object
Creates
several pieces
and/or
environment
for their piece
Possible points: 4.0 3.5 4.0 points = A + 3.0 points = A
2.5 2.0 points = B 1.5 points = C 1.0 points = D 0 points = F