MATH IN ART: GEOMETRIC ART

Knight Foundation Summer Institute

Karen L. DuPree, Gillespie Middle School

Jennifer Fisher, Bryn Mawr College

Introduction:

As a warm up, the teacher should review the names of some basic shapes. The teacher can point to objects in the classroom and let the students call out the shape of it. The teacher can name a shape and have the students fond an object in the room that has that shape.

In the beginning of the period, the teacher can begin to review the vocabulary list. The students can find a real life example for each of the vocabulary words. For example, for rectangle, the students could point to a desk.

The students will use a hands-on method to critique different art works. By using geometric figures, they will create an original piece of art work based on one of the three artists that they are going to learn about. Not only will the students become familiar with an artist, but they will be working on copying shapes and seeing an example where shapes are used outside of mathematics. By first copying the shapes, the students will get a feel for what they look like and how to draw them. They can then take this skill and use it in other areas of mathematics where they need to reproduce shapes.

Pre-Skills:

  1. Idea of basic shapes
  2. How to recognize shapes in other places

Objectives:

  1. To have the students learn geometry terms
  2. To have the students identify geometric figures in different pieces of art
  3. To teach the students about art
  4. To help the students learn to pick out certain shapes among others
  5. To allow the students to display their creativity
  6. To help the students think that geometry interesting

Materials:

Procedure:

  1. Introduce the three artist the students are going to study

    2. a. M. C. Escher

    b. P. Mondrian

    c. Vasarely

    Note: The teacher can use the biographies here to introduce the artists. The students should have an idea of who these famous people are besides just seeing and studying their art work. The teacher can either read the biographies out loud or have the students read them individually.

  2. Critique works of art by all three artists by identifying geometric figures and shapes in each piece
  3. Discuss perspective based on some of the art pieces
  4. Place the grid paper over the original piece of art
  5. Tape it to the window so that the students can see through the grid paper
  6. Trace some of the shapes on the grid paper and count the amount squares that the different shapes occupy.
  7. Optional: perspective can be brought up here; how things appear to jump out by the way they are drawn
  8. Have the students create an original art piece based on one of the three artists' styles

Assessments:

The students should be graded on their own work and the use of geometric shapes in their drawings. The extent to which they were able to use one of the artists as a model should also be taken into consideration.

The students need to show their understanding of the vocabulary, whether it be through a series of tests, quizzes, or making sentences with the words.

Extensions:

  1. Have the students go to the library and research another artist that was not studied and have them critique the artist's work and what shapes were primarily used in the new artist's work.
  2. Have the students do their own creative art work with shapes, not following the lead of another artist, and possibly letting them make three dimensional art work.
  3. Take one of the paintings that was used originally and use it to teach about shading. One way to model this is to take a three dimensional object and shine a flashlight on it to show that some parts are darker and some are lighter. Explain how this is used in art to obtain different effects.
  4. Lead a discussion with the students about irregular shapes and what looks better to the human eye, a right triangle or an obtuse triangle, for example. Humans tend to prefer even and regular shapes to irregular ones.

Philadelphia Mathematics Content Standards

MATHEMATICS CONTENT STANDARD 3- GEOMETRY

More specifically this unit insists that the students Understand space and dimensionally concepts; use them appropriately and accurately and communicate the results clearly." Benchmark one states that the students must be able to "describe the historical developments of geometry in many cultures, disciplines and the effect on careers." While studying different an forms, the students are incorporating this standard. Benchmark two states that they must "identify, describe, compare, classify and construct various two and three dimensional objects, including squares, triangles, other polygons, circles, cubes, rectangular prisms, pyramids, spheres, cones and cylinders." And finally, benchmark four states that the students must know how to "visualize and represent geometric figures with special attention to developing spatial sense."

Cross References:

Most obviously, this lesson involves a lot of art and art history. The students are learning about artists and about different styles of art which they will try to reproduce. In the extensions, many different techniques of art are taught and used by the students. Library science is used as well as reading when the students research a new artist.