This year we started our study of Famous Artists
with
Picasso
one of the world’s most famous artists - ever
May I tell you how my kid felt about his art?
Well – my kids went, “Blech!”
They HATED his style.
It completely offended them.
“It is ugly.”
“It is stupid.”
“It doesn’t even look like art!”
“Some pictures are rude.”
Art is so subjective, so emotional, so personal.
We talked about his works as we browsed through the library books.
To let my kids know that I heard them, I simply repeated what they said -
“You don’t think this picture is pretty” or
“Those squirmy shapes instead of real body shapes look gross to you”
… not mocking them … just telling them what I hear them say.
We keep the discussion neutral this way.
They are entitled to their own opinions, and Picasso wanted an emotional response!
As I explained what Picasso was doing in his art,
they started to see the positives!
He PLAYED!
He EXPERIMENTED!
He EXPRESSED FEELINGS.
We did a quick cubist type collage with portraits.
Simple Picasso portrait lesson -
- tear out faces from magazines – profiles and full front (Picasso often combined these in his portraits)
- cut out parts of faces
- paste hair and skin on the page
- add features such as nose, eyes, lips, chin, eyebrows
- finish the picture with design, patterns, coloured pieces of paper
Were my kids happy with their portraits?
No.
Did they understand what Picasso did?
Yes.
Did they have a personal encounter with his art?
Yes.
Successful art appreciation lesson.
How have your kids responded to Picasso’s portraits? Share with us in the comments.
Blessings,
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