Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Distance Learning Integrated Art Lesson Title: Description and Overall Focus: Length of Lesson Grade Range 3-D Kinetic Sculpture: Pop-Up Valentine This project will allow students to learn how to create a volumetric (3-dimensional) and kinetic (movable) sculpture from flat media. 45 minutes 1 hour Elementary School Objective(s) Materials: PLEASE NOTE Some materials must be acquired prior to this lesson. Introductory activity Students will learn about the art of Robert Sabuda, the world-renowned author, collàge and pop-up sculpture artist from Michigan. Students then will learn how to use paper cutting techniques to create a 3-D pop-up sculpture. The student will have used the idea of volume (the x, y and z axes of the Cartesian coordinate system) to create a visual art piece that has volume, but can collapse back into a flat state. Students will also talk about the tradition of Valentine s Day. Teacher Supplies: Flower Templates: pieces one set per 2 students (best to be pre-cut by teacher) Paper punch Student Supplies: 8 ½ X 11 sheets of colored construction paper - for tracing the flower design pieces (red, pink, white - any) 8 ½ X 11 sheets of construction paper for outer card 2 per student Drawing pencil and eraser Stick Glue Scissors Crayons, markers Students will begin by learning about a brief history of the origins of the pop-up. Students will then learn about the art of Robert Sabuda and its relationship to Kinetic Sculpture. Students will be shown some examples of his most famous work. Students will also learn about methods which the artist uses to create a 3-D moving sculpture from a 2-D medium.
Core activity Closure activity Assessment Teacher follow-up idea Students will begin by cutting out their base pieces. Then they will continue by tracing and cutting-out their design pieces on colored paper. The pop-up will then be built in stages. Students will complete their creations making sure that the sculptural components are secured and moving properly. Several students will then share their completed sculptures with the rest of their classmates. Students will have discussed Valentine s Day and the history of pop-up and works of art by Robert Sabuda. They will also have learned how cutting and folding techniques to create volumetric form. The classroom teacher can use the websites below to present more of the information surrounding the artistic world of pop-up sculptural art. Student follow-up idea Students can continue to create progressively sophisticated pop-ups based on Robert Sabuda s work, the work of Paul Johnson (book artist and paper engineer ) and Carol Barton (artist, teacher and curator). They may also try to paint or hand-color the components before building their kinetic pop-up sculptures. Book/Web references www.robertsabuda.com www.popupbooks.com www.popularkinetics.com Math Art Fun: Teaching Kids to See the Magic and Multitude of Mathematics in Modern Art by Robin Ward Art and Culture Center of Hollywood www.artandculturecenter.org Lesson plan prepared by Traci Petersen, MFA
The Pop Up The audience for early movable books was adults, not children. It is believed that the first use of movable mechanics appeared in a manuscript for an astrological book in 1306. The Catalan mystic and poet Ramon Llull, of Majorca, used a revolving disc or volvelle to illustrate his theories. Some say the first was made by a Benedictine monk, Matthew Paris, to calculate the dates of Christian holidays. Throughout history, pop-ups or moveable pages appeared, usually as learning tools. In the 1800s they became widely used for children s entertainment. The 1960s showed a resurgence when American entrepreneur Waldo Hunt came upon the pop-up books of Vojtech Kubašta of Prague, Czechoslovakia. Eventually this discovery produced many of the pop-ups considered classics today. Sabuda continued to pursue art in middle and high school and at the Pratt Institute in New York City, where he received a scholarship to study art. In 1992, he started writing his own books, concentrating on biographies or nonfiction and illustrating them in the style of the period about which he was writing. For instance, his book on the Middle Ages looks like stained glass, and his book on ancient Egypt is done in the style of Egyptian art. Robert Sabuda Robert Sabuda was born in 1965, and was raised in Pinckney, Michigan, a small town surrounded by lakes. When he was young, Sabuda spent hours cutting, gluing, coloring, drawing and painting. He contributes his artistic ability to his father and mother: a carpenter and a dancer. He began making pop-ups using manila file folders from his mom s work. In 1994, he began producing the books we see today, from the elegant rewriting of the Wizard of Oz to his books for the holiday season, including counting books, The 12 Days of Christmas, and his newest, Twas the Night Before Christmas. Sabuda says that he spends half his time creating picture books and the other half concentrating on pop-up books.
The Grid Coordinates: x, y 2-D SHAPE FLAT SHAPE (square) Cartesian Coordinates: x, y, z 3-D FORM DIMENSIONAL FORM (cube)
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