Art and Activism

Intended grade level(s) / age(s): Early High School

Big Idea / Central concept: Pop Art, Combining art and activism
Essential Questions: How can I create art that reflects my activistic beliefs?\
How can we combine art and activism to make a statement?

National Arts Standard(s):

● VA:Cr1.1.IIIa, HS Advanced, Visualize and hypothesize to generate plans for ideas and directions
for creating art and design that can affect social change.
● VA:Re.7.2.IIa, HS Accomplished, Evaluate the effectiveness of an image or images to influence
ideas, feelings, and behaviors of specific audiences.

MA State Arts Standard(s):

● Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Generate original ideas that integrate
aesthetic principles with individual personal style. (A.MA.Cr.01)
● Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art. Describe what has influenced
changes in one’s own artistic style and preferences in visual art.(F.V.Co.10)

Artists to be Discussed:

● Keith Haring- Famously a part of the Pop art movement, known for creating
activism work around the AIDS/HIV epidemic in the 80’s, he himself died of AIDS
at 31 in 1990.
● Faith Ringgold- is known for her work that expressed fesminsitic beliefs and anti
racist causes. Whiles creating art she also staged many protests and was a
member of many important non profits like the National Black Feminist
Organisation. She is known for her work being on quilts. She has several
paintings but she is well known for her quilts.

Key Vocabulary:
● Activism- the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social
change.
● Pop Art- art based on modern popular culture and the mass media, especially as a critical
or ironic comment on traditional fine art values.

Learning Objectives:
 ● Students will…create a project that expresses a statement towards a cause they
believe in
● Students will…learn about pop art by creating their own project in the style of
Keith Haring
● Students will… use different mediums to express their statement while included
key parts of Kethi Haring's work and the pop art movement

Art Activity: Students will use any medium they would like to create an image that
creates a statement about a cause or organization that means something to them. The
goal of this assignment is to get your viewer to understand what you are trying to say in
your piece.

Materials: paper, pencil, sharpies, markers, collage materials, watercolor, tissue paper,
oil pastels
Lesson Sequence
Presentation
Discussion
Into part of the project
Talk about artists
Project
Critique
Opening Activity/Discussion/Presentation
Start by discussing vocab words, what the lesson will be about. Then discuss the first
idea part of the assignment and brainstorm individually, then discuss keith haring and
intro the rest of the project.

Material Demonstration/Tutorial
During the first part of the assignment students will brainstorm ideas about causes they
care about. After some more intro they will have time to use any medium available to
create an image that reflects their beliefs about this cause, the key thing to do it in Keith
Haring's style.

Reflection/Closure
Students post all their work up front when they are done so that the whole class can
look at each other's work. As a class we will discuss what we like about others and
provide constructive criticism.

Assessment
 Excellent - Needs Unacceptable
Good Attention
Students The student The students'
● Students statement is has picked a cause is not
will…create a clear when cause they clear and their
project that looking at the care about: statement is
expresses a image and it is the statement very vague or
statement clear the is confusing or unclear
towards a cause they are a little vague entirely.
cause they making a
believe in statement
about
Student will The students Student did
● Students show their understand not work in
will…learn knowledge of who Keith Keith Haring’s
about pop art by Keith Haring Haring is but style at all.
creating their by creating a their work is
own project in piece that is unclear
the style of reminiscent of whether they
Keith Haring his style worked in his
style or not. Or
the student
only worked
partially in his
style.
Students used Student use of Students do
● Students will… mediums mediums only not use the
use different correctly and partially helps medium
mediums to to there to explain the correctly and
express their advantage to statement they the medium
statement while make there are attempting does the
included key statements to make. opposite than
parts of Kethi clear helping to
Haring's work explain a
and the pop art statement.
movement