Elementary

Art by Wills, grade five.

The Essential Questions
What is an art parody? Why do people create parodies?

Objective
Students will adapt and recreate a famous artwork or artist portrait in art parody style by incorporating animals into the piece.

Materials
sketchbooks, color media, pencils, reference images of famous works of art

Procedures

1. Show students examples of famous artwork parodies. Ask them if they can recall the original work that has been adapted and recreated. Ask students to reflect on the parody style of art and why artists choose to create them.
2. Students select a famous work of art or an artist portrait that they would like to recreate in parody style. Students choose an animal to incorporate into the work to create their parody. Students practice what this might look like in their sketchbook, creating at least three different thumbnail sketches.
3. Students take suggestions from peers as needed before transferring their design onto their final paper.
4. Students use a pencil to illustrate their design in the manner they see fit, focusing on artist parody qualities that make their design humorous. As they work, ask them to consider how they will incorporate color into their design. Will they use colors found in the original artwork or will they use other colors?
5. Students add color to their parody paintings using the media of their choice.

Leigh Drake is a visual fine arts instructional specialist K–12 for Virginia Beach City Public Schools.