Middle School

All About Me/All About You by Saydee B., grade five. Saydeeʼs piece is a reflection of the pressure and isolation she feels because of social media.

The Essential Question
How can artists make powerful statements using simplified imagery?

Objective
Students will use silhouettes and juxtaposition to create a visual narrative about a contemporary issue.

Materials
sketch paper, pencils, fine-point black permanent markers, clear transparency sheets, color printer, painterʼs tape, glue sticks

Procedures
1. Students observe, discuss, and analyze the cut-paper silhouettes of contemporary artist Kara Walker. Walkerʼs silhouettes often address the history of American slavery and racism through unsettling imagery.
2. Students view images of slave auction books and analyze the visual significance of a silhouette.
3. As a class or in small groups, students create a list of contemporary issues that affect our local and global community. A collective list is written for the entire class to see.
4. Each student picks an issue from the list that they feel deeply about. Students sketch at least two compositions, using only silhouettes to depict a commentary or propose a question to the viewer about their chosen issue.
5. Students transfer their chosen sketch onto a transparency sheet using a fine-point permanent marker. Parts of the sketch can be cut out and attached below the transparency sheet with painterʼs tape to aid students in tracing.
6. Working with magazines or copyright-free images found online, students select an image to serve as a juxtaposed background to their silhouetted narrative.

Assessment
Students title their art piece and write a statement describing the symbols and background they used.

Ivette Hermann is an art teacher at the Pegasus School in Huntington Beach, California.