Become the Media Before it becomes you!!!

When Street ArtBecomes “Real” Art

We begin our journey at the Odyssey School in Denver, CO with a very open minded and ambitious art teacher, 6th grade teacher and a student teacher. 6th graders are learning about the social and environmental issues surrounding the mining of gold. We meet to discuss possibilities for our integrated art project.

Arts IntegrationGeology: Gold Mining

Wealth Power Beauty Security Spirituality Status

Contaminated Water: Sulphide Ore Acid Drainage and Cyanide Leaching People Displacement (e.g.30,000 people in 8 years in Ghana)Mining Dangers with Low Regulation

Big Ideas

• Dreams and nightmares• Lifecycles• Reverence for life• Interdependence• Individual identity• Aging• Power• Community• Life and death• Emotional life• Heroes• Family• Idealism• Ritual• Views of reality• Conflict• Social norms• Spirituality• Celebration• Uncertainty• Relationships• Suffering • Human diversity• Materialism• Nature and culture• Utopias• Fantasy• Social order

Big Ideas

Street Art/Public Protest/Media Literacy/AdBusters/Graphic Design/Identity/Marketing/Social Issues/Environmental

Issues/Globalization/Active Participation in Society/Critical Thinking/Collaboration

Visual Culture

“The visual arts make up most of visual culture, which is all that is humanly formed and sensed through vision or visualization and shapes the way we live our lives.” Kerry Freedman, Teaching Visual Culture

Media Radio, television, films, books, newspapers,

magazines and internet are all forms of media that reach or influence people widely.

Communicationthe imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or

information by speech, writing, or signs.

Our ability to communicate empowers us.

1.conversation

TV Conversing

Radio

Magazines

Movies Internet

Are there different levels of communication?

Media Literacy The ability to critically consume and create

media.

Filtering through Anne’s magazine collection trying to represent a variety of target audiences and messages.

Media Deconstruction (As a class)

Students Deconstruct Print Ads

Nail PolishCereal

StarbucksV8

Lip glossTJ MaxWatch

Crystal LightMedifast Diet Pill

CologneMilk

BreadSoup

CloroxGreenworks

Target

ChocolatePhonePerfumeV8Trash bagsTiresCarsMoviesJeans Academy awardsTequilaSkin productsBeavis and Butthead show

What Emotions are they engaging?

Pride,

Happiness,

Bling,

Coolness,

Be better,

Someone will love you,

Strength,

Save money,

Pretty,

Confident,

Beauty,

Want,

Greed,

Jealousy,

Perfection,

What does this ad want you to do or think?

You need it,

You will get thin,

It will complete you,

You will look good,

You will be cool,

It’s cool and good for you,

It will help you live and drive, If you don’t you are not cool,

Happy b/c she has clear skinYou will be adored, You won’t be fat,

• How does media/advertising shape our beliefs and desires?

• How does media/advertising shape our reality? (Trends, popular culture, idea of beauty, gender roles, stereotypes...)

• Do Advertisers tell the truth?

• Do Advertisers really care about your wellbeing?

New Mexico Media Literacy Projecthttp://www.nmmlp.org/

Advertising often sells ideas and ideals more than the actual product.

What information do they leave out about their product/services?

http://www.nodirtygold.org

As you become adults, you become the consumers. Advertisers want to know what you want.

You have the power to talk back in the language of the media.

Scaffolding: Remixed Text

Introducing Real Graphic Design Industry Terms

Composition, Color, Text…

Ad Copy or Slogans: Text of a print, radio, or television advertising message that aims at catching and holding the interest of the consumer, persuading him or her to make a purchase within a few short seconds.

• Subvertising: Spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements to make a statement. This can take the form of a new image or an alteration to the exisiting image. https://www.adbusters.org/

Adbusters

Students Begin their Subvertisments

• Students are asked to transfer and connect to their learning about the industry of gold mining. They are given a choice of what they would like their message to communicate about gold.

Students work in Photoshop

Finished products

• Street Art deals with activism, and allows the artists a platform to reach a broader audience than traditional art forms.

The Power of Image

Bansky 2007, West Bank Barrier between Israel and Palestine

Shepard Fairey, 2008 Obama Hope Poster

Banksy and Shepard Fairey

“Street art is more about interacting with the audience on the street and the people, the masses. Graffiti isn’t so much about connecting with the masses; it’s about connecting with different crews, it’s an internal language, it’s a secret language. Most graffiti you can’t even read, so it’s really contained within the culture that understands it and does it. Street art is much more open. It’s an open society”

Out on the Street…