Wednesday, February 19th, 2014

Humanities Kids,

STOP MISSING CLASS! I love your guts, but I do not have time to make-up an entire class sessions with you. Many of you keep telling me that you are tired. Really? GROW UP! You guys have NO IDEA what tired is...wait until you choose to serve a mission, or you start having children. STOP FINDING, USING, and MAKING excuses to not do what you need to do. I love you, but I am going to "call you out!"

If you missed class, we continued with the Greek Pantheon, and in addition we watched a History Chanel movie detailing the Greek gods. You can easily watch this on-line under historychanel.com. The film is entitled "The Greek Gods."

HOMEWORK!
1. Test covering the Greek gods will occur on Tuesday, the 25th! START REVIEWING NOW!

  For those of you that missed the Greek names, Roman names, Symbols and Domains I have included this information for you below.

Athena, Minerva, owl/breast plate/olive tree/spear/helmet, Wisdom and Strategy
Hephaestus, Vulcan, fire/hammer/anvil/tongs/ god of invention and creativity
Aphrodite, Venus, Doves/Roses/ sign of three/goddess of love and sex
Ares, Mars,skull/ helmet/dogs/sword/spear/shield,god of war and carnage
Hermes/Mercury/winged hat, winged shoes and caduceus/ messenger, commerce and takes the dead to the underworld.
Homework: 

1. Test covering Greek Gods on TUESDAY! You will see pictures of the Greek gods, and I will ask that you identify the god via their symbols.  You will need to identify the Greek, Roman, one symbol not shown, and two domains if the god has more than one!

3. Create Flashcards for the gods. You can use a 1/4 of the number that you create on the quiz.
 PRACTICE QUIZ for Friday's Quiz
Please identify the god by their Greek and Roman names, symbols not shown and domains (include all of them if they have more than one.) Some of the images depict all the symbols so identify the gods' Greek and Roman names along with their domains. I apologize that some of the images are slightly blurry. No clue????????

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Thursday, January 6th, 2014

Dear Humanities Kids,

. If you missed class, we started by having a practice session for your test, which is scheduled for Wednesday,  February 12th!

We looked at the following piece by Mary Cassatt called The Bath and then discussed the composition, color, balance/harmony, movement and mood established by the piece. Remember that part of your exam on Friday pertains to doing the same evaluation. Make sure you refer to the five images I posted last time. Review and research them in order to make sure that you have a strong understanding of the composition, color, balance/harmony, movement and mood for each. I HAVE INCLUDED A FORMER STUDENT'S RESPONSE BELOW THE IMAGE.

Elisa Wilson 

Mrs. Crampton

Humanities

  22 September, 2001

The Bath by Mary Cassatt

The Bath by Mary Cassatt embraces the natural love between a mother and a child. Through the design elements of composition, color, balance, mood and movement one greatly appreciates Cassatt’s intent, and the viewer develops a deeper understanding for Cassatt's depiction of the mother and child. 

 

The composition of The Bath focuses the audience’s attention on the child. The eye is immediately drawn to the child, and then to the mother. This draws attention to the emotion of the moment. Cassatt has also used circles in the piece to indicate unity and peace between the mother and child. One can see the circle in the basin, the shape of the heads, and in the circular form of the pitcher. The background of the painting appears muted or slightly fussy, which helps bring the attention to the mother and child. The overall arrangement of subjects gives the viewer a sense of peace.

 

The color used indicates a moment of peace. Cassette used white for the little girl to indicate her innocence and naivety. The mother appears in a stripped dress using light green, pink and white. These colors let the audience know that the moment is serene. The red colored carpet, although subtle, lets the audience know that the relationship between the mother and child is genuine.

 

Cassatt has created a balance in the work, as the mother and child are placed in the middle of the piece. No contention or disharmony exists here. The balance gives the viewer an understanding of harmony and relaxation, as these are the emotions experienced by the two subjects.

 

The movement of the piece begins first with the child. The audience sees the little girl and then the eye is drawn down toward the basin. The mother washing the child’s foot helps the audience understand the connection between the two of them. In addition, both subjects are looking in the same direction towards the child’s feet as the mother gently cleans them. This positioning helps the audience follow the gaze to the feet of the child. 

 

The audience becomes captured by the peaceful and relaxed mood set by this piece. Cassatt clearly valued relationships, especially those among children and mothers. The mother portrays concern for the child’s well-being by securing the child in her lap with one hand, while the other hand gently caresses the girl’s foot. These actions appear natural, and help the viewer recognize the significane of the relationship.

 

Dear Humanities Kids,

1. Your first EXAM is scheduled for WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12th. Prepare this way:

a. What are the Humanities?

b. Why is studying the Humanities so important?

c. Why should an "observer" learn more of the time period and artist's personal life prior to making a judgement about a piece of art?

d. Define the following terms and make sure you can apply them: Composition, Mood, Color, Balance/Unity, and Movement

e. Students will randomly draw one piece of artwork from the "hat." They will then need to evaluate the piece using the above elements. We did this in class with "The Raft of the Medusa." In order to assist you with this section of the exam, I have included the pieces of artwork below. Realize that you won't know your focus until the day of the exam; however, you can easily learn more about them through some research. Remember that I am going to ask you to comment on the composition, color, mood, balance/unity and movement in the piece that you select.

"Judith and Holofernes" by Artemisia Gentileschi

"Weeping Woman" by Picasso

"Burial of Count Orgaz" by El Greco

"Penitent Magdalene" by Georges de la Tour

 

"The Dead Christ" by Andrea Mantegna

HOMEWORK:
1. Locate information for TWO of the FIVE art pieces  included above. You can easily locate the information via the Internet. Focus on composition, color, mood, balance/unit and movement.
2.STUDY FOR YOUR FIRST EXAM, cute kids!

Posted by Mrs. Crampton at 5:34 PM