abstract art in all studios

 What in the world is Abstract Art?

Key stage 1

Keystage 2

Now that we know what Abstract Art is, let's look at how Abstract Art might be created in many of our studios.

Abstract Art in the Fibers studio might look like cutting fabric into lines, shapes and colors and sewing the pieces in place.  The stitches can become interesting lines in the art.

Fibers tends to be abstract. 

Do you notice Lines, Shapes and Colors?

Abstract Art in the Drawing Studio can still include portraits, a still-life and landscape but they will not be true to reality but gives more of a feeling or idea of a portrait, still life or landscape.  

The idea or feeling of a face.  The idea or essence of the sun and mountains.  The gesture of a dog.  The form of a tea kettle and pitcher.   

Can you tell what creature this abstracted art is trying to represent?



Abstract Art might look like this in the Printmaking Studio.  

Using Stamps, bubble wrap, rollers and paint, you can create a colorful printed design by pressing shapes and colors onto the surface of your paper.

You can create abstract art like these Gelli Prints by using shapes and color.



Abstract Art in painting might look like painting large colorful shapes and areas on your paper and the following class coming back in and painting lines, dots, shapes in black paint.
Wet on Wet Watercolor circles.  This young painter brushed on one color in a round shape then dabbed another color of watercolor on top of the wet paint to create blended color circles.

Draw Lines and Paint Shapes on top!  Voila, Abstract Art.  

We can tell this represents a landscape but it doesn't look true to reality so it is Abstract.  Abstract can look like something we know such as a portrait or landscape but when it doesn't look like reality we say it's abstract.

Abstract in collage

Collage tends to look abstract.  Torn paper, overlapping, patterned paper and paper shapes don't look like the figures and landscapes we see in the real world.  Artists can create a reality that doesn't exist.  How cool is that!

Abstract art in Sculpture

Do you recognize some leaf shapes or the profile of a face? Could this be a landscape or a portrait?  If so, how?

Let's see if you can identify Abstract versus Realistic in works of art.

Can you tell which is the abstract and which is the realistic work of art?

A.                                                                                               B.

Portraits in Abstract and Realistic styles.

A.                                                                                                        B.

Both are swimmers.  One is Abstract and one is Realistic.

A.                                                                            B. 

Both are still-life artworks.  One is Abstract and one is Realistic.

A.                                                                                                                      B.

Abstract and Realistic Landscapes.

A.                                                                                                     B.

Cityscapes in realistic and abstract styles.

A.                                                                                                     B.

A.                                                                                                        B.

These artworks are by the same artist, Gerhard Richter and are in the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Did this mini-lesson give you a better idea about Abstract Art?

Do you have a preference for Abstract or Realistic Art?

Maybe you have made abstract art before and didn't even realize it!

Will you make abstract art?

Get in the Game

Anyone can be an artist and sometimes the most unlikely person might just be one.  Let's look at some athletes who create art as well as art inspired by sports.

Micah Johnson grew up in Indiana and as a kid, worked at baseball everyday.  He spent hours at the gym and the ball field, refining his skills.  Micah would go on to play at Indiana University and then for the White Sox, Braves and Dodgers.  

It wasn't until Micah was an adult that he considered himself an artist.  While still in the MLB, Micah went to a sip and paint class and there he realized he liked to paint.  After home games, he found painting helped him de-stress. He considers himself a self-taught artist. He works with charcoal and paint, often creating portraits that inspire children and even adults to follow their dreams.  Micah's art has been featured in galleries, art shows, murals, digitally and even branded on clothing.

“For me to get to the Major Leagues, it took me 18 years of continuous work -- I started when I was three,” Johnson said. “So, with art, I'm trying to work at that rate to condense those 18 years down. But that work ethic is instilled in me because I know at the end of that work, you're going to get rewarded.”
“My whole mission is to inspire children,” Micah says. “But I try to have that looseness to it. And that's just how I am. I work a lot with just my hands. Sometimes I don't even have a paintbrush in my studio. I try to do these really bold lines and have that perfect blend of whitespace and also color. That's how I'd define my style now.”

Another athlete turned artist is Michael Thorpe. Michael played college basketball and now quilts images of the court in his art.  His mom taught him to sew.  He uses fabric and thread to sew basketball images.

Fast Break by Red Grooms

Athletes can make art but also be the subject of art.  Now, let's look at some art that features sports and athletes as the topic or focus of the art.  Baseball, basketball, surfing, skating, you name it, it has been featured. Artist Red Grooms created this precarious sculpture of action on the court.  What sport is Red showing in his art?

Artists use lots of materials as their "canvas" or surface to paint on but a basketball court becomes a massive painting.  St. Louis artist William La Chance designed this court in St. Louis.

Basketball court in St. Louis, Missouri's Kinloch Park by William LaChance.

St. Louis artist Marley Billie D used paint and wood to create jump ball while Felandus Thames uses hair beads to string together this floor to ceiling portrait of legendary basketball player Allen Iverson.

Artist Hank Willis Thomas used jerseys to create his version of Picasso's Guernica, a painting showing Picasso's feelings about a civil war in Spain.

Artists Kelsey Armstrong created these hoops and nets with materials we usually think of in which studio?

Artist Henry Taylor, paints heroes from his LA neighborhood.  See Alice Jump features Alice Marie Coachman Davis, an American athlete. She specialized in high jump and was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Aquatic sports inspire these works of art by Derek Fordjour and David Mazanic.  Can you name some aquatic sports?

Friday night lights becomes the subject of Catherine Opie's photo series.  What sport is being played? The photos capture the landscape of the field and the high school community of the team.  How is a team a community?

We can't pass on Soccer as the subject.  Peter Max created this colorful art work for the World Cup and Dario Escobar fills a gallery with soccer balls to create his sports sculpture.

Do you LOVE sports?  Many sports inspire art including these tennis paintings by Bronte Goodieson and Gonzalo Centelles.
Are you a FAN of art featuring sports?

Will you make art about a sport you play?

Do you belong to a team?

What is something that interests you that you might make art about?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erX4OJh0AvU

Ernie Barnes was a former American professional football player who became an accomplished artist.

and art about sports

https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/get-in-the-game/

https://www.sfmoma.org/read/from-the-court-to-the-canvas-get-in-the-game-at-sfmoma/

Catherine Opie  high school football on a Friday night.  

Aaron Maybin artist

https://www.southerncultures.org/article/now-we-can-deal-with-the-nuances-of-who-we-are/

https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/get-in-the-game/