James Castle - Assemblage

Assemblage  is an artistic process. In the visual arts, it consists of making three-dimensional or two-dimensional artistic compositions by putting together found objects.

James Castle (1899-1977) was an American artist born in Idaho. He lived his entire life in a small rural community. James Castle never learned to speak, read or write but he made all kinds of art from found materials.

James Castle is well known for his assemblage pieces using bits and pieces of found materials such as yarn and cardboard. Here are some examples.

What other materials do you think he may have used in these assemblages?

Because he could not speak or write, he used his images to communicate what was important to him.

What do these pieces tell you was important to

the artist James Castle?

James Castle was a self taught artist. These artists are often called Outsider Artists because they create art outside of the established art scene. They are not formally schooled and often create art out of found objects and unconventional materials.

Key stage 1

What kinds of cardboard shapes can you combine to make an assemblage?

What materials might you use to fasten bits and pieces together?

How can you use drawing materials or painting materials to add detail and meaning to you assemblage?

What does your assemblage say about what is important  you?

Key Stage 2

What are considered found materials?

What materials can you collect to create an assemblage?

What methods do you need to consider in fastening your pieces?

How could you incorporate printmaking into your assemblage? fibers? collage? drawing? paint?

What does your assemblage say about what is important  you?
Credit: Diana Haydon

Mark Rothko

*Rothko was born in Russia and his family emigrated to the United States when he was 10 years old.

*Rothko's work is characterized by attention to formal elements such as color, shape, balance, depth, composition, and scale.

*Rothko attended Yale and planned to become an engineer or lawyer.  He moved to New York City and attended art classes.

*What can you tell you about the SCALE of his work?

*Rothko is most known for his abstract paintings.  What is Abstract art?  He also painted realistic work in his early career.  What is Realistic mean?

*Rothko rarely gave his work conventional titles.  He used numbers and colors to name his pieces.  He thought words would interfere with the viewers imagination.

*His paintings had a mood or feeling.  He used yellow, red and orange; warm colors.  What mood or feeling do  have?  If he used blue, green and purple; the cool colors, what feeling might it convey?

*His later works showed his mood and feelings, sometimes dark and sad.  He continued to make work throughout his life. 

How might you relate Mark Rothko’s work to one or more of the studios?  Gather ideas?  Collage- layer color papers, sculpture – build boxes of color and assemble them in a 3-D Rothko influenced work.  Painting – try layering think and thin layers of paint.  

Cityscapes

Students discovered how artists are inspired by cities.  The city theme can be applied to all studios in Choice Art.
*Artists can find inspiration from their environment and places they travel.
*Artists are able to show the time of day in their work.  The colors artists use can create a mood in their art.
*Can you tell how many studios these artists visited?  Painting?  Drawing?  Collage?  Sculpture? Etc.
*Artists use special materials like metallic papers to create Emphasis in their work.   You might use bright colors, dark colors, glitter or a different material than the surrounding area of your art to get the viewer to notice a specific detail.

Deborah Butterfield

Students became familiar with the work of artist Deborah Butterfield and her sculptures.

*Deborah Butterfield is a female artist that lives in Montana and makes horse sculptures.

*While growing up, she loved horses and many artists create works inspired by things they love and cherish. 

*While in college, she lived near a horse farm where she could see horses from her window.  She eventually took a job taking care of the nearby horses.
*Artists can use materials that are not purchases but that they find.  These materials are called found objects.
*What found objects did Deborah Butterfield use?
*You will notice Butterfield's studio.  Notice her material piles. How are they sorted?  Why do you think she has such a large space and doors?

*Can you think of some found materials you can bring in to use in your art?