Class activity
Mapping a personal geography
Through the inspirations of Mark Bradford and other contemporary artists working with concepts of maps students will design and create an original work of art that effectively communicates their travel story. The collage essay process will serve as the stimulus of visualization for imagery that will be used in the creation of an original work of art through which students will explore their personal geographies. Students will create works of art with map-like qualities as the mapping of their vision, the product of their knowledge, the footprints of their journey. A mixed media approach will prove most efffective for the production of student work. Like Marco Polo in Calvino's Invisible Cities, teachers and students alike will find it a great adventure to explore the world of possibilities in materials useful for mapping personal geographies. Two highly recommended sources of motivations are the books by Katharine Harmon and Jill Berry listed in the appendix of resources. A readily accessible classroom technique that may be of interest is crayon and India ink batik on commercial maps. The resulting networks of linear elements suggestive of roads and routes will add an additional layer of exploration that students may traverse to uncover their "invisible cities". Present finished work for public view within the school as evidence of the arts as renewable community.
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