Drawing Our World in Pictures
Line, shape and the art of Keith Haring
“Children know something that most people have forgotten.”
“Drawing … brings together man and the world. It lives through magic” Keith Haring
This term, students will focus on the language of drawing through the study of a range of artists and their work. They will have the opportunity to link with the in NGV Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines exhibition and examine the unique visual languages of artist Keith Haring as a part of their exploration into the many languages of drawing. Students will be introduced to line, pattern and mark making and develop ideas for symbols and pictograms.
They will work through a series of exercises that will allow them to freely explore the process of mark making, patterning and creating symbols using a range of approaches and media.
Drawing – Learning to See
Throughout the term we will discover that drawing is a language. There is no right or wrong way to draw; drawing is a process of discovery, of being curious about the world and exploring the many ways of making marks and recording something. We use our senses to draw; touch and hearing as well as sight. We will explore mark making, shape, patterning and line through the work of artists Paul Klee, David Shrigley and Nigel Peake, and the creation of symbols and pictograms through the work of Keith Haring.
Week 2
Take A Line for A Walk…
We asked the question…. What is a line? We played with lines using 2B and 4B pencils and exploring a range of lines. We observed that to understand Keith Haring’s work, we need to understand line.
• We played with line and created a short line, a long line a thick line, a thin line
• We created a fast line – press down softly, a slow line, a fast line – press down hard, a rough line, a smooth line, an angry line, a happy line, a gentle line, a curvy line and a zig zag line.
“A line is simply a line going for a walk” Paul Klee
We then took a line for a walk with a black pen … and found both real and imaginary creatures in our squiggly lines. We painted these.
We embarked on exciting adventures with line and images and explored the imaginary creatures our absent minded wandering lines produced.
