Mark Bradford is one of those artists that every kid should learn about. His artwork is a perfect illustration of art as a discovery process. It is conceptually complex, yet I find it to be very visually approachable and inviting. Older kids can unpack big social, political, and economic ideas through his Art, and all ages can explore how the process of making art must leave room for the unknown.
But if you look beyond his art, and look at his personal journey as a creative person, you will find big learning moments as well. And his story is where we started our unit.
STORYTELLING
I have a great deal of admiration for Mark Bradford the person. If you are unfamiliar with his story, there's a great 60 Minutes interview that dives into his background, his inspirations, and his process.
Before exploring the great pieces of art he has created, I wanted Rémy and Sierra to discover the amazing person behind it all. So I came up with a short story that highlighted the confidence, persistence, and determination it took to become a recognized artist. For one week, all of our circle times included the Mark Bradford story, complete with a little puppet show that I would put on.
After the first day of watching, the kids were eager to help build Mark Bradford's mother's beauty salon, his studio, the college where he studied art, and The Broad museum. Their block/Magna Tile buildings would serve as the backdrop for our storytime.
Weeks have passed since I told the story again and again. Both Rémy and Sierra still talk about Mark Bradford and how he felt safe in his mother's beauty salon, and how proud his mom was when he sold his first painting.
MUSEUM VISIT
With the Mark Bradford story fresh in our minds, we headed over to The Broad museum. The museum boasts an outstanding collection of Contemporary Art, but also boast long lines to get in. So before going, we made sure to prepare. There are several things that we do as we get ready to go to a museum, which I have captured in the post, "Raising a Museum Lover".
Ours was not a lengthy visit, just long enough for the kids to see Bradford's Deep Blue and Helter Skelter I, along with a brief breeze through a few rooms. But the art left an impression. How could they not? The two works are simply enormous.
I did no talking about the art at the museum, or on the way home. I just let the big paintings wash over them and gave their thoughts time to sink in.
MAPS
Much of Mark Bradford's work centers around maps, and his art is the perfect pairing for an introduction to map reading and map making. By the time we started looking at his art, both kids had a basic working definition in their minds.
There were several map related activities that I will be gathering and writing about at another time, but one activity I tied directly to Bradford. This activity helped provide much needed context for looking at the art and understanding some of what the artist was doing conceptually and physically during the act of creation.
Having explained that Mark Bradford liked to use maps when creating his art, I brought out part of a map of Los Angeles. We looked at the map together, and I pointed out some major elements we've been learning to identify, like water and streets. I then went on to tell them that Mark Bradford uses maps to share stories that are important to him.
I set up the activity by telling Rémy and Sierra that some information on maps is important to them... like where to find parks to play at. Then I asked them to take a close look at the map and find all of those parks. I gave them circle stickers (which tied in visually with Deep Blue), and then let them populate the map with the big circles.
After the hunt for parks, we paused for a moment to look at the big circles. I asked what they noticed. Rémy pointed to an area and told us that there were a lot of parks right there. I then explained that by using the big bold circles, we were able to tell a story about parks in our city.
I placed the map we created next to a picture of Deep Blue. I said - look, we've already made our first Mark Bradford work of art!
LAYERING
Bradford's process is one of addition and subtraction. Layers and excavation. And this is the heart of what I wanted Rémy and Sierra to take away from the experience of creating their preschool art versions. So we spent time talking about layers, and how Mark Bradford added all sorts of things he felt helped tell the story he was trying to tell.
The base layer I presented each of them with was a map mounted to cardboard. If you are going to recreate this project, don't skip mounting the map. The cardboard is the secret sauce. Why? Because the ridges of the cardboard act as longitudinal map lines when you color on them, giving the somewhat random looking collage order and depth.
The kids colored all over their maps, with Rémy using dark forceful strokes with his Stockmar crayons (the block crayons worked so well for this project), and Sierra using strokes barely visible with her rock crayons. Then it was time to add a layer of pictures and words.
I gave them the option of using images found in magazines or using an old Beatrix Potter book that had completely fallen apart. They love Peter Rabbit, Hunca Munca, and all the Potter stories, so they jumped at the chance to use the book. Our Mark Bradford artwork became a mashup.
I cut out pictures, while the kids glued. And glued. When we revisited the art, they added another layer of color and then glued on some more. Rectangle stickers were added into the mix. Then this process was repeated another time. Each cycle, we talked about the many layers Mark Bradford puts into his art.
EXCAVATING
When all the pictures were added and the last crayon had been dropped, it was time to excavate. Before starting, I explained that as Mark Bradford worked on his art, he would dig into his layers, sand his layers, and remove things that he had added before. While taking things away, he gets to see the layers hidden under the top layer.
I asked them to look at their work and think about what they wanted to take off. They then began to excavate. I assisted by holding onto parts of the pictures they tore, so that part would be left. I could tell that there was something thrilling about tearing off big chunks of their artwork. It was great fun. So much so, that I paused the party to remind them that if they tore off everything, they would have nothing left.
REFLECTING
For this unit, our reflection was centered more around process - as that was our primary focus. I asked them to tell me how they made their works of art. Sierra pointed to pieces of her art and labeled the materials - crayons, pictures. This was her way of explaining how she made what she made. Rémy explained that he kept putting on layers and then ripped off pictures. We then hung our art.
JOIN ME
I am currently working on a Play/Create series of art projects based on explorations of various artists. If this is up your alley and would like to test out some art projects, or would like to adapt this unit to a different age range, email me. And when you do give it a go, please send me pictures of what you made!
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