Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're feeling really, really good, and I'm so pleased that you're here.

My name is Miss Afzal, and I'll be your art teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling very pleased about that because today we're looking at text-based art.

And I'm so into words and text, so I'm really looking forward to this.

Our lesson is called "Art Can Change the World: Text‑Based Art," and it comes from the unit of work "An Overview of Art." So if you are ready to dive into text-based art, if you have some energy, focus, and enthusiasm, we'll begin our lesson now.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can create a slogan-based artwork to influence change.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them: cause, slogan, and block lettering.

So what do these words mean? Cause, a belief, goal, or movement that someone cares about deeply and is willing to support and defend.

Slogan, a short and catchy phrase that can promote an idea, message, or product.

Block lettering, a style of text where each letter is written separately and clearly using the capital letters of the alphabet.

So these are our keywords: cause, slogan, and block lettering.

Let's look and listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called "Art Can Change the World, Text-Based Art," and it has three learning cycles: art that influences change, slogans that communicate change, and styles that impact the viewer.

Let's begin with art that influences change.

And how about this question to begin: Can art influence change in the world? What do you think? Pause here and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear some responses.

"Yes! If it has a powerful enough message, I think it can." It's useful for it.

"I don't think so.

I think art is about looking at something nice." A different opinion.

And "I think all art is different, so it depends on the artist's intention." Do you agree? Pause here and share with someone.

Do you agree with any of these statements? Thanks for sharing.

Art can influence change.

One way artists are able to do this is through creating artworks related to causes.

A cause is a belief, goal, or movement that a person cares about and is willing to support and defend.

What cause do you think this artwork is related to? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

And what is a cause, belief, goal, or movement that you care about, that you're willing to support and defend? Thanks for sharing.

Here's Lucas: "My artwork is related to a technological cause.

I'm concerned about the reliance people have on their computers to find information.

There are other ways such as books, conversations, and visiting places." Let's have a check for understanding.

What is the name given to a belief, goal, or movement that someone cares about deeply? Is it a, a theme; b, a concept; c, a cause; or d, a vision? Pause here while you decide.

What's the name given to a belief, goal, or movement that someone cares about deeply? Well done if you selected answer c.

Indeed, it's a cause.

Artists make artworks about causes for many reasons, including to celebrate.

What are the reasons you think artists make artworks about causes for? Pause here and share with someone some possible reasons.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's take a look at some: to express personal beliefs, to bring joy, love that, to warn, to raise awareness, so important, to inspire change, love that, and to give a voice to the voiceless, so important.

How has Lucas used the elements of art to communicate his message? Let's hear from him.

"I created this artwork to inspire change and encourage people to use their devices less.

I chose a bold, eye-catching color to attract the viewer and used lines to project the text to create a sense of energy and urgency." I really think that's working very effectively.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? All artworks about causes are created to warn audiences.

Pause here and decide, is this true or false? Well done if you selected False.

There are many reasons why artists make artworks about causes including to bring joy, to celebrate, and to inspire change.

Handspring Puppet Company used a puppet to communicate their cause.

The 3.

5-meters-tall puppet is of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee called Little Amal.

It has traveled to 166 towns and cities in 17 countries to raise awareness of the huge number of children escaping war and violence.

It highlights that each refugee has their own unique story and should not be forgotten.

I've seen this puppet, Little Amal, in London, and it was a really powerful experience, and joyful and connecting as well.

Dr.

Zigs manufacture eco-friendly and ethical giant bubble toys.

The idea was developed by Paola and her husband Danny, inspired by their son's love of bubbles.

Who doesn't love bubbles? They run the campaign Bubbles Not Bombs.

The cause helps children living in difficult situations, such as refugee camps.

They send bottles of bubbles to bring joy and fun to children's lives.

Love this idea.

Arahmaiani Feisal is an artist who uses joyful colors to engage the viewer in her works about social causes.

In her work "I Love You, Small," 2010, she uses playful and colorful, cushion-like forms to create the Arabic alphabet.

The use of bright colors and soft forms was used to celebrate the joy of the Arabic language and culture.

Aisha is discussing the cause behind her artwork and the reason she chose to create it.

"My cause is related to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNCRC, and a child's right to relax and play.

I wanted to celebrate play and inspire more children to do this." Absolutely, play is essential.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to choose a cause to make a piece of art about.

Explain, a, what the cause is, and b, why it's important to you.

And you might choose a local cause related to the information below.

So it could be social, equality in children's rights, poverty and homelessness.

It could be environmental, climate change, recycling and sustainability.

It could be political, equal rights for all, challenging and changing laws.

Or cultural, celebrating different cultures, identity and representation of different heritages.

So pause here while you choose a cause and explain to someone why it's important to you.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task, choosing a cause? There are lots of possible outcomes, but you may have researched a few causes before deciding, and you might have said something like this.

Here's Andeep: "I've chosen to focus on the cause of climate change as it's something that affects us all." And why is it important to you? "It's important to me as we urgently need to address the problem and make changes.

I want to provide practical solutions to how we can make changes." And now for the next part of your task, I would like you to discuss the reasons why you're going to create your artwork about this cause.

Some possible reasons: to challenge authority, to express personal beliefs, to provoke discussion, to warn, to give a voice to the voiceless, to inspire change, to raise awareness.

Pause here while you have a go at this part of your task.

Good to be back with you.

You might have said something like this.

Here's Andeep: "The reason I will create my artwork is to raise awareness in my immediate community and inspire change.

I think I will focus on saving energy as this is something that we can all help with." And now onto our next learning cycle, slogans that communicate change.

How can artists communicate their message about a cause? Pause here and share with someone what do you think.

Here's Alex: "I think they can communicate through color and form." Izzy: "I think they can communicate through their choice of subject matter." What do you think? What do you think of these ideas? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

One way artists can communicate in their message is through a slogan.

A slogan is a short and catchy phrase that can promote an idea, message, or product.

They're easy to remember and make people think or feel something.

We can see the slogan there is, "Goodbye computers." Both of these texts are about anti-bullying.

Which one is a slogan and why? So we've got "Build bridges, not barriers," and "We should try to get along with others instead of being mean or excluding people as it is unfair to them." Pause here while you decide which one is the slogan.

Well done if you selected "Build bridges, not barriers." Here's Andeep: "'Build bridges, not barriers' is a slogan as it's short and catchy and repeats the use of the letter b which makes it memorable." Let's have a check for understanding.

What should a slogan be? a, detailed; b, long; c, catchy; or d, descriptive.

Pause here while you decide what should a slogan be.

Well done if you selected answer c.

A slogan should be catchy.

Lakwena Maciver is a British artist known for her bold, colorful artwork that spreads joyful and powerful messages.

"Nothing Can Separate Us," 2020, is one of her most well-known works.

It uses bright colors, bold patterns, and this powerful slogan to spread joy and positivity and bring people together.

I'm here for it.

Bob and Roberta Smith is a British artist known for his bright, bold, and powerful text-based artworks about art-related causes.

His paintings feature slogans in brightly colored lettering.

In his playful work "Draw Hope," 2022, he uses wordplay with two meanings of draw, a discipline in art and the verb to pull something in.

This communicates his message that art is important and gives people hope.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? Lakwena Maciver and Bob and Roberta Smith both use colorful slogans to communicate their messages.

Pause here and decide, is this is true or false? Well done if you selected True.

Maciver's "Nothing Can Separate Us," 2020, uses bright colors and bold patterns, and Smith's "Draw Hope," 2022, uses brightly colored lettering.

To write a slogan, an artist can think of important words associated with the cause.

Here's Aisha: "The important words that I thought of related to my cause of every child having the right to play were right, play, happiness, joy, and bright." Here's Andeep: "My cause is climate change, but I'm focusing on how to save energy.

My keywords are light, off, switch, turn, save, and energy." To write a slogan, an artist can use rhyme, repeated letters, or a play on words.

Here's Aisha: "I chose right and bright as they rhyme.

I wanted to include the word play as that is the main point of my message.

I added shine as it sounds positive and rhymes.

Play is a right, so we should shine bright." To write a slogan, an artist can use between four and seven words, use punctuation rather than conjunctions.

"I removed some words and the conjunction to make it shorter and catchier, Play is a right, shine bright." Yeah, I think that's working.

And here's Andeep: "I removed some of the keywords from my list and decided on a simple, memorable command.

It's almost like a protest chant.

Turn the lights off!" Absolutely! Let's save energy.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of these is an effective slogan for respecting others? a, "Respect is something people should do and share with others," b, "Respect starts with you, pass it through," c, "I think respect is important.

Let's show it to one another." Pause here while you decide which is an effective slogan for respecting others.

Well done if you went for answer b.

Indeed, "Respect starts with you, pass it through" is pretty effective as a slogan.

And now it's time for your next task.

Write a slogan that communicates your cause effectively.

You could think of important words associated to your cause, use rhyme, repeated letters, or a play on words, use between four and seven words, use punctuation rather than conjunctions.

So pause here while you have a go at this task.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task? You may have tried a few ideas before deciding on one, and there are many possible outcomes, but you might have something like this.

We've got "Respect starts with you, pass it through," "Build bridges, not barriers," "Play is a right, shine bright!" Great slogans.

And now we're on to our final learning cycle, styles that impact the viewer.

Can a style of text impact the viewer? What do you think? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear some responses.

"Yes, if the text was really small, they wouldn't be able to read it." "If I see colorful text, I think of positive things, so I think it can." What do you think? Do you agree with these ideas? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

The style of text is important in effective communication of a slogan.

Which of these has more impact and why? Pause here and share with someone.

I wonder if you selected the text on the right.

This style of text is called block lettering.

Block lettering is a style of text where each letter is written separately and clearly using the capital letters of the alphabet.

It's often used for headings, signs, slogans, and posters and can have great impact on the viewer as it's clear and easy to read.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Complete the sentence: The style of text where each letter is written separately and clearly using the capital letters of the alphabet is called.

Pause here and complete the sentence.

It's called block lettering.

Well done if you completed the sentence in this way with these words.

To draw block lettering, artists can use a ruler and pencil to draw parallel guidelines, approximately the height that they want the letters, and then draw the word using separated, capitalized letters.

Draw another line for each letter, parallel from the original line, and join the ends of each letter with a straight line.

Artists rub out any internal lines within the letters for the final stage of creating block lettering.

Aisha has used a ruler to ensure that the spacing and size of her block lettering is consistent.

She then transfers the text.

Artists think carefully about the surfaces used in their artworks.

Our choices of color, tone, and texture all impact the viewer.

Here's Aisha: "I prepared a ground for my artwork by using washes of warm colors.

I wanted the background to feel positive like the sun.

I kept the washes light so that the lettering will stand out." Consideration of the principles of art, balance, and contrast can help to bring emphasis to your slogan.

"I used a bold green outline and different tones of green to contrast with the soft background.

I hope that it reminds the viewer of grass and outdoor play." It's a really nice association.

How successfully has Andeep used balance and contrast to bring emphasis to his slogan? Pause here and share with someone what do you think.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's Laura: "The warm, limited color palette suggests energy and heat and reminds me of global warming.

I think the darker red at the bottom needs to contrast more with the word off.

Perhaps white text could be used here instead." Let's have a check for understanding.

Which letter A is an example of block lettering? Is it the A above the a, b, or C? Pause here while you decide.

Well done if you selected answer c.

Indeed, this is an example of block lettering.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to create an artwork that influences change and includes a slogan in block lettering.

First of all, have a go at drawing a slogan using block lettering.

Pause here, and I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with drawing your slogan using block lettering? You may have drawn something like this.

Here's Aisha: "I drew my block lettering onto plain paper using a pencil and ruler to ensure that it was straight and that the text was aligned.

I then rubbed out all of the pencil guidelines." For the next part of your task, I would like you to create a ground or select the surface that you will later transfer your slogan to.

You should consider the choice of materials and whether your slogan will be able to stand out, consider how the color, texture, and tone can support your message.

Transfer your slogan to a dry prepared ground or surface.

Pause here while you have a go at this part of your task.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that part of your task? Here's Aisha: "I created a warm toned background which would feel positive like the sun.

I then transferred the outline of the text to the painted ground once it had dried." Next, I would like you to add color and pattern to communicate your message and inspire change.

Pause here while you have a go at this final part of your task.

It's good to be back with you.

This is what Aisha has come up with.

Let's hear from her.

"I used a bright green to stand out from the softer background.

It reminds me of grass and being active outside which supports the message." It's all coming together.

"I also edited my work digitally and made the background dark.

Bright, swirling patterns in the letters have impact and seem fun, but it isn't as effective at communicating the message." Thanks for having a go at this task.

In our lesson "Art Can Change the World: Text-Based Art," we've covered the following: Artists can influence change through creating artworks about causes they feel passionate about.

They can use slogans as a powerful way to communicate their messages.

Block lettering is a style of text that can have great impact on the viewer as it is clear and easy to read.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson.

I feel it is so important that we use art to change the world, and why not use text-based art? Really get our message out there with some catchy, powerful slogans.

I really enjoyed teaching you, and I hope you've enjoyed this lesson too.

Look out for slogans, stay powerful, and I'll see you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative!.