Lesson video

Hello and welcome to our art lesson today.

My name is Ms. Holland, and I think I've probably met some of you before, but if I haven't, it's lovely to meet you.

So let's get started with our lesson for today.

Today we're gonna be exploring abstract art, and this is as part of our unit, Abstract art: drawing, printing, and textiles.

By the end of today's lesson, you will have explored and responded to, as well as created your very own piece of abstract art.

Our keywords are abstract art, and abstract art is art that does not try to represent something realistically.

And we'll look at this in far more detail.

A response in art is a personal interpretation or reaction to an event, image or idea.

And an emotion is a strong feeling like happiness, anger, or sadness that comes from what we experience or what we think.

Our lesson is in two halves.

In the first half, we're gonna be exploring this question, what is abstract art? And then in the second we're gonna be taking that learning and we're gonna respond in an abstract style.

So are we ready? Let's get started.

What is abstract art? Which of these artworks can be described as abstract, do you think? Which one of these? What do you think? Yes, it's this one.

Abstract art does not try to show things as they look in real life.

Instead, it focuses on expressing the emotions, the ideal or the movement in the subject.

And artists may communicate and express themselves through: how they use colour.

The shapes and lines composed within the artwork.

And here you can see the lines are very gestural.

And showing movement by creating expressive, quick marks.

Abstract art can be inspired by so many different things.

It could be music, emotions, or nature, but the artist changes the source of the inspiration into something new.

So they don't try to realistically copy, but they want to change it into something new.

And the focus is on how the artwork makes you feel, not what it represents.

So it's not about being a realistic representation of a cake, it's about expressing what that cake means to the person.

True or false? Abstract art copies exactly what something looks like.

True or false? Correct.

That's false.

Representational art often looks like the thing it is representing, but abstract art doesn't.

And it's because abstract art is art that does not try to represent something realistically.

It instead focuses on emotions, shapes, and movements.

In abstract art, colours, shapes and line are used in expressive ways to convey emotions and ideas and compositions without representing real-world objects.

In this artwork here, we can't easily identify any real-world objects, but by using colours, shapes, and line in these ways, abstract artists create pieces that invite us to interpret and feel, rather than recognise specific objects.

So how does this artwork make you feel? Does it remind you of anything? Have a think.

It makes me feel really joyful, I think because of the colours.

And I think because it links to a memory of me being by the seaside at sunset.

And the blues and the reds really evoke this in me.

So it makes me feel joyful.

And it reminds me of memories from when I was younger.

Aisha and Alex are discussing what they know about abstract art.

Aisha says, "Abstract art is art that does not try to represent something realistically." And Alex says, "I remember, I remember learning about abstract art and looking at some examples.

The paintings had lots of shapes and colours in them." Have you ever looked at abstract art before? What can you remember? Which of these paintings is an abstract artwork? So have a really close look.

Take your time and look.

Which one is abstract compared to representation? Well done.

There are two, A and B.

C represents a seaside cliff and a beach.

But A and B are abstract art as they don't try to show things as they look in real life, but focuses on expressing emotions, ideas, or movement.

Aisha and Lucas are talking about abstract art, Aisha's saying, "But what is abstract art?" Lucas says, "Imagine you are looking at a painting, but instead of seeing a clear picture of a person, animal, landscape, or object, you see shapes and colours and lines that don't look like anything specific.

That's abstract art." So Aisha says, "So if the objects aren't recognisable, isn't it easy to create abstract art?" What do you think? Do you think it'd be easy? Is it about being easy or difficult? Abstract art doesn't try to show things as they look in real life, but tries to express emotions, ideas, or movement.

And that really is not very easy.

There are many artists who work in an abstract way, and we are just gonna have a look at a few now.

So firstly, we have Howardena Pindell and her work "Untitled #1A" from 2011.

We've got Park Seo-Bo, "Ecriture no.

160523" from 2016.

We have Hilma af Klint, "Group IX/SUW, The Swan, no 17," 1915.

We have Liu Wei, "Invisible Cities, MoCa, Cleveland," 2020.

And we have Sir Frank Bowling, "Rachel IV," 1989.

So you can see that there's a wide range of abstract artists covering recent history.

Hilma af Klint's work was from 1915.

Liu Wei's work is 2020.

Sofia is looking at the abstract artwork by Howardena Pindell.

And here is an artwork inspired by Pindell.

And Sofia is describing it and she's saying, "There are a million tiny dots and pieces everywhere.

It's like confetti sprinkled all over the paper.

And I love the colours.

They make me feel happy.

And also a little like I'm in a dream.

Some of them look like puzzles and I want to reach out and touch them." That's her response to Pindell's work.

And Lucas is looking at the abstract artwork by Park Seo-Bo.

He's saying, "This looks like sleeping, quiet colours.

It's all scratchy and bumpy, like someone was drawing with their fingers in the sand.

It makes me feel calm and thoughtful.

My brain goes, shh when I look at it.

I think Park Seo-Bo was maybe making art that whispers instead of shouts." Isn't that lovely? Making an artwork that whispers instead of shouts.

Beautiful description.

This takes us to our first task.

So I would like you to choose an abstract artwork, and I'd like you to discuss which emotion or feeling the art represents to you and why.

You might want to discuss: colours.

And here is a sentence starter: "The colours make me feel.

because.

." So really using explanation.

Or shape.

"I can see shapes that.

." Describe the shapes.

And how does that make you feel? You could do both, but really explain it and give your reasoning.

You could do movement.

"The movement in the artwork is.

." And here are some words that may support your answers: Contentment, fear, happiness, sadness, excitement and anger.

Pause the video.

Well, there are all sorts of things that you may have said.

So let's just see what you could have said.

So Aisha says, "The colours make me feel sad." So she's explained the colours, "because," and she's now gonna reason it, "they are shadowy and cool." Andeep says, "I can see shapes." So he's focused on shapes and describing the shapes that curve and wobble and how that makes him feel.

"It makes the artwork feel exciting." And Jacob says, "The movement in the artwork," so he's focused on the movement, "is shown through overlapping lines and textures." Well done.

I wonder what you said.

Now's a good time to share it with a partner if you're in class.

And there is no right or wrong answer when looking at abstract art.

It's about different interpretations, different perspectives, how it makes you feel.

So we've explored what abstract art is, and now we are going to think about how we can respond to something in an abstract style.

So here is an example of an abstract artwork.

What image do you think inspired this artwork? So this artist has responded to something.

What image do you think the artist has responded to? Remember, there is no right or wrong.

I'm gonna show you what image the artist responded to.

So the artist was inspired by this image of nature and some beautiful, beautiful flowers.

And if we look really carefully at them, we can see all the different textures and shapes held within them.

They then interpreted this in an abstract response.

Have a look at both.

What aspects can you see? I can see some of the texture coming through, some of the beautiful colour and a sense of movement.

Some artists may not directly paint nature at all, but instead express how it makes them feel.

So rather than interpreting this, they might just take what it makes them feel and express that.

They may use abstract marks, textures, or patterns to express their response.

So you might take colours from an image and rearrange them in your own way.

So that's this red is from that beautiful red in the flower.

And you can use expressive marks to create movement.

So these marks make you feel like maybe the flower's moving in the wind.

And you can take shapes from the image and change them slightly.

And there's lots of different shapes from that image of, of the flower.

You can see here the spikiness, the round circles.

A check for understanding.

How might abstract artists express their response to a subject or an image? Is it A: by copying realistic images only, B: by using colours, textures, or shapes, or C: by avoiding emotion in their work? So by not including emotion in their work.

Well done.

I think you probably all got this one.

Yes.

It's by using colours, textures, or shapes.

An abstract artist may express how a subject or image makes them feel using colours, textures, or shapes.

So not even express their interpretation of a subject or image, but actually how it makes them feel.

Some artists or inspiration from personal memories or life experiences using abstract forms and colours and textures, to express their feelings tied to those moments.

So although the artwork may not de depict specific scenes or people, the emotions and ideas behind it can tell a deeply personal story.

So through responding in an abstract style, the artist invites viewers to connect with the piece on an emotional level, even if they don't know the exact experience it represents.

So a great memory for me is walking in the forest with my grandparents when I was younger and seeing the dappled light fall through the trees.

Now I could express my emotional response to that memory using abstracted forms and colours, and that would help connect that with the viewer and help them connect on an emotional level, even if they've never experienced walking through a forest and dappled light for themselves.

Gillian Ayres is an abstract artist who responds to her surroundings, so the environment around her, and her personal experiences.

So for example, nature.

Living in the Llyn Peninsula in Wales from 1981 to 1987 Ayres reflected the beauty of nature in her work.

She also responds to mythology and opera.

So many of Ayres' paintings took titles from Greek myths and the world of opera with their drama and passion and strength.

And then also they respond to her personal philosophy.

So Ayres emphasised the importance of colour in art, viewing it as a means to bring joy.

So she wanted to evoke a sense of beauty and emotional resonance within her painting.

Other artists respond to events or memories in their work.

So Howardena Pindell uses repeated circles in her artwork, using thousands of small, punched-out paper circles to create rich and textured abstract artworks.

Her works often feature vibrant, swirling patterns of dots, creating a sense of movement and depth.

Aisha and Lucas are discussing how artists respond to ideas and images, rather than just copy exactly.

And Aisha says, "Gillian Ayres makes a strong sense of joy part of her work.

By using gestural marks and strong colour, she invites the viewer to feel joy too." She wants the viewer to feel that joy too.

And Lucas says, "Howardena Pindell uses her personal memories with the symbol of circles.

So by repeating the shape thousands and thousands of times, she tries to regain a sense of healing and control in her work." True or false? Abstract artists like Ayres and Pindell copy images exactly as they are.

True or false? Well done.

It's false.

Why? Why is that false? Perhaps just take one of those artists as an example to explain your answer.

Well done.

Abstract artists like Ayres and Pindell do not just copy something that they see.

They might respond to an idea or image or a memory or want to express a personal philosophy.

We are gonna meet Lucas now and he's gonna start his journey on creating an abstract response.

So when making an artwork, you might choose to respond to an image, memory, or idea in an abstract style.

And here we have Lucas.

So Lucas says, "Sunflower seeds are always something we snack on at home.

They remind me of sitting with my brother and sisters to see who could eat the most." So Lucas has chosen an object that is linked very tightly to a loving memory.

He says he also chose the image of these sunflower seeds "as I like the shape and the monotone lines." So you might also choose an image or idea for the colours, shapes, and textures and patterns that you see.

They might interest you, and sunflower seeds interest Lucas visually.

And you could start by using some of the shapes that you see in your image or memory.

So Lucas has said, "I will use a dark, strong outline to reflect the monotone, but change some of the sizes of the seeds to create variety." So he's started drawing this out.

And then you might use some of the patterns that you see in your image.

Lucas says, "I love the thick and thin lines I can see in the seeds," so that variation, "and I'm gonna add these to my artwork using a pen, but I want to experiment with different directions of lines." So he's not trying to copy and replicate the sunflower seeds.

He's taken that element of them, the lines.

And he wants to experiment with them and express ideas and emotions.

And you can see here he's doing that.

He's experimenting with the different lines, different thicknesses and different directions.

And you could also add a different material to add colour to your artwork.

So here Lucas has said, "I really love the vivid colours of ink against the dark lines." So he's started to add those.

And these colours might be linked to the emotion that you feel as well.

You might choose colours that link to joy if you're trying to express that.

And you can use colours you like as well as colours that you might recall from your memory.

So here we go.

Lucas has used those colours that he likes.

And you might then add some texture to your artwork.

So Lucas has then added some white dots and lines with a thick, white paint to create contrast.

So you want to create contrast.

So, knowing what Lucas has done, we are now gonna follow this journey, and you are going to use an abstract style to respond to an image or a memory.

And we're gonna go through the same process that Lucas has just been through.

So think about a memory or an image that means something to you.

So Lucas has used the sunflower seeds.

I would use that walk with my grandparents in the forest and I would use the leaves as my image associated to that.

And then I'm gonna start by exploring some of the shapes.

So for me, I'd draw very abstracted shapes of leaves, overlaying each other.

And then you might want to use some of the patterns that you can see in your image or memory.

And I would want to include some patterns of the light, some patterns of the bark on the trees.

And then you can use a different colour to add colour to your artwork.

And remember, it doesn't have to be a realistic colour.

It can be associated to the emotion you feel or a colour you like.

And again, I would focus on that lovely yellow, the dappled light, but a lot of red as well.

'cause that means joy to me.

And then you might want to add some texture to your artwork to create visual interest.

And I would even consider adding some soil to my artwork to both add texture and reference the soil in the forest.

Pause the video and create your response.

I really wish I could see all of your wonderful artworks.

Perhaps if you hold them up now, I can see.

I bet you did brilliantly.

So there are so many different versions that you may have done depending on your memory or the image you chose, the shapes, the patterns, the textures, the colours.

But here again, it is Lucas's choice.

And we can see again, the colours, the shapes, and how he's built that up over time.

So we can see shapes from his memory, and more than just one material, colours from his imagination and lots of lines and patterns.

Take a moment to reflect upon yours and really think what it means to you.

Well thank you for joining me today in this lesson, Exploring abstract art.

We've covered a lot.

So we've learned what abstract art is and that it expresses emotions, ideas, or movement rather than depicting how things look in real life, rather than being representational.

We've learned that abstract artists might respond to a memory, personal experience, or an image they see.

And we've looked at several artists who do this.

And we've also learned that abstract artworks might use colours, shapes, textures, and patterns to express emotions.

Thank you again, and I hope to see you very soon.