Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about new pop art through sculpture and mixed media.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking and exploring together in this lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to analyse the work of a pop artist in detail and explain how their ideas and techniques might inspire your own artwork.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some key keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are analyse, technique, media, subject matter and interpretation.

I'm going to say those words again, and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Analyse, technique, media, subject matter, interpretation.

Good job, now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

To analyse means to look closely at how something is made and what it means.

A technique is a method or skill used by an artist to create their work.

Media refers to the materials or tools used to make art.

For example, paint, collage or digital.

Subject matter is the main focus or theme of an artwork.

For example, people, objects or culture and interpretation is what we think a piece of art is saying or showing.

Pause the video here to make a note of these key words, and when you are ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, analysing pop art and responding to pop art.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to take a look at analysing pop art.

How might studying the works of an artist develop our understanding and inspiration? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? How might studying an artist develop our understanding and inspiration? Well, an artist study means going beyond what we see.

To analyse an artwork means to look closely at how it is made and consider what it means.

We explore the artist's techniques, materials, subjects and ideas so we can understand how and why they make their work.

We can see some artworks here on a gallery wall.

We can take a close look at those to analyse them.

Pop art is a modern art movement that uses imagery from popular culture, advertising celebrities and comics.

Pop artists were inspired by the world around them with TV, fame, shopping and technology.

You can see in this pop artwork of a chimp here wearing clothes, how the pop-out style has been applied.

Analysing the works of pop artists helps us think about how we could use different media, techniques and materials in our own art.

Artists studies help us learn from the past what inspired artists before us and how we can make meaningful artwork today.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What does it mean to analyse an artwork? To copy it carefully, to guess the artist's name, to look closely at how it's made and what it means, to colour it in using the same palette as the artist.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that to analyse an artwork means to look closely at how it's made and what it means, then you are absolutely right.

Well done.

What do you notice about this example of pop art? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What do you think, what did you notice? Did you notice something about the colours or the shapes, or did you recognise anything in particular? Well, when analysing the works of pop artists, you often find repetition.

Repetition was used by pop artists of the 1950s and 1960s to reflect the rise of consumerism, mass production and advertising.

While pop artists often use repetition, not all pop art is the same, and each artist had their own message to share.

When analysing an artwork, try to identify its main idea or theme, this is this artist's subject matter.

Take a look here at these two people holding circles of matching colours.

This artwork is quite different to the one we've just seen.

Pop artists might use the same subject matter or theme for their art, but they could also approach it in different ways.

For instance, some pop artists celebrated fame while others questioned it.

Some explored consumerism and mass media while others made emotional or political statements.

When analysing an artwork, think about what the artist might be trying to say by their choice of subject matter.

What theme or idea do you think this artwork here is communicating? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, Andeep says, "This balloon dog sculpture makes me think of playfulness and childhood magic." What we think a piece of art is saying or showing is known as our interpretation.

So maybe you thought something similar to Andeep, or maybe you thought something completely different.

That's your interpretation.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Why did many pop artists use repetition in their work to reflect mass production and advertising? To confuse the viewer, they were running out of ideas, because it was quicker to finish.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner about the answer to this question and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that many pop artists use repetition in their work to reflect mass production and advertising, you're absolutely right, well done.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to analyse the work of a chosen pop artist, answer the following questions in your analysis, what media materials and techniques were used? What is the subject matter? What do you think the artist is saying and what stands out to you and why? So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at analysing the work of your chosen pop artist, answering these questions and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Shall we take a look at an example? Well, maybe like Laura, you analysed the work of pop artist Yayoi Kusama.

She uses many repeating dots and circles in a variety of media, which can be 3D sculptures or colourful paintings.

By using repetition so much, it makes Laura think of infinity and how dedicated Yayoi is to spending so long making each artwork.

So well done for having a go at analysing the work of your chosen pop artist.

We're now ready to move into the second part of our lesson where we're going to be responding to pop art.

Great artists study and learn from others.

By looking closely at how artists work, we can respond to their ideas and use them as a source of our own inspiration.

A pop artist's use of colour or repetition can become tools in your own artwork.

There are many great pop artists you might choose to study and analyse.

Brian Donnelly, also known as KAWS, is an American contemporary street artist inspired by pop art.

He reuses cartoon style figures with bold outlines and repeated forms. His work shows how pop art ideas are still relevant, making branding, social media and fame the subject matter.

Can see an example of a character sculpture here that's similar to those ideas used by KAWS.

Camille Walala is a French artist known for her life-size murals and installations.

She uses geometric shapes, bold colours and 3D sculptures to create interactive pop inspired spaces.

I see some examples here of some colourful geometric squares.

They're the types of things that Camille includes in her artwork.

Now, how is this example of pop art being created? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, pop art is a movement not limited to one form of media or technique, using mixed media techniques that combine painting, collage and printing is a common feature of pop art.

Notice how using different types of media can alter the meaning of an artwork and our interpretation of it.

So this example here is a mixed media collage.

You can see that there are some elements of magazines and newspapers cut up and collaged in there.

Some paint has been used and this creates that mixed media artwork.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which of these materials would most likely be used in a mixed media pop art piece? Clay, only charcoal on paper, just watercolour paints, paint, collage and printing.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that the materials that are likely to be used are paint, collage and printing, you're absolutely right, well done.

Artists studies help us to learn from the styles and ideas of other artists to inspire our own art.

To incorporate the influence of another artist into our own artwork, you might consider the choice of subject matter, media by painting, collage, sculpture or digital and even techniques, repetition, colour, outlining and patterns.

Pop artists choose subject matters that are familiar in the world.

You can choose things from popular culture that you are interested in too.

Discuss with a partner what you might choose as a subject matter for your artwork.

It could be anything.

Taking a look at this melting ice lolly sculpture here.

So pause the video to have this discussion And press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you decide? What subject matter Would you choose for your artwork? Perhaps it's something that you use all the time or something that you see all of the time.

Sam said, I could use gaming culture, characters and symbols as my subject matter.

Jacob says, social media is a big part of popular culture today.

I'll use this for my pop art, and Alex says, fast food and consumerism are great starting points for pop art.

So maybe you came up with a similar idea to Sam, Jacob or Alex, or maybe it was something a little bit different.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is the purpose of doing an artist study? To memorise dates and names, to recreate their exact artwork, to critique their mistakes or to learn from their style and ideas to inspire your own art.

Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your partner about the answer to this question and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that you think the purpose of doing an artist study is to learn from their style and ideas to inspire your own artwork, you're absolutely right, well done.

This now brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to sketch a plan for a pop art style piece inspired by the artist you analysed in the task A.

You should include your chosen subject matter, the pop art techniques like repetition or bold colour and notes about the media and materials you might use.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at sketching out a plan and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to include your chosen subject matter and the techniques that you may use? Well, let's take a look at an example.

Here Laura has created a sketch plan for her pop art style piece inspired by an artist.

Laura says, "I sketched a plan for a pop piece inspired by Yayoi Kusama.

I used a famous face as the starting point covered in repeating dots.

I could make this as a digital artwork, a painting or as a 3D sculpture.

So well done for having a go at creating a sketch plan for a pop art style piece inspired by the artist that you chose and analysed.

Before we finished this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about pop art by taking a look at an artist's study.

Pop artists use style and repetition for a purpose.

The message is as important as the visual impact.

Analysing an artwork involves looking at media, technique and subject matter to develop our interpretation of it, and understanding an artist's work helps us plan meaningful artworks of our own.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one, see you next time.