Lesson video

Hello, everybody.

How are you today?

I hope you're feeling really good.

My name is Miss Afsal and I'll be your teacher for this lesson.

I'm excited about that.

Because today, we are looking at a really interesting topic, which is the family.

So, we might have all kinds of different experiences of family and we're gonna be exploring the family in art.

That's the name of our lesson.

And it comes from the unit of work, connections, home, space and family.

So, we will be getting into this.

We'll be thinking a little bit about family.

We'll be expressing that through our art.

And I think it's gonna be an interesting lesson.

So, if you're ready with some focus, enthusiasm and later on, you'll need some art materials, then, we'll begin.

The outcome for today's lesson, is I can create an artwork to represent family connections.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

Family, connection and represent.

So, what do these words mean?

Well, family means the people who care for us, support us and help us feel safe, whether related by blood, by choice or by circumstance.

Connection, a relationship in which a person is linked or associated with someone or something.

And represent, to serve as a sign or symbol of something.

So, these are our keywords, family, connection and represent.

Let's look out for them, let's listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Today's lesson is called the family in art and it consists of two learning cycles, exploring what family means and create a family portrait to express connection.

I am looking forward to that part in particular.

Let's begin with exploring what family means.

So, let's start with this question.

What is family?

Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Family can mean so many things.

Let's find out some more.

A family is a group of people, who care for, support and look out for one another.

Some families are connected by blood, others by choice.

I wonder if you came up with ideas similar to these.

And what does a family look like?

Well, there's no single way a family should look, live or feel.

You might live with grandparents, foster carers, two moms, one dad, a mom and dad, one mom, siblings or friends who feel like family.

Families come in many forms.

Why does family matter?

Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing your responses.

What matters is not how a family appears from the outside, but the connection, support and memories shared within.

A family might include parents or carers, foster parents or guardians, siblings or step-siblings, close friends or chosen family, pets, really important part of some families.

There are many artists who make traditional artwork inspired by family life to use within their art practice, including Joy Labinjo, who makes colorful, large-scale paintings, often depicting family life.

Édouard Vuillard is known for his portraits and domestic interiors, often featuring his mother and close relations.

Elsa Beskow, whose illustrations reflect traditional family roles and Swedish domestic values.

And Kim Ki-Chang illustrates Korean family moments with elegance and cultural detail.

So, we can see there are many artists, who are inspired by families and family life within their art practice.

Pause the video here.

Do you know of any other artists, who have been inspired by family life within their art practice?

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following best describes what makes a family, is it A, people related by blood only, B, a group that supports, cares for and loves one another, or C, a group consisting of two parents and children?

Pause the video while you decide which of these best describes what makes a family.

Well done if you selected answer B.

Indeed, a group that supports, cares for and loves one another is a family.

Family relationships are the connections between people in a family.

These connections can be close, loving and supportive.

Aisha and Jacob are discussing their family connections.

"I'm particularly close to my grandmother.

We spend a lot of time with each other.

" Jacob, "I have a great connection with my uncle, who takes me to the cinema as we like the same kind of films.

" Family connections can also be difficult for many reasons, including different opinions, misunderstandings, stress, expectations or past hurt.

So, really recognizing if any of this is the case for you as well and just noticing that that might feel a little tender just now, thinking about that.

Laura and Izzy are discussing their family connections.

"Do you have a good connection with your family, Izzy?

I fall out with my sister a lot, but we soon make up.

" Izzy, "Overall, yes, but I sometimes think my parents don't understand me, which causes arguments.

We do love each other and I know this is normal behavior for families.

" Absolutely, all families have their ups and downs.

It's only natural in close relationships.

Families often feel more connected by spending quality time together.

This may come in many forms, including through shared activities or interests, having fun together.

Other ways of building connection, might be through eating together, talking and listening to each other.

Pause video here and share what are some ways that you have of building connection in relationships, any shared activities that you enjoy.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I like spending time in nature, find out a way, a really beautiful way of building connection.

And not that long ago, took a trip to a lovely gardens called Kew Gardens with my mother, which is a really beautiful time and felt like very connecting and will remain a special memory.

Some artists make non-traditional, or symbolic family portraits including Suchitra Mattai, whose photography and mixed media works use symbolism to explore complex family dynamics, e.

g.

The Unveiling, 2023.

Nermine Hammam, who reimagines the scenes of Egyptian beachgoers by integrating elements from her family's photographic archive seen in her artwork, named Escaton.

And Jean Dubuffet used raw, childlike shapes and textures to explore themes of family, society and human nature.

We can see there are many artists making non-traditional, or symbolic family portraits.

Let's have a check for understanding, true or false.

We may have mixed or complicated feelings about family.

Pause the video and decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected true.

And now, I'd like you to say a little more about your answer.

Pause the video while you do this.

Perhaps, you said something like this.

Family relationships can be loving, challenging or both and that's normal.

And now, it's time for your first task.

I would like you to make a mind map, listing family members and their roles in your life.

Present in a format of your choice.

So, include a selection of family members, this might include pets, their roles in your life, the things that make you feel connected.

So, pause here while you have a go at this task, creating a mind map, listing your family members and their roles in your life.

I'll see you when you're finished.

So, how did you get on with that task, making a mind map, listing family members and their roles in your life?

It might have looked like this.

There's you and here we have mum, supportive and loving, sister, fun, friendship, brother, protective, trust, my dog, so important, cuddles, walks, companion and granddad, inspirational and wise, or it might have looked like this.

There's you in the center and foster mom, caring, positivity, stability, foster dad, role model, supportive, cat, moody, friends, fun, laughter, skateboarding and cousin, friendship, cinema, eating out.

Thanks for creating your mind maps.

And now, we're onto our next learning cycle, create a family portrait to express connection.

Hmm, take a look at this portrait.

What emotion does this image evoke?

Pause the video and chat with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

It's so captivating.

For me, I feel there's a lot going on here.

And now, I'm going in different directions for strength, determination, also sadness, grief.

I wonder what you came up with.

Color is often used to express feelings and emotions.

Do you think the color evokes an emotion within this portrait?

Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I wonder what emotion you felt.

For me, I felt there was something along the lines of sadness.

A multicolored figure could represent a range of emotions.

The artist might be showing that the person cannot be defined by one label or emotion.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Why might an artist choose to use unrealistic colors in a portrait, so, A, to save paint, B, because they can't mix skin tones, C, to express emotions or ideas?

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected answer C.

Indeed, an artist might choose to use unrealistic colors in a portrait to express emotions or ideas.

Portraits do not have to look realistic.

Using color can represent emotions, roles or connections between people in creative ways.

Pause the video and share with someone.

What do you think this artist is representing through the colors in this artwork?

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

To me, this green gives a sense of calmness and connection and stability.

Color is used by artists to communicate visually.

Different colors have different associations.

These associations are generic and may vary in different cultures.

Red could represent moody, energetic, tension, orange, fun, friendship, yellow, happiness, positivity, cheerfulness, green, supportive, relaxed, blue, trust, protective, calmness and purple, inspiration and wise.

Pause the video and share with someone.

Is there a color here that you are particularly drawn to and why?

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I'm definitely more in the greeny blue range and find those colors very helpful and calming, though, of course, love a dash of purple too.

In portrait or figure-based art, artists might use abstract or simple shapes to represent someone.

Many artists portray families without needing detailed realism as we can see in this artwork.

Overlapping or interconnected silhouettes carry rich meaning in art, especially when representing families or connections.

These could represent how personal identities blend in close relationships, how individuals in families, or communities are deeply connected, a sense of sheltering, for example, one figure holding or overlapping another, symbolizing care and safety within a family.

Many artists create portraits using flat shapes, silhouettes and bold outlines, including Julian Opie, who uses simple lines and flat colors to portray people who still look recognizable.

Chitra Ganesh uses comics, mythology and bright imagery to explore gender, memory and family narrative.

Olafur Eliasson uses bodies and light to create overlapping silhouettes.

Let's have a check for understanding, true or false.

Portraits have to be realistic in order to represent someone.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

And now, I'd like you to say a little more about your answer.

Pause the video while you do this.

Perhaps, you said something like this.

"A portrait is any artistic representation of a person and it can show more than just how someone looks.

Artists often use abstract shapes, colors, symbols or mixed media.

" For the next part of the lesson, you'll need A3 or A4 paper, acrylic or ready-mixed paint, piece of cardboard or a plastic card for scraping paint and oil pastels.

So, pause here while you gather what you'll need for the next part of the lesson.

There are many ways that you could create a mixed media family portrait.

You could create a background, considering surface qualities and texture, use lines to create simple silhouette forms and then transfer the figures to the background.

Apply color to the silhouette forms using oil pastels.

Consider how the use of color reflects the connections.

Consider changing colors in the overlapping sections, perhaps, giving us some insight into the connection or the relationship.

Lucas and Sofia are discussing ideas for their family portraits.

Lucas, "I'm looking forward to making a family portrait with overlapping silhouettes.

I'll change the colors in the overlapping sections.

" Great idea.

And Sofia, "Good idea, Lucas, it seems like you have been really inspired by the artwork of Olafur Eliasson.

" And now, it's time for your task.

I'd like you to choose a color to represent the connection you have with your family members.

You could select a color palette that reflects how your family makes you feel, select distinct colors for each family member, consider color associations and how these reflect your connection with each family member.

So, pause here while you choose the colors to represent the connection you have with your family members.

How did you get on choosing colors to represent the connection you have with your family members?

Here's Alex, "I would choose purple to show the connection I have with my uncle as he is wise and teaches me many things about the world.

I would use red to express the connection I have with my sister as we argue a lot and it's a fiery color.

" Izzy, "I would use the color blue to express the relationship I have with my mom who's quiet.

I have many friends who are like family to me and I would use orange to reflect the fun and friendship.

" Love that, feel the same way.

And "My dog is a big part of my family and very friendly, which I could express using green.

" So lovely.

And now, I'd like you to create a family portrait to express the connection you have with family members.

Use acrylic or ready-mixed paint to create a textured background surface onto A3 or A4 paper.

Consider the color palette that you selected in Task B1 to represent your family members.

Consider whether you'll use a contrasting, or harmonious color for your background.

So, pause here while you create the background to your portrait.

So, how did you get on at creating a textured background surface?

There are many possible outcomes.

Blobs of paint were added to the paper and dragged with a plastic card to create a layered effect.

I love what we can see on the screen there.

For the next part of your task, I'd like you to draw the figure shapes or silhouettes to represent the different family members on paper.

You could use simple shapes for the outlines.

Consider the scale of each person and where they might be placed in reference to each other.

And you might consider the realistic scale of each person, or you might choose to use scale symbolically to show importance rather than realism.

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

So, how did you get on with drawing the figure shapes or silhouettes to represent the different family members on paper?

You may have drawn simple silhouette forms, considered the realistic scale of each figure, used scale to represent the relationships that you have with each individual and their importance.

And now, I'd like you to apply overlapping shapes or silhouettes to represent family members and show connection.

Choose a color to represent the connection to each member using oil pastels.

Consider the use of scale and composition.

Use different colors to the background to enable the figures to stand out.

So, pause here while you have a go at this part of your task.

So, how did you get on with this part of your task?

And hope you ensured that there's a figure included to represent yourself.

Here, we can see the main character has been positioned at the front and been filled with all the colors that connect them to their family members.

Here's Izzy, "I'm pleased with how my family portrait turned out.

I've included a few family members, but not all of them.

I had to add my dog as she's my best friend.

I colored her green as she's so calming.

" And here's Alex, "I represented a variety of family members in my artwork.

I have different connections to each person I included, but all were positive.

My cat is moody, so I colored him red.

My granddad has been colored green to represent how nurturing he is.

" In today's lesson, the family in art, we've covered the following.

Family comes in all shapes and sizes and can include parents, siblings, grandparents, carers, foster families or chosen people.

Artists often explore family as a theme in their work, reflecting on relationships and connections to others.

The way figures are grouped, the colors used and even the scale of each person can represent a story about family connections without the need for words.

Well done everyone for joining in with this lesson.

It was great to explore family together with you, whatever your family looks like and however your family feels and to express some of this and represent these family connections in an artwork.

It was great to be with you again today and I'm looking forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

In the meantime, stay creative.