POP ART CLAES OLDENBURG PAPIER MACHE SCULPTURES

I. CLASS: 3
rd
grade class 40 minutes.

II. TIME NEEDED: 5 Class periods, 40 minutes

III. ART HISTORICAL BACKGROUND RELATED TO LESSON:
Claes Oldenburg is a American sculpture who was very influential in the Pop Art
movement during the 1960s. Pop Art was a movement that made use of symbols,
icons, and objects that related to the popular culture of the time. Oldenburg is known
for create a series of soft sculptures, in which he creates oversized version of items
such as a fan, a cheeseburger, French fries, a toilet, etc. It was a way of reimagining
these things made out of soft material and on larger scales. The theme of taking
ordinary regular-sized objects (e.g. clothespins, spoons, a stamp, safety pins, etc.)
and blowing them up to very large scales was also a theme he continued to explore by
create large scale replicas of ordinary mass produced objects. By showing these
seemingly mundane objects on a smaller scale, Oldenburg gives us a newfound
perspective on these objects. Seeing these objects on such massive, grand scales,
presents in a light where they seem so great and large that their subtle and smaller
qualities get brought to attention much more than they normally would. In this way,
Oldenburg and other Pop artists brought the art world to the average, everyday person
by creating works that everyone had an everyday relationship with and thus attempted
to make art more meaningful to the general public.

IV. SUBJECT: The class will create a sculpture inspired by the works of Claes
Oldenburg using papier mch. Option 1 is for students to create a sculpture of a
food item e.g. a cheeseburger, ice cream cone, etc. Option 2 is to do a reverse
Oldgenburg in which students will create a miniaturized (instead of oversized)


version of something that is normally very large (e.g. mountain range, skyscrapers,
trees, etc.).

V. EQUIPMENT / AV MATERIALS: PowerPoint presentation of Oldenburg and
examples of his art work, as well as books on Pop Art for students to look at.

VI. SUPPLIES: For roughly 24 students newspaper, glue, paints, paper, pencils,
brushes, water containers.

VII. OBJECTIVES:
Academic Skills: Students will learn about Claes Oldenburgan important figure in
the Pop Art movement in America starting roughly around the 1960s.
Craftsmanship Skills: Students will use 3D sculpting methods (the additive method)
using papier mch to create and sculpture, and then paint it
Higher Cognitive Skills: Consider the conceptual and aesthetic aspects of seeing
objects depicted as smaller or larger than normal, as well as being made out of
materials that are very different in nature to their real-life counterpart.


VIII. BENCHMARKS AND STANDARDS:
A. Ohio Benchmarks and Standards in the Visual Arts:
1PE: Observe and compare similar themes, subject matter and images in artworks
from historical and contemporary eras
1PR: Demonstrate skill and expression in the use of art techniques and processes
1RE: Examine and describe how art and design principles are used by artists to
create visual effects

Benchmarks and Standards in Other Disciplines:
Mathematics:
- Geometry and Spatial Sense: Students utilize 3D elements to work within a
3D space to create a work of art
English:
- Language Acquisition: Students are introduced to the specialized vocabulary
of 3D works and classification e.g. Pop Art, sculpture, additive method, papier
mch, scale, monumental size, sketch, miniature, oversized, consistency.

IX. LEARNER OUTCOMES: Students will learn how to use papier mch to create
an art work that is representative of the works of Claes Oldenburg.

X. SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: Students need to be careful that they dont ingest
or get any of the glue into sensitive areas of the face e.g. eyes.

XI. ALTERNATIVES TO THE LESSON: The lesson inherently give students the
option to either (1) depict some food item or (2) depict an object that is normally
large in size, on a miniature scale. Students who are more advanced or finish early
may be prompted to create a mini environment for their pieces, or in the case of the


food item route, create a meal, or silverware and a plate for their food to be presented
on.

XII. THEORIES/THEORISTS RELATED TO LESSON: This lesson utilizes John
Deweys Constructivist model of starting with the students own interests and
background knowledge about these common items that they encounter on an
everyday basis (but never consider to be subjects of artwork). This makes their work
of art more personally enriching and meaningful to them by bringing their own
experiences to bear on a subject they are familiar with and personally choose to create
(i.e. freedom to choose what food item, etc.)

XIII. ACADEMIC LANGUAGE: The students will be hearing and utilizing words such
as art vocabulary words as: Sculpture, additive method, papier mch, scale,
monumental size, sketch. Non-art vocabulary term to be aware of are: Grand,
miniature, oversized, consistency.



XIV. PROCEDURE:

1. Introduction: The project will be introduced by showing examples of Claes
Oldenburgs works of art and discussing what is the expectations of the students
in terms of what their final product should look like.
A. Motivation Start a class discussion about whether ordinary objects can be
the subject of art e.g. their shoes, a spoon, a safety pin, etc. Ask them what
they are going to have for lunch today, and think about the consistency (i.e.
the hardness, softness, viscosity, etc.) of that food, and then try to image that
same food item made out of the opposite consistency (e.g. a rock-hard
cheeseburger, or a plastic French fry.)
B. New and Reviewed Experiences Students will have familiarity with painting
from the previous two lessons, and drawing a sketch of their intended . A new
experience for many will be working with papier mch and 3D media.
2. Distribution of Materials and Implements: 2 Helpers will be chosen to pass out
supplies e.g. newspaper, glue, etc.
3. Work Period: Students will be given 4 work days to complete assignment.
A. Day 1: Students should draw out some ideas (at least 1) of what they want to
make using papier mch techniques.
B. Day 2: Students will begin working on creating their papier mch sculptures
C. Day 3: Students will continue to work on their pieces and begin painting
when finished with their 3D form (work day)
D. Day 4: Students finish painting and working on their papier mch sculptures
E. Clean Up: Each group will be responsible for collecting and cleaning up their
desks and storing their projects, and all materials used in their creation.


4. Teacher-pupil Appraisal of the Art Activity: During the activity I will be walking
around to check if each student is making progress and at the end of each session
a quick formative assessment will be applied by asking review questions about art
vocabulary terms and concepts including art historical questions

XV. EVALUATION OF STUDENT WORK: The students will be evaluated on
whether they completed all tasks of the assignment Followed classroom
procedures, created a 3D papier mch sculpture of a food item or miniaturized
object, and applied a coat of paint to add details and features to their sculptures.

Assessment of student ability
to complete art activity
1 2 3 3.5 4
Follows procedures in order to
focus time wisely on project
Not following
procedures
Following some
procedures
Following all
procedures
N/A
Uses papier mch to create a
3D work of art of either a food
item or a miniaturized version of
a large sized object
Does not
create a
papier mch
sculpture
Papier mch
sculpture is of
something other
than food or large
scale object
Creates a papier
mch sculpture
of a food item or
large scale
object
Creates
multiple
elements to
sculpture e.g.
spoon & plate
Adds details to papier mch 3D
sculpture using a final coat of
paint over it
Sculpture is
not painted
Sculpture is only
partially painted,
with no details
added
Sculpture is
fully painted and
includes details
Uses color
blending or
mixing (not
straight colors)
Possible points: 4.0 4.0 3.5 points = A + 3.0 points = A
2.5 2.0 points = B 1.5 points = C 1.0 points = D 0 points = F