Mini-Compositions in Collage Unit 1: Henri Matisse Mini-Compositions in Collage LTC 4240: Art for Children Spring Semester 2013

Henri Matisse was born in Northern France in His formal education was in law, but was introduced to painting by his mother in 1889 while recovering from appendicitis. “From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life!” Henri Matisse Henri Matisse: Lawyer to Artist Matisse with his mother, 1889

Henri Matisse: “Wild Beast” After a summer in St. Tropez in 1904, Matisse’s use of color became more daring, imaginative, and expressive. Matisse became a leader among a group of like-minded painters called the “fauves,” or “wild beasts,” by art critics. "A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public!” One critic stated, "A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public!” (Tynes, 2010, para. 2) When exhibited in 1905, “Lady With a Hat” received particularly sharp criticism. Henri Matisse, “Lady With a Hat,” 1905

A cancer diagnosis and related surgery in 1941, confined artist Matisse to a wheelchair. He could no longer stand at an easel. This represented a creative turning point in the life of the artist painting with scissors. For the next 14 years of his life, Matisse would express his phenomenal creativity and artistic abilities through an art process he called “painting with scissors.” Henri Matisse: Triumph from Tragedy

Mattise, the French artist once identified as a fauvist painter fauvist painter...

ARTIST IDENTITY... developed a new ARTIST IDENTITY with the art of collage. In the last 14 years of his life, Matisse “developed his final artistic triumph by cutting into color." (National Gallery of Art, 2013)

Matisse’s Process Matisse’s paintings and paper cuts appear spontaneous and easily executed, but they were not. He constantly worked to reduce a figure, object, or scene to its essence. Henri Matisse, “La Danse I, 1909” Henri Matisse, “La Danse II, 1910”

STUDIO ACTIVITY: IDENTITY COMPOSITIONS IN COLLAGE Design Problem: Create a series of 1-3 small cut-paper collages that capture the essence of your identity through the use of simple lines, shapes, colors, and space. Design Problem: Create a series of 1-3 small cut-paper collages that capture the essence of your identity through the use of simple lines, shapes, colors, and space.

1.Brainstorm 3 events (big or small) from your personal history that have helped shape your identity. 2.Make simple sketches of each using shapes. 3.Reconsider your sketches: – Can they be simplified even more? – Can they be reduced to a symbol by drawing only a part of it? 4.Begin your first collage when ready: select and draw onto your colored paper. Cut-out when ready. 5.Experiment with arrangements of these shapes on a background piece of paper. Overlap, rotate, and change them until you are satisfied. Then, glue them in place.

Self-Assess this first composition and get feedback from a peer: Self-Assess this first composition and get feedback from a peer: – What works visually? – What can you change for the second composition?

Repeat this process for Composition #2 and Composition #3. Repeat this process for Composition #2 and Composition #3. Post one photograph showing your most successful composition on your Weebly site. Post one photograph showing your most successful composition on your Weebly site.

References: National Gallery of Art (2013). Matisse Cutouts. Retrieved from Smith, K. S. (n.d.). Pure essence: What makes Matisse great. The National Catholic Review. Retrieved from Tynes, T. (2010, July 19). Matisse at MoMA. [Web log]. Walking off the Big Apple. Retrieved from -moma.html Welton, J. (2002). Artists in their time: Henri Matisse. New York, NY: Scholastic Books.