Romare Bearden Music and Memories

Close your eyes and listen to this song… Raise your hand if you have a memory of this song…

Romare Bearden Music and Memories Music and memories are often paired together! Today we are going to talk about an artist who created his works by remembering a special time through music. ▪Romare Bearden was an African-American artist who often used jazz music to inspire his artwork which he created based on his own memories ▪He was known for his work with collage and using texture to express the feeling of his memory ▪Here are a few examples of his work!

Romare Bearden Music and Memories ▪This is Piano Lesson from 1983 ▪Raise your hand if you think this picture is a happy memory? ▪This looks like it might be a memory that Bearden had of his sister playing the piano. ▪Notice the texture here…see how the teacher's tan skirt looks like canvas and the green curtains look like a different cloth ▪Texture is the way something feels, bumpy, smooth, rough, etc. ▪Funny fact, Bearden once said when discussing this painting that his music teacher did not allow Jazz to be played only classical music!

Romare Bearden Music and Memories ▪This is Out Chorus from 1980 ▪Raise your hand if you think this picture is a happy memory? ▪This looks like Bearden’s memory of watching a jazz band in person!

Romare Bearden Music and Memories Today we are going to make our own collage with texture and colors that shows a memory we have to go along with a song. ▪So close your eyes and take a moment to think of a song and a memory that goes along with that song. ▪You can think of a nursery rhyme song, a holiday song, a popular song on the radio, a tune you hum to yourself…maybe your dad whistles a lot while vacuuming or mom hums a tune while drawing or playing games with you. Did your grandma sing you to sleep when you were little? Any of these memories are just fine! ▪If you can’t think of song, think of a memory with your family or someone in your family– eating together, playing together, being silly – something you enjoy!

Romare Bearden Music and Memories Once you have an idea for your picture: ▪Think of a background for your memory; a bedroom, kitchen, playroom, or family room (Bearden’s works were focused on indoor scenes so we will stick with indoors too!) ▪Now I will demonstrate how to create texture given the different texture plates/objects we have and creating a rubbing. This can be used anywhere on your background! ▪Next I will show you how you can use these patterned scrap papers to create a rug, bedspread, curtain, or other detail in your picture ▪Lastly I will show you how we will color in the people in our memory and cut them out and paste them to our background

Romare Bearden Music and Memories Let’s review what we talked about today: ▪The artist we studied today is Romare Bearden ▪Bearden used music to evoke memories (mostly jazz music) ▪Bearden used collage and texture in many of his pieces ▪Songs can be a strong reminder of a special memory ▪Collage and texture can be used to make a picture more interesting

Romare Bearden Music and Memories Discussion Questions: ▪What is collage? ▪How do you do a rubbing? ▪Who was the artist we studied today? ▪What song did you choose for your inspiration? ▪What is the story behind your memory? ▪Who was a part of your memory? ▪What would you title your piece of artwork?