1. The Harlem Renaissance (1920-1930) A Unit on RYHTHM and MIXED MEDIA with a focus of Intaglio Printmaking A blending of mixed media and technical processes to simulate a synthesis of sounds in a rhythmic musical performance.

2. HARLEM RENAISSANCE  During the Great Migration, 1910-1930, many rural African- Americans from the south headed to the industrial North for employment opportunities.  More than a literary movement, the visual art of the Harlem Renaissance was an attempt at developing a new African-American aesthetic in the fine arts through individual styles.  A celebration across the cultural spectrum in literature, drama, music, visual art, and dance.  An expression of the African-American heritage. The artists collective efforts not only established this new African-American identity, but also contributed to the development of our modern American culture.

3. ROMARE BEARDEN 1911- 1988 Painter, Collage Artist, Printmaker "Well, it [artistic method] is like jazz; you do this and then you improvise." ~ Romare Bearden

4. ABOUT ROMARE BEARDEN  Born in N. Carolina on his paternal grandparent’s farm and visited frequently his maternal grandmother in Pittsburgh.  Eventually he and his parents moved to New York during the Harlem Renaissance in a household where they were regularly visited by jazz greats like Duke Ellington in the 1940s.  He had a brief career in songwriting in the 1950s but then turned almost exclusively to creating collages, his inspiration being music, Southern life and black culture.  Romare began as a painter, turned to collage, culminating his career with printmaking with a mixed media approach.

5. Bearden’s Artwork: Paintings Romare Bearden’s “Folk Musicians” (1941-42), a great portrait of three black musicians that predates Bearden’s influential collage work.

6. During the 1960s civil rights movement, his focus shifted again, this time to collage.civil rights movementcollage New Orleans: Ragging Home, collage by Romare Bearden, 1974

7. Bearden and PRINTMAKING  Known for his paintings and collages, in the last fifteen years of his life Romare Bearden produced a great variety of prints. Out Chorus Etching/aquatint, 1979-80

8. The art of intaglio> DRYPOINT  Drypoint is the form of engraving that contemporary artists use the most since it doesn’t require an acid bath.  Drypoint lines are simply “incised” into a plate (copper, zinc, or plexi) with a sharp point of a needle tool/ “scribe”.  The scratch throws a burr and makes a ridge similar to the ridge of the earth thrown up when a plow goes through a field.  The plate is then inked with intaglio ink into the burrs. The surface ink is removed with a cloth known as tarlatan.

9. Drypoint Examples

10. Drypoint created using a CD plate

11. The process of ENGRAVING

12. Engraved lines should follow contours using hatching/cross-hatching to define DEPTH

13. ADD TEXTURE with lines

14. An Art II Unit on RHYTHM  Content: RHYTHM- A visual tempo or beat. The principle of design that refers to a regular repetition of the elements of art to produce the look and feel of movement.  Media: MIXED MEDIA- A visual blending of drypoint (intaglio printmaking using a CD as a printing plate), watercolors, collage, and pen to simulate the synthesis of sounds in a musical performance.  Art History: HARLEM RENAISSANCE focusing on the influence of music on the visual arts during this time period.  Style: Should reflect a PERSONAL aesthetic response to selected subject matter to convey a rhythmic response to either the lyrics or instrumental influence of a song.

15. STUDENT RESULTS:

16. Student Example

18. Student Example:

33. Student example

39. Art by Justin Bua a current artist from Harlem

43. BEGIN with an IDEA and IMPROVISE to capture the RHYTHM of the MUSIC

44. SUMMARY  In order for the print to unify with the remainder of the composition, it is imperative that the design of the print touch the edge of the plate providing a vehicle for the printed lines to flow rhythmically into the composition.  Preliminary sketches will assist the student on examining the placement of the plate onto the printing surface to allow the extended composition to flow in the correct direction.  When painting with watercolors, dilute the pigments so the colors do not overpower the print and hide the engraved lines.  The element of line using a black pen is a critical tool for unifying the print with the enlarged composition.  Emphasize a personal selection of music so the student is connected to their composition taking personal ownership of their imagery.  Create test prints before printing final print on larger paper. Recommend Stonehenge paper

45. Vocabulary  Intaglio and Drypoint prints  Burr  Engrave  Scribe  Tarlatan  Rhythm  Movement  Pattern  Mixed media