Contemporary cave art: elementary.

Significant Problem

Cave paintings from 17,000 years ago included symbols both realistic (e.g., animals) and abstract (e.g., flying forks). For a contemporary twist on my usual cave art lesson, I asked my fifth grade students to compare the ancient cave painting at Lascaux with Adolph Gottlieb's twentieth-century abstract, The Seer. Gottieb's painting is also based on symbols--some recognizable; some abstract. Other similarities noted were his use of earth colors, simplicity of composition, and "mysteriousness." Inspired by these amazing artists, students began their own version of "contemporary cave art" by developing an abstract personal symbol in two simple steps.

On 12 x 18" (31 x 46 cm) gray paper, students chalk-sketched several things that represented who they are, such as a musical instrument, paintbrush, or soccer ball. It was required that each image touch another, so that they all were connected. Then selected lines were erased between them to create one big, abstracted symbol that filled most of the paper.

The resulting simplified shapes and spaces were then filled in with paint colors from the cave artist's palette: golden ochre, brick red, yellow, brown, black, and white. For emphasis and a finishing touch, the designs were carefully outlined in black paint.

To compose our own wall of art, the paintings were finally mounted on black paper and arranged on a gold-toned cork bulletin board. The resulting display intrigued, pleased, and surprised me. I realized that, with fresh inspiration from both Lascaux and Gottlieb, we had created something new. These paintings were not just a reproduction, but rather a reinterpretation of great art from the ancient and more recent past.

ClipCard submitted by Lil Cooney, an elementary art teacher for the Fairfax County Public Schools at Louise Archer Elementary School in Vienna, Virginia.

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