Digital Masterpieces.I am fortunate enough to work in a school that realizes the value and influence art has on technology. Twice a year, my first-through fifth-grade classes meet in the computer lab to create computer-generated works of art. We discuss the importance of art in technology, such as video games See video game console. , movies, websites, even commercials. The basic message: Art and computers go hand in hand. Framing a Composition By using digital technology in this lesson, I hoped to provide a higher level of thinking for my students. First we studied composition. We discussed the importance of placement, balance, and center of focus. We looked at artwork by photographers such as Ansel Adams and William Henry Jackson
William Henry Jackson (April 41843 - June 301942) was an American painter, photographer and explorer famous for his images of the American West. . We discussed how composition was used to show importance in a photograph. Then, with a viewfinder The preview window on a camera that is used to frame, focus and take the picture. On analog cameras, the viewfinder is an eye-sized window that must be pressed against the face. Point-and-shoot digital cameras use small LCD screens that are viewed several inches from the eyes. made out of cardboard, students practiced framing potential artistic views. As they looked at our artroom through an artists' perspective, they learned how to enhance the outcome of their projects. Digital Photography One week prior to art/computer week, I took my fifth-grade classes on a walk around the grounds of our school. Their mission: to take a picture of things they took pride in. Some students took pictures of our playground, while others took pictures of our school. A few of my students focused in on the natural beauty that surrounds our school, for instance, our flower-filled courtyard. All of the photos were works of art by themselves, but the digital fun had only begun. Digital Technology Once we were in the computer lab, students worked in PhotoShop to digitally enhance their pictures. Some students chose to make their photo look like one of Monet's works by using the watercolor mode. Others used the embossing embossing, process of producing upon various materials designs or patterns in relief by mechanical means. The material is pressed between a pair of dies especially adapted to its hardness and the depth of the design needed. mode, pointillism pointillism (pwăn`təlĭz'əm): see postimpressionism. pointillism In painting, the practice of applying small strokes or dots of contrasting colour to a surface so that from a distance they blend together. mode, or mosaic mode to recreate other styles of art. The end result was amazing! I sent school board members, administrators, the mayor of our city, and our local state representative reproductions of student work and invited them to come view the rest of the artwork on display at the school. The resulting artwork was proof that art and computers do go hand-in-hand. NATIONAL STANDARD Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories. WEB LINK www.anseladams.com www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/moran/gallery2.htm Tracey Hunter-Doniger is an elementary visual arts visual arts npl → artes fpl plásticas visual arts npl → arts mpl plastiques visual arts npl → teacher at Central Elementary School Central Elementary School could refer to either of the following schools:
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