Social Justice Collages

Social Justice Collages

In the spirit of Romare Bearden

By Seventh Grade

Seventh graders explored the work of Romare Bearden (1911-1988), an African-American artist who worked in collage, oil paint, watercolor, and many other materials.  He created many of his collages as social justice statements during the Civil Rights movement, to celebrate and to make public the arts and culture that was taking place in predomininantly African-American areas such as Harlem. His collages captured both the struggles and the joy that African-American communities experienced during the Civil Rights movement and beyond.

  

Romare Bearden, Jamming at the Savoy, 1980-81

Seventh graders chose a social justice topic with which they feel a connection. They used collage materials such as magazines to create their own statement pieces.

Fourth Grade Cities

Fourth graders learned how to create perspective and depth in their drawings.

• Objects higher on the page appear further away
• Larger objects appear to be closer
• Objects are more detailed when they are up close
• Overlapping indicates that one object is behind another
• When things are closer, their colors are more intense

Once they knew the technical skills, they let their imaginations take over and created a city with the theme of their choice.