Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe began her career in the 19-teens with erotic close-ups of flowers and buildings. The flowers are sumptuous and closely detailed, with smooth shading and a limited palette. She became inspired by the Santa Fe area in 1929 and did many landscapes in a creamy style very much like that of her flower paintings. Every middle-aged lady I know loves her work. Mmmm.
O'Keeffe and Franz Marc
O’Keeffe’s style reminds me a bit of my favorite’s, Franz Marc. She has the same voluptuous lines, the same shading that emphasizes the geometry of the forms rather than what might have been the underlying particularity of the flowers or landscapes that she rendered. Yes, her idea was to allow people to “really see” a flower, but to do so she abstracted them relentlessly. Marc’s images became quite Cubist, while O’Keefe’s became more and more like human flesh. (Though, to be fair, she lived a long life and he died young.)
Ram's Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills
In this lovely painting O'Keeffe brings together a horned skull, symbol of masculinity and death, and a flower, symbol of life and femininity. The rhythmic patterns of the sky are repeated in the the rhythmic patterns of the earth; masculine and feminine in conversation.
Why are the flower and skull floating in the stormy skies of New Mexico? Perhaps for no more compelling reason than that they look good there. I think, though, that she had a reason, and that while I don't know what it is, the sense of shimmering meaning hovering just beyond my ken adds to my fascination with this masterwork.
Why are the flower and skull floating in the stormy skies of New Mexico? Perhaps for no more compelling reason than that they look good there. I think, though, that she had a reason, and that while I don't know what it is, the sense of shimmering meaning hovering just beyond my ken adds to my fascination with this masterwork.
Georgia O'Keeffe and Abstracting from Life
Lesson Title: Georgia O'Keeffe and Abstracting from Life
Grade: K - 9 self-contained classroom
Key Vocabulary: Abstract, curve, depth, shading
Visuals/Resources: Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings
Connections to Prior Knowledge: Recall the Cubists who looked at all sides of an object and Picasso/Modigliani who simplified the human face. Recall composition from Munch lesson.
Content Objectives: 1. Be able to trace important curves, highlights, and shadows in a flower or other complex object
2. be able to cartoon selected O'Keeffe paintings, and
3. create your own abstract drawing using a flower or other model as starting point.
Meaningful Activities: 1. Mini-lecture on Georgia O'Keeffe, shading, and highlighting.
2. 15-minute stations: examples of O'Keeffe's abstract paintings for copying and emulating.
3. 30-minute masterwork session: create your own abstract design in your art journal, using shading and highlighting.
Supplies: Teacher-made exemplars.
Review/Assessment: Art journal
Language Objective: Use appropriate vocabulary when sharing journal.
Grade: K - 9 self-contained classroom
Key Vocabulary: Abstract, curve, depth, shading
Visuals/Resources: Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings
Connections to Prior Knowledge: Recall the Cubists who looked at all sides of an object and Picasso/Modigliani who simplified the human face. Recall composition from Munch lesson.
Content Objectives: 1. Be able to trace important curves, highlights, and shadows in a flower or other complex object
2. be able to cartoon selected O'Keeffe paintings, and
3. create your own abstract drawing using a flower or other model as starting point.
Meaningful Activities: 1. Mini-lecture on Georgia O'Keeffe, shading, and highlighting.
2. 15-minute stations: examples of O'Keeffe's abstract paintings for copying and emulating.
3. 30-minute masterwork session: create your own abstract design in your art journal, using shading and highlighting.
Supplies: Teacher-made exemplars.
Review/Assessment: Art journal
Language Objective: Use appropriate vocabulary when sharing journal.