Klimtomania.

Klimtomania. Many people have seen The Kiss (1907-08), an iconic artwork byAustrian Symbolist sym��bol��ist?n.1. One who uses symbols or symbolism.2. a. One who interprets or represents conditions or truths by the use of symbols or symbolism.b. Gustav Klimt Noun 1. Gustav Klimt - Austrian painter influenced by art nouveau (1862-1918)Klimt (1862-1918), but know little about itsbackground. Since its creation, the sensual subject matter and lushgolden patterns have been our culture's example of romantic love.The painting exemplifies Klimt's brand of Art Nouveau art nouveau(är' nvō`), decorative-art movement centered in Western Europe. . In it, Klimtcreates his trademark smothering smotheringdeath by asphyxiation. Occurs where poultry are carelessly herded into a corner where they cannot escape and where they are piled four or five birds deep; they will die of asphyxia very quickly. See also crowding. flatness. A dense sea of decorationenvelops the human figures of an embracing couple. Only the faces, handsand a foot allow the viewer to realize there are human forms in thepicture. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Acceptance often eluded Klimt's artwork during his lifetime. Acentury ago a prestigious public commission from the University ofVienna HistoryThe University was founded on March 12, 1365 by Duke Rudolph IV and his brothers Albert III and Leopold III, hence the additional name "Alma Mater Rudolphina". After the Charles University in Prague, the University of Vienna is the second oldest university in Central did not go well. Klimt bought back his three allegoricalpaintings, Philosophy, Medicine and Jurisprudence jurisprudence(jr'ĭsprd`əns), study of the nature and the origin and development of law. , after they drewattacks from critics due to their supposed weirdness and indecency INDECENCY. An act against good behaviour and a just delicacy. 2 Serg. & R. 91. 2. The law, in general, will repress indecency as being contrary to good morals, but, when the public good requires it, the mere indecency of disclosures does not suffice to exclude . Whenremovalists were sent to prevent him from reclaiming his murals, Klimtis said to have held them off with a shotgun. Even today controversy surrounds Klimt's artwork. Klimt'spainting, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer (1907), ignited a landmark lawcase. Before World War II this painting belonged to the Bloch-Bauerfamily. Looted as part of Hermann Goering's art grab from theJewish community in the wake of the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938,the painting resurfaced after WWII WWIIabbr.World War IIWWIIWorld War Two in the Austrian Gallery in Vienna. The Bloch-Bauer family heirs sued for the return of the painting,and, after a long trial, were awarded the painting. The family offeredto sell the painting back to the State of Vienna, but the Statedidn't take the opportunity to acquire it. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer went on the auction block in thesummer of 2006. Vindication for Gustav Klimt's belief in the valueof his work came when the painting sold for $135 million, the highestprice ever paid for a painting at that time. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] INTERNET AS VISUAL ARTS TEACHING TOOL I have found that when I havea difficult time finding or affording visuals from a particular artistor art movement, online Internet searches are an excellent way to showexamples of artworks to students. Such searches often allow students togain richer, more in-depth information. In an effort to introduce my students to Klimt's artwork Icreated an Internet information search worksheet. Students searched thefollowing two Web sites to learn about the life of Klimt and to view hiswork: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klimt. Students used the Web sites to locate information that explainedKlimt's artistic training as an architectural decorator. Afterlocating general information about training, students identified theartistic influences on Klimt's artwork, including Egyptian, Minoan,Classical Greek and Byzantine art Byzantine artArt associated with the Byzantine Empire. Its characteristic styles were first codified in the 6th century and persisted with remarkable homogeneity until the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. . To increase their depth of understanding, students compared theartwork of Albrecht Durer, Medieval European painting and JapaneseUkiyo-e. Because artists do not create in a vacuum, I always stress thistype of cross-pollination of ideas in art and history with my students.Students eventually begin to comprehend that the unique styles ofvarious artists are the wonderful result of their visual experiences.The students see that the styles developed are sometimes conscious andat other times result from unconscious shopping trips through history. The Wikipedia Web site provides a link to another site thatincludes a report from National Public Radio on Jan. 17, 2006. Thisverbal narration explains that the artwork stolen by the Nazis duringWorld War II was ordered to be returned by the Austrian National Galleryto the family's survivors. The recorded broadcast createdinteresting discussions of current events in the art world. PLACEMENT IN THE CURRICULUM Used with second-level high-school artstudents, who had already completed a unit on self-portraits and who hadworked with acrylic paints on previous projects, this unit built onpreviously acquired experiences and skills. Previous experiences allowedstudents to focus on fine-tuning their skills in painting flesh tonesand experiment with the use of gel pens in a different way. Students began the project by modeling for each other. As they drewone another, students concentrated on the heads and shoulders of theirsubjects. Draping their models in long capes or robes, students mimickedthe appearance in many of Klimt's artworks. The students then chosethe best of their three drawings of fellow classmates to use in thefinal project. Using tracing paper, students traced their chosen drawingand transferred it to a piece of 9" x 12" canvasette. Once they had their drawing on the canvasette, students usedmetallic gold acrylic paint to paint a thin layer of metallic gold oneverything except the person's face and hair. Students then learnedhow to mix flesh tones to paint the faces. Finally the hair and otherdetails were painted. After all the paint had dried, the students once again looked atthe decorative surfaces of Klimt's paintings. Students discussedthe use of geometric shapes This is a list of geometric shapes. Generally composed of straight line segmentspolygon concave polygon constructible polygon as opposed to organic shapes and patterns.They used different patterns to separate the foreground and clothes fromthe background. Finally, students created the patterned surfaces byselecting from a large variety of gel pens. CONCLUSION The students' use of the Internet to learn aboutthe visual arts can stimulate them to complete further research on theirown. Many new skills, such as mixing flesh tones and drawing faces, werethe immediate result of this project. Students also learned the storiesbehind many of Klimt's artworks. Finally, and most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent"above all, most especially , thestudents were pleased with the results of their own work. When studentsfind pleasure in their school-related activities, they are often farmore open to the next adventure the art teacher has in store for them. MATERIALS * Drawing paper * Drawing boards * Pencils * Tracing paper 9" x 12" canvasette * Metallic gold acrylic paint * Acrylic paint * Wide assortment of gel pens * Brushes LEARNING OBJECTIVES High-school students will ... * examine how other artists, cultures and world events influencedGustav Klimt. * improve their skills in drawing and painting the human face. * mix paint colors to produce flesh tones. * differentiate between geometric and organic shapes. * use the Internet to learn more about the visual arts. RESOURCES Books for Teachers * Fliedr, Gottfried, Gustav Klimt 1862-1918: The World in FemaleForm. Taschen, 1998. * Kallir, Jane, Gustav Klimt: 25 Masterworks. H.N. Abrams, t989. * Partsch, Susanna, Gustav Klimt: Painter of Women. PrestelPublishing, 2006. * Werner, Alfred, Gustav Klimt: 100 Drawings. Dover Publications,1972. Books for Students * Brookes, Mona, Drawing for Older Children and Teens. Jeremy P.Tarcher/Perigee Books, 1991. * Edwards, Betty, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Tarcher,1989. * Nicolaides, Kimon, The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan forArt Study. Houghton Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. The company's headquarters is located in Boston's Back Bay. It publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers , 1990. Web Site * www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmt Go to artsandactivities.com and click on this button for a link tothe Web addresses mentioned in this article. Louise M. Biggs teaches art at Farmersville (Texas) High School.