Early AD Art (0-500)

Click here for a sample collection to use with instructor's lecture


Student collection of early AD art. Evaluation:

Uses a minimum of two works (Can not use works seen in teacher collection) to illustrate each of the major themes talked about in the lecture. (Body adornment, ritual, utilitarian work, religion/mythology, details of sculpture, architecture, mosaic, etc.)

Brief paragraph (in the student’s own words) about each work including artist, date, culture/geographic location, the work’s purpose, interesting fact(s), attribution information (where the work was found, MIA, WAC, Tweed museum of art, etc.). The student’s opinion of the work. What the student likes, what the student dislikes and why.

Correctly created an art collection, placed images in chronological order, published and turned in the URL to teacher.

World Mythology Alternate assignment:

A teacher may wish to have students explore parts of the World Mythology site at : http://www.artsmia.org/world-myths/
This site has a variety of images from many cultures with discussion questions and a glossary of terms.

World Mythology Evaluation:

A teacher who wishes students to know and use glossary terms might set up a “Quiz Show” format where teams earn points by using glossary terms when answering questions about selected works of art. A simple worksheet could also be made for students to answer the questions found under selected works of art on the World Mythology Site.


Clay duplication of an art work:
This assignment is meant to give the students a feel for how some items were made.

Students must understand their ability with clay. Since there are no prerequisites for this class, many students may have no clay experience. As the teacher demonstrates the different clay working methods (Potter’s wheel, Coil, Pinch, Slab, Carve) he or she must impress upon the students that they only have a week in the studio to finish the assignment. For example, if the student has never used the potter’s wheel, it would be advisable for them to use a simpler technique to produce their selected work.

On the final computer lab day, before the class moves to the art studio, students should print out coppies of the work they want to duplicate.

The teacher may wish to limit the choices of artwork to relief sculptures or simple pottery forms. Limiting the techniques that the students can use is also an option. For example, if the teacher wishes to focus on tile mosaics, the students would only need to cut slabs into tiles and do basic glazing. In this case, it may work better for a teacher to schedule a few days in the art room, move back to the computer lab to begin the Byzantine unit, then come back to the art studio to finish setting tiles.
Click here to see an example done by a student.

Evaluation of clay projects:

Student effectively captures the essence of the original
Quality and workmanship
Reflects the techniques used in the original

Written closure:
Students are to write a small report on their chosen subject for the clay reproduction project. The report should include:

Correct grammar and spelling
When and Where the artwork was made
What the art was used for and a brief explanation or history of the work
Why they chose this work to duplicate
Critique of their finished piece: What do they like, what do they dislike, why, were they successful, etc.