Objectives

• Introduce surrealistic art movement through the artwork of Salvador Dali.
• Teach students that surrealistic painters painted what they saw, in a dreamlike sense.
• Practice using all senses when creating pieces of artwork.

Curriculum

Art history

Classroom Materials

• Foohy® scented colored pencils
• Pink Pearl® or White Pearl® erasers
• Foohy® gel markers
• Sharpie® Paint markers
• Mr. Sketch® scented markers
• 3 - 9"x12" pieces of white drawing paper
• Dali's print of the "Persistence of Memory".
• Design® Ebony drawing pencils and Liquid Flair® pens.

National Art Standard

Students know that the visual arts have both a history and specific relationship to various cultures.

Procedures

1. The students will learn about the history of Surrealism. Students will then have the opportunity to create their own surrealistic drawings, studying the print of "Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali.
2. The students will critique the artwork, and they will be asked numerous questions about the painting, such as: Where is it? Why are the clocks melting? What does it smell like? etc...
3. Using "Persistence of Memory" as an example, the teacher will demonstrate the importance of value in art and the students will develop value scales, using their drawing pencils. This value lesson will be applied to create a landscape scene.
4. The students should complete three separate value studies to create the background, middle ground and foreground of their scene. The students will begin working with the scented colored pencils, incorporating value. When the coloring is complete, the students will add detail with gel markers. Further detail work can be done with Liquid Flair® pens.
5. The students will then cut and arrange the value drawings to create their own surrealist type of landscape scene (see suggestion on back).
6. Next the students will render a tree form using the same techniques described above. It too will be cut out and assembled on the surrealist landscape. Note: encourage students to add further depth to their artwork by using scraps of folded paper behind tree and/or foreground objects to make their artwork 3-D.
7. Have students draw their own “melting” clock first with their drawing pencils. Next, they can color the clock using scented markers. The scented mediums help the students use all of their senses when viewing and creating surrealistic art. The clock can be cut out and “hung” from the tree limb (see suggestion on back).
8. Their final pieces can be named, i.e. “Persistence of the Desert,” matted and hung in a group display.

Assessment:

A great way to assess students’ understanding of surrealistic art is to have them write a story about Dalí’s painting, or create a story about their piece. The stories should be hung in the display, giving the viewer a better understanding of the artists’ intent. This is a great way for the students to know that their views have value, no matter how bizarre they seem. Art is how you perceive it!

Websites:
www.dali.gallery.com

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dalí was born in Spain in 1904 and became one of the most famous painters of the twentieth century. Dalí’s paintings are filled with strange objects from his dreams and imagination.

Salvador Dalí loved attention. He wore a long curling mustache that he said let him receive messages from outer space. Once he threw a formal party where everyone had to come dressed as their favorite dream. Another time, Dalí arrived in a limousine filled with cauliflower.