This lesson encourages young students to use their imaginations inspired by the 'soundsuits' of Nick Cave. Cave's 'soundsuits'—surreally majestic objects blending fashion and sculpture—originated as metaphorical suits of armor in response to the Rodney King beatings and have evolved into vehicles for empowerment. The 'soundsuits' are ornate, full-body costumes designed to rattle and resonate with the movement of the wearer. He uses materials that range from twigs to crystals to rainbow-colored hair that are visceral and necessary critiques of racial injustice.

In this lesson, students will explore the civil rights activists depicted in the mural The Freedom Wall. They will research the leaders who are portrayed, connect with a local activist in their own community, and learn about the creation of the mural. Students will collaborate to create a mural for their school that will depict activists from their community.

In this project, students will explore the process used by Mark Bradford, and use it as inspiration for creating their own work of self-expression.

Inspired by the protest and special event posters in We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, students will learn about a particular protest in 1971, conduct research regarding a topic for which they have a passion, and create their own poster using a silkscreen printing technique.

Best known for his monumental textured paintings, German artist Anselm Kiefer’s encrusted surfaces of thick impasto confront themes of memory, history, identity, and culture. Through texture, Kiefer’s landscape paintings portray rough emotions and symbols with meaning to the artist. In this lesson, students will explore the principles of texture and landscape while reflecting on the personal significance landscapes may have on different people’s lives. 

Artist Chuck Close creates large-scale portraits in a unique way. Through the use of a grid system, Close creates paintings that are composed of many squares. Like an illusion, when viewing one of these paintings close up, one sees an array of squares filled with abstract shapes and colors. Upon further observation, and when viewed from a distance, a portrait appears that is formed by these separate square compositions. Close’s mathematical approach to structuring his work, combined with his abstract flair, results in energetic portraits. This lesson—which is inspired by the different elements of Close’s portraits—reinforces the elements of shape, color, and value in creating unique self-portraits. 

Throughout history, artists have found inspiration in their fellow artists and past artistic styles and movements. While Edgar Degas, Louise Nevelson, and Marino Marini each have a unique artistic style and process, each has used the horse as a subject in their sculptures. Through the study and comparison of these artists and their sculptural works, this lesson plan examines different artist styles through the theme of animals. Students will create a sculpture of an animal inspired by the style of one of the artists studied in this lesson.

Twentieth-century French artist Georges Braque made many contributions to the art world. A co-founder of Cubism along with Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Braque created works that contain geometric shapes, a variety of lines, and simultaneous perspectives. Braque started his career as a painter but his art evolved over the course of his life. His etchings, which he created toward the end of his career, embody his Cubist ideals. Inspired by Braque’s printmaking, this project explores the process of creating an etching. 

This lesson is designed to give students the opportunity to learn about leaders in both their own community and throughout the United States. Students will use The Freedom Wall as inspiration for designing a digital poster.

During the nineteenth century, when French paintings often depicted romanticized scenes of daily life, artist Gustave Courbet chose to paint “observed realities,” making bold statements on society with his artwork. Criticized for painting peasants and workers, Courbet captured life including scenes from his home region, Ornans, France. One of the area’s natural wonders is the source of the Loue River, which flows through Ornans. Courbet was fascinated by the geologic structure of this caved grotto. In La Source de la Loue, ca. 1864, Courbet painted this special place realistically, adding textural features intended to awaken the viewer’s senses. This lesson explores the way art can be experienced through the senses and how the senses can inspire artmaking.

In this project, students will explore how to express their identity through multiple ways of artmaking, taking inspiration from Rashid Johnson’s Falling Man, 2015.

The goal of this lesson is to increase awareness of human rights activists in the Civil Rights movement. Students will investigate The Freedom Wall by researching and exploring the stories of the 28 figures represented. They will use this research to create a diptych, in which they explore both a familiar and a new activist.