Art Lesson Inspired by Japanese Artist

Lesson Plan Outline Using Taro Okamoto's Sculpture as Inspiration

Apr 3, 2009

Outline of Sculpture Lesson Plans Inspired by Japanese Culture and Art. Using Taro Okamoto's sculpture as a starting point this guide will help you develop an art lesson.

This outlines lesson ideas inspired by both traditional and contemporary Japanese Culture.

The starting point for this project is the Japanese Artists Taro Okamoto. He was a prolific artist who worked in a variety of mediums including scupture and painting, A good image to show to students is the sculpture which was created for the 1970 Expo in Osaka. Standing at 70m this piece title "Tower of the Sun". It is a good introductory project as it allows students to conceptualize but then work with the materials to allow things to take shape based on their properties.

You could emphasize the use of color and white spaces in his choice of color or focus on geometrical shapes and negative space. Students will start by looking at images of his work and drawing some of their own ideas inspired by his work. These are not worksheets but responses to his work. They are not going to try and re-create their images in 3-D format but rather use drawing as way to engage with the use of shape and color.

To begin sculpting students will use foam to create shapes. They can be made by knotted, tied with string, sewn or stapled. Abstract shapes or specific shapes of known objects are both acceptable. I found that it works best if students can be allowed the choice to make either abstract shapes or specific ones like flowers or animals. It is a great project for less able students who can begin to play with the materials without the worry of making their outcome perfect.

Stage two is the most time consuming. Students will paint layers of white plaster to fix the shapes. This is very messy and will probably take between two and three sessions depending on the lesson duration. Students are encouraged to wait for each layer to dry before painting the second layer. Between two and three layers should sufficiently cover the sculpture. It should be light but hard and might crack, if this happens it can be fixed by painting an additional layer.

Next make small plinths from square bits of foam. These are also covered in plaster paint and the sculptures fixed to them with the plaster. This was optional for our students but gave the finished sculptures a really good base and professional look which they loved.

The final stage is to decorate the sculpture with color acrylics. We allowed students to use gold and silver spray paint. By using layers the students can make a variety of effects ranging from layers of color to blocks of geometrical colors. Okamoto's sculpture uses a balance of white and color so we tried to encourage students to use this as a starting point but as their work evolved their own creative inspiration took shape.

At the end it is good to photograph the work and perhaps ask students to talk about their process - what did they find easy and difficult? What did they enjoy? What do they think works well or not so well? A min feedback session is also good where students are encouraged to give positive feed back on their peers work.

The copyright of the article Art Lesson Inspired by Japanese Artist in Sculpture Techniques is owned by Rachel Carvosso. Permission to republish Art Lesson Inspired by Japanese Artist in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.