DESCRIPTION: Students learn about opposite or complementary colors by focusing on the notion of opposites.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this activity is to have students demonstrate an understanding of complementary colors and to show how the use of complementary colors affects the meaning of an artwork.

PROCEDURE: Colors in works of art interact with each other in different ways. Orange will interact differently with red than it will with blue. An important word when we talk about how colors affect one another is opposite. You all know about opposites. The opposite of big is ______. The opposite of warm is ________. The opposite of black is ______. What is the opposite of orange? Let's look at a painting that contains opposites. Opposite colors complement each other, they make each other seem brighter. When you look at this painting can you guess which color is the opposite of orange? If you guessed blue you are right. Each primary color has a secondary opposite. The opposite of red is green and the opposite of yellow is purple. Why do you think an artist would want to put opposites next to each other in a painting?

MINNESOTA GRADUATION STANDARDS:
(1) Read, View, Listen
(2) Write and Speak
(3) Literature and the Arts

Age level: Appropriate for grades 2-4..
Artworks used: Use with other paintings that contain complimentary colors.
Props needed: No props needed. (A color wheel could be useful.)
Related to Minneapolis Sculpture Garden: No


© 1998 WALKER ART CENTER