DESCRIPTION: Students learn the effects of scale in art by juxtaposing magazine pictures of different sized objects.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this activity is to visually demonstrate the importance of scale, introduce how scale conveys emotion, and require students to use their imaginations as they look at artworks.

PROCEDURE: In this envelope I have cut out pictures of people, animals and objects of all different sizes such as mountains, baseballs and fountain pens. Let's take a look at them (lay them on the floor). First, let's see if we can organize them into groups by size. Let's put all the small things together and all the large things over here. Now what if we took this image (of a person) and placed it on this mountain or other large object, how would this person look compared to the mountain? Does it seem realistic? Does it make the person seem more important? (Continue with other comparisons). Now let's take a look at some artworks. How does the scale in this work change the way we view it? What if the scale were changed? How has the artist transformed the subject matter into something new? What kind of expressive qualities does the work have because of the scale used?

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

Age level: Appropriate for all ages.
Artworks used: Use paintings or sculptures that are of various scales.
Props needed: Cutout pictures from magazines.
Related to Minneapolis Sculpture Garden: No
Notes: All the pictures should be about the same size, but showing objects of different scales (mountains, fingers, houses, etc.).


© 1998 WALKER ART CENTER