Researching

          I'm working on my thematic unit and I'm having a lot of fun, but a tough time with figuring out what to teach about within my theme. My partner and I chose insanity as the theme, this seemed, at the time to be a quirky and fun topic, but that's nonsensical to choose a topic that's quirky and fun compared to informational and awareness offering. So with the definition of insanity within my lessons being mental illness, I want this to not only serve as a process based unit, I want it to be a tool for the students to better understand our world and how art is apart of it.
           So in my lesson that I executed with my classmates I introduced them to the artist Judith Scott and used her as an example of the technique of wrapping in a repetitive manner. This allowed the students a sneak peak of the capability and mistreatment Judith composed and went through. I'd like to do the same thing with each lessons, but have a progression up to some point. So I'd like my unit to posses an aspect of material manipulation, a research aspect, more material manipulation with a connection between their material and their concept, and then a large instillation incorporating all the lessons in one big lesson... but how to compose something like this.

"wrapping of wire" Teacher Sample from lesson I

"Pinching Wire" Teacher Sample for Lesson I

         
                










                    I've been doing a lot of research on outsider artist's and classics that were considered artistic genius's due to a mental illness. This is a website that gives me a good history and progression of the understanding of insanity within art. From this website I found a art gallery/ museum located in a historical asylum in London called Bethlem royal psychiatric. This is now a gallery/museum where a lot of shows are based on mental illness within the art's, not as a genius but as a theme. Within this theme there are shows based on treatments such as LSD to those with schizophrenia and how it effect's there art, homages to Louis Wain, and collaboration of works done by patients.

         I really would like to base this unit as if I were running a sculpture class compared to a studio. I want everything to work up to the importance of sculpture within the art world because I feel it is under appreciated within the schooling system. I feel this could be a perfect medium and style for this theme, I just need to figure out how I want to put these lesson's in order and what it will lead up to. With this project I have learned how hard it is to create a coherent unit, how to be sensitive within the lesson making world and overall classroom world, and the amount of studying, researching and investigating creative teachers go through every time they make a unit.