The VAG is sharing “a new series of digital family programs designed to inspire you and your family to get creative at home! Every Sunday, the Gallery will share a different art-making activity, taking inspiration from the exhibitions or an artwork from the permanent collection, on our website and across our social media channels. Every other Wednesday at 1:30 PM, Family Programs Coordinator, Christina Jones, will share stories about the incredible lives of artists and their approaches to art-making in a LIVE Art At Home session on Zoom.” -From their webpage
A post came up on my social media so I decided to participate in the live Zoom lesson on Takao Tanabe, a Japanese painter, printmaker, designer and teacher. The lesson was led by Christina Jones, the VAG’s Family programs coordinator.
Jones led us through Tanabe’s career, showing us slides of his work, video examples of art techniques such as silkscreening, powerful quotes and fun mini-activities. The lesson can inspire you to create a similar lesson on landscapes. Here is another Art At-Home Activity on landscapes provided on the VAG website.
Here are some notes I took from the lesson:
Warm up:
-Which places make you feel calm? Landscapes: What are they?
-Being with and reflecting with nature
Artist Bio
-Tanabe was uprooted, and had to stop going to high school in Grade 10 because his family was sent to live at a Japanese interment camp in Lemon Creek
Resources:
Hastings Park
Tashme
Nikkei Place: Taiken Video Resources
Nikkei Place: Learning at Home
-Tanabe studied at the Winnipeg School of Art
-Tanabe studied in New York under abstract expressionist Hans Hoffman
-Tanabe taught at Emily Carr (previously the Vancouver School of Art)
-Learned typography and printmaking
-Example of screen printing video: https://www.malaspinaprintmakers.com/
Questions for Students:
-What does Abstract mean? (nonrepresentational, you decide what it looks like)
-What is Abstract Expressionism? (artist’s emotions represented)
-How do artists use their body when making abstract expressionist art?
Mini Activities:
Speed sketch challenge:
-30 seconds, sketch what you see. Try to observe Tanabe’s work and don’t look at your paper.
Using your body:
Go into 3 poses that act out the lines this print
Comparing 2 artworks: How are they the same, how are they different? (Materials, shapes, technique, colour, line, space).