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Light & Lines

Art and geometry combine for this activity in which students will design an art installation for an embassy or other public building.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper
  • Poster Board
  • Ruler

Steps

  • Step 1

    The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) is an organization dedicated to providing permanent works of American art for U.S. embassies around the world. Have students look at "Light and Vision" by Odili Donald Odita, a Nigerian-born American abstract painter. These two murals can be seen at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and found online. Ask them to describe the feelings that the colors and shapes evoke.

  • Step 2

    Talk to the class about the two-point perspective method, which uses two vanishing points to create a 3-D effect. A vanishing point is a point on a plane where two parallel lines in three-dimensional space appear to converge. Imagine looking at a photo of railroad tracks that appear wide in the foreground and seem to converge in the distance.

  • Step 3

    Challenge students to imagine their class was commissioned to design an entrance for a U.S. embassy. Ask them to sketch a drawing based on a real or imagined room using the vanishing point method to create a 3-D look. Then have them plan artwork to adorn the entrance or lobby walls.

  • Step 4

    When the room sketch and artwork are completed, have them present their idea as if making a pitch to the U.S. embassy decision makers. They can hold up the sketch and explain their philosophical approach to welcoming visitors to this public space.

Standards

ARTS: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

MATH: Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.

Adaptations

Have students investigate and view the works of some other FAPE artists such as Josef Albers, Mary Lee Bendolph, Ansel Adams, Willie Cole, and many more.

What is the purpose of a U.S. embassy? Ask students to learn about these official headquarters for U.S. diplomats and government representatives serving in a foreign country. Where are they usually located? What are some of its functions?