Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. C laes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, who have been married over 30 years, take items from popular culture and transform them into giant sculptures that are on display all over the world. Their installations include clothespins, baseball bats, garden shovels and ice cream cones, to name a few. This transformation of everyday things is a great connection to my fourth-graders’ imaginations—the project they create is based on something they use in their 21st-century, everyday lives. This project makes the elements of space, value and perspective entertaining and educational. I start my lesson with a quick PowerPoint presentation introducing students to Claes and Coosje and to the art elements we will focus on during the project. This presentation generates more “ooohs” and “aaahs” than any other I give throughout the school year. I place a hyperlink in my PowerPoint presentation that connects to the artists’ Web site, www.oldenburgvanbruggen.com, so students can see many examples to encourage their imaginations. When discussing their work, I focus on the large size—or scale—of their sculptures. By changing the scale and making things bigger than normal, Coosje and Claes make the sculptures stand out from the setting. Their work can be funny, depending on the object chosen and the setting where the object is placed. The students enjoy the idea of humor in the couple’s work. Their sculptures show students that art doesn’t have to be so serious and removed from their own lives. Since we cannot create large-scale sculptures in an hour and 20 minutes, I decided to have the students make a drawing of a sculpture they would like to see built in a particular setting. To prepare them, I include a few of Claes and Coosje’s preparatory drawings in my presentation, and explain how they use value and perspective to make things look realistic and three-dimensional. To reinforce literacy, I have students read the slides aloud, and I write key vocabulary words on the board. This allows the kids to refer to back to the terms during the hands-on part of the lesson. Now students are excited to begin, and we start our hands-on portion with a little brainstorming. Everyone writes a list of five things they might want to see as a sculpture. This exercise generates a lot of good classroom chatter as students come up with ideas. Once they have completed their list, I use the digital overhead projector to demonstrate how perspective and value can make something look 3-D. I sketch an apple and then an iPod to demonstrate differences between curved and boxy shapes. This is a review step for my students, since they have learned these concepts in previous value and line projects. While they are working on their own practice apples and iPods, I float around the room to answer any questions, work with individuals and informally monitor concept comprehension. I do this for each separate step to make Marwin Frances MAKING A BIG DEAL ABout by Don Masse 32 march 2010 > > x www.ar tsandactivities.com