Title: The limits of provocation in art

Lesson plan elaborated by: Magdalena Trysińska

Topic: The limits of provocation in art

Target group:

4th‑grade‑students of a high school.

Core curriculum

General aim of education

Students analyze and interpret works of old and contemporary art that belong to the trend of „critical art”.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn;

• social and civic competences.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• characterises the art of the 20th century, including the trend of „critical art;”

• uses the terms: scandal, provocation, taboo;

• attempts to analyze and interpret contemporary art;

• discusses examples of critical art, both nineteenth‑century and twentieth‑century.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion;

  • experts’ knowledge method.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• colored paper;

• newspapers;

• scissors;

• glue;

• sheets of paper.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students get acquainted with the concept of „critical art” and bring to classes one example of the implementation of this trend (electronic medium).

2. Students bring crayons, markers, clean A4 sheets and newspaper clippings to classes that will be useful for creating collages.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The student chosen by the teacher tells what critical art is and what the representatives of this trend are familiar with. Then, eager students present examples of the implementation of critical art and discuss them.

Realization

1. Definition of terms. Students get acquainted with the initial part of the abstract, and then perform the exercise 1 (definitions: taboo, scandal, provocation).

2. The reference of the examples presented in the introductory part to the discussed categories: the students in a short discussion determine which examples can be included in provocations that break or break the taboo, and which caused a scandal.

3. Analysis of E. Manet's pictures in abstract. Talk about the reasons for the scandal caused by the French painter.

4. Working in groups using expert tables. The teacher divides the class into four groups. Each of them assigns a fragment to read. The team's task will be to prepare a summary of the given text and to convey its content to other groups. After the time has elapsed, new groups are created, which include one expert from all teams. Experts report in turn what they have learned a moment ago. Then, they return to their groups, confront the acquired knowledge, supplement any shortcomings, check if everyone has learned everything.
   Group I: Aleksander Wojciechowski, Édouard Manet
   Group II: Henri Perruchot, Manet
   Group III: Émile Zola, Édouard Manet (part I)
   Group IV: Émile Zola, Édouard Manet (part II).

5. Analysis of Banksy's work „The Sirens of the Lambs” in abstract. Students do exercise 7 and discuss the topic: „Are there limits in art?”.

6. Students individually implement their own example of critical art (art work, collage), to be finished at home.

Summary

1. The teacher chooses one student by random method and asks him or her to explain in own words the meaning of a given word or concept learned during the lesson.

2. The teacher asks a willing student to summarize the lesson from his point of view. He asks other students if they would like to add anything to their colleague's statements.

Homework

1. Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

2. In available sources, look for other examples of works of art that were to provoke or shock recipients. Consider sending these works, enter your comment into the notebook.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The boundaries of provocation in art

The term critical art has been functioning in Poland since the end of 1990’s. It refers to the works of artists who boldly comment and evaluate the contemporary times. Such art is controversial and often adopts non‑conventional forms, e.g. of artistic actions, while its criticism is pointed both at history, religion, corporeality, sexes, and social identity. However, it is worth to ask whether the activities of the artists are in fact able to change the world and human behaviour.

The today’s art tries to take this challenge. It uses provocation to stir the conscience, consequently becoming the subject of public discussion. Hence, the field of its activity is intensive dialogue, or even hot dispute between the authors and recipients, especially when artistic actions have a negative moral significance. Scandals accompanying contemporary art became common – however, it is worth to stress that in previous periods they also happened. In the 17th century the Caravaggio’s paintings were criticised on the wave of indignation, similar as the works of Courbert or Manet in the 19th century.

In 2013, an animal transport van filled with squeaking puppets of slaughter animals, such as cattle, swine and sheep, appeared in the New York streets. It was an artistic action of Banksy entitled The Sirens of the Lambs. The association of nice plush toys with living creatures and suggesting their dramatic fate caused deep shock not only in children, but also in adults. English artist resigned of literary presentation and the use of living matter as the material of art. Thus, he avoided the basic ethical controversy accompanying many contemporary artistic actions, which is the suffering of animals directly involved in the art activities. Thanks to generalisation and the use of a symbol, he achieved the intended goal, and his work gained an important moral implication.