PROJECT TWO--MAKE YOUR OWN MONDRIAN PAINTING

OBJECTIVES:
Students will create a painting employing a grid with straight horizontal and vertical lines.  The resulting rectangles will be filled with the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) plus gray.  It will be similar in style to Piet Mondrian's paintings.  Balance, emphasis and good composition are important.
SUPPLIES:
Formatted 2SHD IBM compatible disk, Paint or Paintbrush, colored printer and paper and mounting supplies.
PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS:

  1. Choose Line, choose the widest line at the bottom and the color black.
  2. Then choose rectangle (with a solid line) with the color black.  Draw a frame (start at the top left) and pull diagonally to the bottom until it covers the screen.  (Do not scroll beyond what you can see in the screen.   Release.  TO UNDO AN ERROR, CLICK ON EDIT AND UNDOThe undo will go back further if you keep clicking on it. This is limited.
  3. Choose Line and draw horizontal and vertical lines until you have an interesting grid of rectangles which fills the screen without scrolling.
  4. After the grid work is complete, scroll beyond the grid work.  If there are lines that extend beyond the frame, choose Select (dotted rectangle) and draw the rectangle to go around the extra ends.  Choose Edit and Cut.  Repeat as needed until there are no more loose ends.
  5. Click on Paint Jar (Fill with Color).  Click on the color you choose and click on the area that needs the color.  Please choose from WHITE (BLANK), plus GRAY plus the Primary Colors which are RED, YELLOW AND BLUE.  Since this is similar to a Mondrian painting, do not use other colors or shades.
  6. Save to the disk.  Insert disk into A drive.  Choose File and Save As.  Enter your initials-2 (for Project2).
  7. Choose Edit and Print Preview.  Do not worry if the picture is not centered.  It should not fill the page.  If connected to a printer, choose File and Print (Current page - one copy only.)  Mount picture. 
PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS:
Make a color printout and mount.  Hand in by the date stated. 
FINISHED FILE SAVE TO TEACHER'S MASTER DISK.
ART HISTORY:
Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was born into a Calvinist Dutch family.  His goal was to discern an underlying structure in the wold and to indicate this, as a mathematician might, by means of the fewest, clearest elements available, removing all clutter, paring away everything inessential to reveal the barest, most economical solution.  Visual balance was key to all he did.  He often used the primary colors (red, yellow and blue and sometimes gray).  Piet Mondrian is discussed in Art in Focus by Gene A. Mittler, Glencoe Publishing Co., a division of Macmillan, Inc., Mission Hills, CA 1986. (page 54).   Mondrian's paintings often are an example of Formalism, which stresses the importance of the elements and principles of art.

GRADING SCALE:  Based on 100% of the project.  Each part is 25%.

Diana J. Hunter, Instructor and editor.

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Last updated 12/27/02 Launch date 11/01/01 © 2001 
Permission granted for classroom or home use up to 100 copies.