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Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Explore the concept of ordinary, everyday objects.
• Analyze how ordinary objects can transform into art.
• Interpret the work of Claes Oldenburg, Coosje van Bruggen, and Andy Warhol.
• Identity techniques in Pop Art, including screen printing, repetition, and embellishment of familiar objects.
• Use cameras and photo editing software, or paint to alter images of “ordinary” objects.
• Create a diptych of altered digital images, incorporating a variety of art and graphic techniques and concepts. 
• Display artwork for an audience.
• Critique various pieces of artwork.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

Video

Websites

•  
• Art Critiques Made Easy

Additional Materials

• Camera
• Magazines
• Tempera paint
• Craft items
• Digital art or photography tools (Google Drawings, Adobe Illustrator/InDesign, or photoshopping applications)

Teacher Background

Teachers should review all works of art prior to sharing with students. Graphic art software is optional, such as Google Drawings, Adobe Illustrator/InDesign, or photoshopping applications.

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with critiquing and discussing art.

Accessibility Notes

Modify Google Slide and utilize assistive technologies as needed. Provide preferential seating for visual presentations and allow extra time for task completion.

Engage

1. Begin by exploring a primary concept in pop art: using the ordinary, everyday object as the subject of an artwork. Display or share the following pieces: , , , and . 

2. Lead the class in a critique of the sculptures. Have students turn and talk with their peers. Ask: What do you notice or wonder about the sculptures? What was the artists’ thinking process? Why do you think the artist chose these materials to create the piece? Do you think of objects like this as being art?

3. Tell students the sculptural collaborations we created by a duo, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. As a married couple and artistic collaborators, they were able to bring their individual artistry together to create these beloved sculptures. Show the video, to learn more about their collaborations.

4. Give students a regular clothespin. Distribute the so students can compare the real clothespin object with . Ask students to consider the differences in size, material, and features of the clothespin and the sculpture and ordinary clothespin. 

5. Have a follow-up discussion with students about their clothes pin comparisons. Ask students: What did the artist do to the clothespin to make it into art? Why or why not can ordinary or everyday objects be art?

Build

1. Have students create an “Ordinary to Art” board. They can look through magazines or create an on a Google Slide. Allow students to explore classroom objects, household items, or familiar tools. Students will glue or tape magazine clippings to a board labeled “Ordinary” on one side and “Art” on the other. Students should develop a rationale for their choice and describe a possible method to make an ordinary object into something special. Example objects and rationale statements can be seen on the . (Potential transformations could be to paint, enlarge, place it in a special container, decorate it, add features or materials, etc.).

2. Allow time for students to work on their boards. Have students take a gallery walk around the classroom to visit each other's boards and discuss. 

3. Show the video . Discuss with students how their ordinary to art boards related to the explosion of pop art in the early 1960s.

4. Introduce students to artist Andy Warhol. Warhol was known for making art from ordinary or everyday objects. Allow time for students to explore the portraits: , , and . Compare images to a regular photograph and note how Warhol changed the photographs to create art. Warhol created these portraits using a specific technique called screen printing.

5. Explain Warhol’s methods of repetition and embellishment of familiar icons or famous people. Display and discuss how he repeated his images and added paint and changed the colors. Note the arrangement of the bottles. Ask: How is this different from putting just one Coca-Cola bottle on a shelf? Notice the formal qualities of the art such as color, pattern, and texture and how they affect the image. Students can also explore other works such as , , , and .

6. Divide students into groups to brainstorm ways Oldenburg, van Bruggen, and Warhol transformed ordinary objects into special works of art. Ask: What artistic principles can you incorporate into an ordinary object to make it stand out?

Apply

1. Have students research or take photographs with a camera of a person or object, then make a few printed copies of the picture. This can be a portrait of a celebrity like Kevin Hart, Megan Rapinoe, Mindy Kaling, Billie Eilish, Dwayne Johnson, Lauren Spencer, Lionel Messi, a close friend, parent, teacher, classmate, mentor, or an object such as headphones, a skateboard, shoes, a pencil, an heirloom, or a teapot. Encourage students to brainstorm their own ideas.

2. Embellish the pictures by offering a few choices: 

- Tempera paint
- Craft items
- Digital art or photography tools (Google Drawings, Adobe Illustrator/InDesign, or photoshopping applications)

3. Have students display their images onto the wall, side by side in rows. Explain to students that this is the Andy Warhol method of repetition.

Reflect 

1. Conduct a class gallery walk and art critique. Share the resource, Art Critiques Made Easy, so students can explore ways to expand their critical thinking skills when analyzing art. 

2. Assess students’ knowledge or transform an ordinary object into art. Have students write a reflection about their artwork. Ask: How has your opinion on this type of art changed (or not)? What is the impact of the art with the added embellishments?