Become a Sol LeWitt Draftsman
Students ( and adults ) are fascinated by the idea of conceptual art – and the fact that the artist only writes the instructions , and does not “ make ” the art . We talk about what it means to buy a Sol LeWitt wall drawing , which can sell for upwards of $ 100,000 , and only receive a simple Certicificate of Authentication in exchange .
Become a Sol LeWitt Draftsman
Students begin the project by taking on the role of the LeWitt draftsman . They are given a set of instructions written specifically to explore a mathematical concept or introduce vocabulary . Instructions can be as simple as this :
1 . Divide your paper into 4 equal squares . 2 . In the top left square , draw two diagonal lines to create four triangles .
3 . Color at least one-half of the triangles blue and no more than one-quarter of the triangles red .
Or , for older students , the instructions might look like this :
1 . Draw a triangle with the coordinates ( 1 , -5 ) ( 10 , -11 ), ( 1 , -11 ) 2 . Reflect this triangle over the y-axis .
Completed drawings are presented side-by-side on a wall and students gather to review the finished artwork and discuss the results . Are all the drawings the same ? Why or why not ? Are there differences between drawing errors or interpretations ?
This discussion stimulates students ’ understanding of a number of concepts . For example , what are the different ways to represent one-half ? If you color two of four triangles blue , do the triangles have to be next to each other ? What does at least onehalf mean ? Can you color three out of the four triangles blue ? Is three-quarters at least one-half ?
STEAMed Magazine
12
January 2016 Edition