Keith Haring and Radiating Figures

Students will examine the work of Keith Haring and then look at how simple figures and patterns create movement in an artwork.

A lesson plan for grade 5 Visual Arts Education

By Marion McClure

Learn more

• The Universe of Keith Haring Sponsored by the Keith Haring Foundation, this website provides information about the artist an examples of his work.

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Related topics

• Learn more about Keith Haring, arts, balance, drawing, hands-on, movement, radiating patters, and simple figures.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• view work of Keith Haring and see how simple shape and line can create effective and complex meaning.
• discuss the definition of movement and balance as principles, and their functions in a work.
• discuss warm and cool color and how they are visually opposite.
• create an artwork using simple figures and radiating pattern that demonstrates the principles of movement and balance.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2 hours

Materials/resources

• Examples of Keith Haring’s work
• Markers
• 12 X 18 drawing paper

Technology resources

Internet access (Keith Haring website can be accessed for examples of work)

Pre-activities

1. View the work of Keith Haring. Discuss the use of the figure and how movement is shown through the bending of joints.
2. Discuss movement as a principle and ways that line, pattern, and color can create movement. Demonstrate on the board how radiating patterns such as the ripples surrounding a pebble thrown into water can create movement.
3. Discuss how color can be used to separate each figure into a space. Areas of warm or cool color can surround figures to occupy an area. Different thicknesses of lines can also emphasize figures.
4. Discuss balance and how line and color gives space visual weight.
5. Demonstrate the variety of movement that can be shown through “stick figures” by drawing examples on the board.

Activities

1. Give each student a 12″ x 18″ piece of white paper.
2. Give instructions that each student is to create five to ten different simple figures that are balanced on the page. They may be any size and interact in any way, such as a pyramid or handstands on the shoulders of one below, etc.
3. Surround each figure with radiating lines of color.
4. Students need to plan how the colors will be distributed. Warm and cool colors can be alternated, or specific figures can be surrounded by related colors etc. There should be no white space between each line of color. Various thicknesses of line can be used to emphasize different areas of the project.
5. Accent shapes can be added to the design. These might be balls being used by the figures, rain drops, boxes that are being jumped over, etc.

Assessment

There should be at least five figures with bent joints suggesting movement.

There should be radiating patterns around each figure with no white space showing.

Movement should be emphasized in the whole work without becoming disorganized and overly busy.

The work should be balanced when considering the figures, lines, and colors.

Supplemental information

Previous examples of student work are very helpful to motivate students and show them the many possibilities they can create.

A variety of prints showing movement in other artists’ work can compliment examples of Keith Haring.

When viewing the examples attached below please understand that only a section of each project was scanned.

Comments

Students can personalize this project by thinking of ways that they move in their free time. Different types of sports, dance, and games, can help them visualize figures in motion.