Artful Assessment

Grade 4 Social Studies and Visual Arts Lessons

Louise Nevelson moved to Rockland, Maine from Russia when she was four years old. Her father operated a lumber business, and Louise began building things from wood scraps in the lumberyard at age six. She also loved to paint, make costumes, and put on plays during her childhood years. Her school success centered on her enthusiasm with the arts and at a very early age she knew that being an artist was a part of her destiny. She moved from Maine to New York City, where she studied art and had a successful career as an artist. The sculpture Untitled is representative of her style. She used wood scraps and other found objects as the elements of art in her sculpture and was enamored by the rhythm and mystery of the shadows created by the objects. She liked to contrast rough and smooth pieces as well as varied and repeated shapes. As she once said, “I use shapes to create my own universe.” In these lessons, students will experiment with Nevelson’s assemblage technique in creating their own works of art. The visual arts lesson allows students to analyze Nevelson’s work and create their own three-dimensional assemblages using found objects. Throughout this activity, the students will focus on the use of the elements of art (line, shape, light, value, color, texture, and space) to create their assemblage. The social studies lesson asks students to consider themselves and their own environment when creating their assemblages. Students’ assemblage displays will express their own personality, their personal heritage, and life in Maine.