Themes in Art

Themes in Art
In this unit we will:

● Look at examples of different themes in art
● This project is meant to
○ Dreams and Visions
challenge you to be creative!
○ Portraits
○ The Natural World
○ The Urban Experience
○ Conflict and Resistance
● Learn about several artists who work in

these different themes
● You will select a theme and create a project

that represents that theme
What theme do you think this artwork represents?
Dreams and Visions
People have found many ways to record
feelings, unknowable mysteries,
personal fantasies, and inner visions.
Artists are often inspired by dreams.
Surrealism:
● 20th-century avant-garde
movement in art and literature
○ Avant-garde: new and unusual or
experimental ideas
● Sought to release the creative
potential of the unconscious mind
● made from the conjunction of
items not normally associated with
each other
How does this artwork represent Salvador Dali, Lobster Telephone, 1936
surrealism?
Michael Lucero
Michael Lucero’s
painted clay
sculptures are surreal
blends of folk ceramic
traditions, abstract
painting, reptilian
forms, body parts,
and plant-like
structures.
What feeling(s) do you get from looking at these teapots?

How do you think the artist accomplished that?
Student
Examples
Portraits
Throughout history and across
cultures, people have shown a
fascination with faces, and in turn,
with portrait representation.
Types of portraits
● Power: Images of authority. Used to
reinforce position, strength, and
leadership
● Status: Elite people who have high
social standing as a result of wealth,
lineage, or achievement
● Commemorative: Portraits of the
deceased. Used to mark gravesites
and placed inside or outside of tombs
● Psychological: Highly expressive.
Goes deeper into aspects of the
subject’s personality
Robert Arneson
(American, 1930–1992)
Robert Arneson was a sculptor

and ceramicist who is considered
to be the father of Funk Art, the
anti-establishment movement
that incorporated a variety of
found objects, autobiographical
subjects, and humor.
Was he effective in portraying his

personality? How did he accomplish
that?
Student Examples
The Natural World
Art that represents animals,
plant life, landscapes or other
things from the natural world
John Zimmerman
Landscapes, Animals, Plants
Beth Cavener, Tribute

Owen Mann
Eddie Dominguez Eddie Dominguez is a Hispanic
American ceramic artist. His
work is inspired by the American
Southwest - its landscapes and
its culture.
Student Examples
The Urban Experience
Cities and the arts have had a close relationship in many countries
throughout history. The social patterns of a city impact the evolution of an
urban culture, and works of art produced and exhibited there reflect those
influences.
People, Place, and Space
John Brickels
John Brickels grew up in Akron,
Ohio which is full of old factories
and a variety of interesting
architecture in different stages
of repair. He uses clay slabs to
create realistic buildings in
different levels of dis-repair.
What makes his
work personal?
How can you tell
just by looking
at it?
Student Examples
Conflict and
Resistance
Art that documents conflict and resistance
while also serving as a means for expressing
personal views on politics, war, social
inequities, and the human condition.
Bouke de Vries
Politics, War, Social Issues
Michelle Erickson
Richard Notkin
Richard Notkin is a ceramic artist who works
in Helena, MT. Influenced by the tradition of
Yixing pottery, he uses his work to comment
on political issues.
What recent political issue(s) do you think these

teapots could be about? Why?
Student Examples
Teacher Example
By Mrs. Cleveland
What theme do you think

this represents?
Think about...
What theme will you choose? What kind of object do you want
to create?
● Dreams and Visions
● Portraits ● Sculptural
● Functional
● The Natural World
● The Urban Experience
How will you construct your
● Conflict and Resistance project?
Other theme ideas:
What message/meaning will your
project communicate?
Death, culture, belief, domestic
life, writing, etc
Criteria for Success/Requirements
● Create a project in clay that appropriately reflects your theme
● Choose a construction method that best fits your design
● Project should be detailed, complex, creative, and thoughtful
● Not too big...not too small! (8”-12”)
● Excellent craftsmanship
● Bisque and Glaze Fired
● Name and period on bottom

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Themes in Art

In this unit we will:

● Learn about several artists who work in

● You will select a theme and create a project

What feeling(s) do you get from looking at these teapots?

Robert Arneson was a sculptor

Was he eﬀective in portraying his

Landscapes, Animals, Plants

Beth Cavener, Tribute

Politics, War, Social Issues

What recent political issue(s) do you think these

What theme do you think

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