ALTEA GRAU

The Trace of a City

Proposal summary

The duality and reflection present in Altea Grau’s piece of art Against Syntax by Consorci de Museus, 2019, p. 140) are inspiring elements for students to experiment with composition and the combination of graphite with white pencils. The tarlatan cloth on white paper becomes an innovative canvas on which to work on strokes and trails, and then, on kraft paper, complete a collective composition that, through superposition, can be endless.

Materials and preparation

materials ALTEA GRAU
materials-altea2
  • Tarlatan cloth
  • Graphite pencils
  • White watercolour pencils
  • White paper
  • Kraft paper


Preparation of two different spaces: on the one hand, tables where students can work with tarlatan cloth, graphite, and white paper; on the other, a space without tables, where kraft paper will be taped to the floor. It is not necessary for students to sit down to work with the graphite pencils and the tarlatan cloth, so they can be a bit closer together, leaving free space in the classroom for the kraft paper.

On the tables, each student will have a piece of tarlatan cloth, a graphite pencil, and a piece of white paper. Near the kraft paper, there will be white watercolour pencils and more graphite pencils.

Proposal development

This is a generic description of the proposal, which can be adapted to different levels, according to the grade and characteristics of the class. The described phases are divided into several sessions (usually between two and three). In the following section (What do we work on with this piece?), you have a detailed list of the proposal’s connections with the basic competences of Arts Education (AE), English, and CLIL methodology.

At this initial moment, the work and the author are contextualised, linking them with students’ previous knowledge and experience. Furthermore, comprehension is the main language skill involved, though the teacher always seeks interaction with the students. The teachers involved in the project prepared materials that can be used for this purpose.
MATERIAL 1
MATERIAL 2

Observation and analysis of Altea Grau's piece Against Syntax. At this point, students are encouraged to detect, understand, and, if possible, extract the aesthetic qualities of the piece that will serve as a guide for experimentation (see Aesthetic Qualities of’Against Syntax). It is a rich context for linguistic learning, as it is linked to reflective analysis of visual language.

AESTHETIC QUALITIES OF
  1. Materials presentation and steps to follow. At this point, oral comprehension and interaction are fostered. The teacher models and draws some examples of what is required in the proposal..
    2.  
  2. Each student places the piece of tarlatan cloth on the white paper and draws with the graphite pencil using square or rectangular shapes in horizontal or vertical direction, inspired by the strokes shown in the original piece. Like this, the white paper is marked with graphite traces left through the tarlatan cloth.
    3.  
  3. The papers are torn while respecting the drawings so as not to cut them but disfiguring the perfect margins of the paper. Students are reminded to be careful not to smudge the graphite traces with their fingers.
    4.  
  4. At the end of this phase, the group moves, with the paper with strokes and torn edges, to the work area where the kraft paper is. It should be surrounded without stepping on it.
    5.  
  5. Each child must decide where to place his/her white paper on the kraft paper and, based on its shape, draw the silhouette. The white paper serves as a starting point; its shapes and placement should be a source of inspiration.
    6.  
  6. When removing the paper, details are traced based on the silhouette. Thus, students transform it into a building or draw around it, so that together they create a city. When drawing, graphite and white pencils can be used in combination to highlight some aspects. It is important to encourage students to experiment and explore with the texture of the graphite (pressing more or less, etc.). The silhouette is nothing more than the starting point that can be complemented with elements they consider could represent the city, such as streets, parks, etc.
    7.  
  7. When finished, the white paper is collected and set aside (it will also be kept).
    8.  
  8. Experimentation is repeated with other groups of students, who work on the drawings that previous groups have made on the kraft paper. Playing with what already exists, deciding how to continue the drawing, is part of the experimentation. Each group's drawings may overlap the previous ones.
   

Quan diversos grups han realitzat les seues creacions sobre el paper kraft, aquest s’exposa (es pot exposar juntament amb els papers blancs esgarrats, com a peces individuals impulsores de l’obra col·lectiva). Es crea una peça col·laborativa a través de l’acumulació de traços. Es mostra també la peça Against Syntax, generant un diàleg visual entre les dues propostes. La mestra raona amb l’alumnat per arribar a una reflexió avaluativa sobre com s’han anat connectant uns elements del dibuix amb altres i on han quedat espais buits. Durant l’anàlisi de la composició com un tot, es posa el focus en els elements que es poden ressaltar i com fer-ho (color/intensitat), tot enllaçant amb la creació d’Altea Grau.

What do we work on with this piece?

The work of each proposal is competency-based, but materialises through specific aspects inspired by the original piece. Specifically, Altea Grau’s Against Syntax leads us to focus on the stroke, composition, and evocation of forms.

Click the button to download a more detailed description of how to link the proposal with specific AE competencies.

Relationship with specific EA competencies

The proposal aims to make a contextualised use of language, fostering the development of language skills. This is carried out through a communicative approach highlighting action-oriented learning in which the exchange of artistic and linguistic codes is encouraged. 

Within this competency-based work, each step of the proposal constitutes one or several communication situations that act as a meaningful context for the use of more specific knowledge, which each teacher can select according to his/her objectives. Among others, the characteristics of the original piece and the derived proposal can be favourable to work on comparatives (more or less intense strokes generate different shades of black and grey), the vocabulary of geometric shapes, as well as of nearby places or environments, and the expression of spatial relationships.

Click the button to download a more detailed description of how to link the proposal with specific foreign language competencies.

Relationship with specific foreign language skills

The CLIL approach was conceived to be applicable in any area of knowledge, but each area has well-defined characteristics. One of the objectives of this project has been to identify the specificities of AE that, on the one hand, can strengthen the CLIL approach and, on the other hand, can benefit from applying this approach. The work among teachers, researchers, and students has allowed us to design a CLIL proposal specific to AE. Click the button to download it.

Relationship with AICLE methodology

Students’ creations

Project funded in the 2019 call for the Universitat Jaume I Research Promotion Plan (UJI-A2019-25)
All the images are the authorship of the following members of the project: Maria Avariento, Anna Marzà, Paloma Palau and Paola Ruiz.

CONTACT
artsenguji@gmail.com

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