Hello Friends!!
Henri Matisse is a French artist known for making colorful works of art! Throughout his life, he used so many different kinds of materials to make his art. He used paint, bronze (for his sculptures), and he also made drawings using charcoal. After Matisse spent years creating art, he began to work with paper in bright colors. He would tear and cut the paper into shapes such as animals, leaves, dancers and flowers, then arrange and layer them to make one beautiful work of art!
Henri Matisse is a French artist known for making colorful works of art! Throughout his life, he used so many different kinds of materials to make his art. He used paint, bronze (for his sculptures), and he also made drawings using charcoal. After Matisse spent years creating art, he began to work with paper in bright colors. He would tear and cut the paper into shapes such as animals, leaves, dancers and flowers, then arrange and layer them to make one beautiful work of art!
One of Matisse's most famous works is called The Snail. It was made in 1953 and is full of brightly colored square and rectangular shapes. Look at how he arranged the square shapes in a spiral! He did this to help us imagine the shell of this snail!
Matisse showed his interest in bright colors in this work. Look at how he placed the colors. He arranged complementary colors next each other to draw in the viewer and make his colors pop! It really attracts your attention.
Matisse showed his interest in bright colors in this work. Look at how he placed the colors. He arranged complementary colors next each other to draw in the viewer and make his colors pop! It really attracts your attention.
What are complementary colors? Let's look at his color wheel! The colors that are directly across from each other are complementary. This means that they go well together and help each other stand out!
Red & green
Purple & yellow
Orange & blue
Can you find these colors next to each other in Matisse's art work?
Red & green
Purple & yellow
Orange & blue
Can you find these colors next to each other in Matisse's art work?
The Albany Museum of Art has a new exhibition called Cut and Paste: Works of Paper. This exhibit is by 11 different artists from Georgia, each piece is made using paper, a simple material that is elevated in works of art in unimaginable ways! Follow this link to our exhibition page to learn more!
 | This work is by Jerushia Graham, of Atlanta. Currently the museum coordinator for the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, she exhibits both nationally and internationally, including her show Undercurrents last spring and summer at the AMA. She made this by cutting out large blocks of color in recognizable forms, like the human body, a dress, and hair! |
| This work is by Imi Hwangbo, of Athens, who has received several international artist grants and fellowships. She is a professor of art at The University of Georgia. This was made by layering many sheets of thin paper, ranging from a very dark blue, to a lighter and lighter shade until nearly white for the top layers. Each sheet has hand cut flower petals that line up with each other to create this amazing affect of space! |  |
 | This work is by Samuel Stabler, of Athens, who shows in New York, Los Angeles and Athens, as well as Paris and Berlin. He is involved with curation at several institutions in the state of Georgia. In fall 2018 and early winter 2019, his work was included in the exhibition Home Tour: Artists Investigating Interiors, Domesticity and Identity at the AMA. Can you believe these artists can do so much with only paper!? |
Art Break!
We are going to make a Matisse-inspired collage!
Here's what you will need:
Here's what you will need:
- Bright construction paper (You can use white paper and fill it in with maker or paint!)
- Scissors
- Glue
- Pencil
- Music
Matisse, like so many artists, loved to listen to music as he worked! If you can, put on your favorite music to help get you inspired.
Cut or tear shapes from your construction paper. Your shapes can be ones like squares or circles, or they can be wavy and fun! You can cut out snake-like shapes that are long and curvy, big and little hearts, or crazy shapes that don't look like anything you've seen before. Just have fun! Try to make as many shapes as you can.
Use a full blank sheet of paper and arrange your shapes in a way that makes you happy. Maybe you can form your shapes into something you recognize, like a house or the a shining sun. You also can randomly place your shapes if you like. It does not have to be representational, meaning it does not have to look like anything you recognize.
Don't be afraid to experiment with your shapes. They can be apart or touching. They can overlap or be stacked, or they can all form a new shape. When you decide on a composition, glue each shape down to the paper.
Cut or tear shapes from your construction paper. Your shapes can be ones like squares or circles, or they can be wavy and fun! You can cut out snake-like shapes that are long and curvy, big and little hearts, or crazy shapes that don't look like anything you've seen before. Just have fun! Try to make as many shapes as you can.
Use a full blank sheet of paper and arrange your shapes in a way that makes you happy. Maybe you can form your shapes into something you recognize, like a house or the a shining sun. You also can randomly place your shapes if you like. It does not have to be representational, meaning it does not have to look like anything you recognize.
Don't be afraid to experiment with your shapes. They can be apart or touching. They can overlap or be stacked, or they can all form a new shape. When you decide on a composition, glue each shape down to the paper.
Thank you for learning with us today!
What to learn more? This is a great book!!
The Swimmers: Paper Cut-Outs with Matisse
