Subject(s): Art, Other, Social Studies Grades(s): Junior High/High School

Title – Do Something about…
School Violence Art Curricula Unit
Day 9: Conflict Resolution – Keith Haring Figures Part II
By – Do Something, Inc. / www.dosomething.org
Primary Subject – Art
Secondary Subjects – Social Studies, Other
Grade Level – 9-12

Do Something about…
School Violence
Art Curricula
15-Day Unit

The following lesson is the ninth lesson of a 15-day
School Violence Art Curricula Unit from Do Something, Inc.
Other lessons in this unit are as follows:

More student resources for this cause are at:
www.dosomething.org/causes/school_violence

For more Service-Learning Curricula check out:
www.dosomething.org/oldpeople

Day 9: Conflict Resolution – Keith Haring Figures Part II

Goal:

Students work together to create a mural modeling cooperation and conflict resolution

Process:

1. Show the students pictures of Keith Haring’s paintings. Go to:

http://www.haringkids.comfor appropriate images from his work. Click on ‘books‘ and then look at the page entitled ‘teamwork.’ Discuss the poses of the figures and what they seem to be doing. How do the figures look like a machine? What parts of the figures have been changed to resemble machines? Are the figures connected? Do the figures fit together in some ways? What do the lines outside of the figures represent? What do the symbols on some of the figures mean? How could the figures be further changed and linked to fit together more? To seem more machine like?

• Tell the students that they are going to make a “Keith Haring” machine of people working together. Talk about Keith Haring’s figures. What do they look like? Do they have individualized features or characteristics? Why not? How does he create these figures and how realistic are they?
• Ask the students to sketch figures in Keith Haring’s simple linear style. Ask them to sketch them in different poses.
• Bring out the drawings of machine parts from the last period. How can the students change the figures to incorporate some of these elements? Can arms and legs become levers? Can hands, feet or heads become gears or wheels? What about the holes in Haring’s figures?
• Have them do several drawings of figures with these elements.

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