Caricature and Art Appreciation....what do they have in common?

Hello everyone, first off I am sorry for the delay in writing. I had a family emergency to attend to, but all is working well. In fact I was working on two projects this week that seem to have no correlation except for the fact that I worked on both. Well I think there are more similarities then you may think….

For most of you out in cyberspace, you know that I am a caricature artist. You also know that I teach art at the grade school level  (Kindergarten through 8th grade). Now during the spring of the year, the older kids get antsy. The younger ones do too, but their energy can be corralled into other art projects. The older kids? Not so much…they see the light at the end of the tunnel.

To keep the focus going I have taught a simplified version of Art Appreciation to the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders. All the students have to learn about the famous artists, the paintings that made them famous, and the style they painted or created their masterpieces. It not only gets the student to learn about art history, but I like to think that it inspires young minds and makes the brain expand to more than the required 2% that the human brain usually uses. Plus it also gets the student back to the basics of fundamental learning, memorization.

Somehow we overlook the skill of memorization in today’s world. We have all the technology of today to do just about anything without actually using our brain. We don’t have to remember how to spell, do math, remember basic names, phone numbers, etc. Now we have spell checkers, calculators, blackberries with internet, etc. But we still need those skills to remember and know how to do things without looking on a screen for guidance. 

Now with caricature, you may think that it is just talent and a special way of looking at a subject. That is true. But there is a bit of memorization too. Surprised? Well if you think about it, the basics of a caricture style is repeated over and over that the skill can be put on autopilot for a good caricaturist. You usually do not see an artist pacing back and forth, doing just about anything except finishing the subject’s caricature. Sometimes I take a break, sometimes I try to figure out exactly what I what i want to accomplish, but soon thereafter, i am back on my drawing table cranking out a caricature. How is that done? Simple answer is memorization of basic composits of caricature design.

I know that my face starts first and I try to fit all the details in a way that makes the caricature appealing. i know that I do not have to add the eyes right away, but I have to make sure I get the right eyelid shape, the correct distance to the nose and the right spacing. That is just the eyes. There still is the nose, mouth, lips, ears, hair and chin to deal with too. Lucky for me i do not usually draw individual teeth as I don’t see the need to.

Both caricature and an appreciation of art can work together as I may set up a caricature to a famous art masterpiece. I could also use a style for a background that would otherwise look dull and boring or even worse…blank. It is no wonder that in my classroom I have 20 famous artists looking at my students in caricature. It helps to show an image of the artist who painted the masterpiece that a student will study. That way, a student will see a scruffy red-headed man with a beard and immediately remember that he painted Starry Night. 

It may seem like two totally different concepts but caricature and art appreciation are two of my better strengths and I hope I can make them strengths for my students too. Not only for a potential career in art but in the grand sceme of life.