TITLE: Luiz Jimenez and Drawing

ART: Drawing - Gesture Drawing

GRADE LEVEL: Art Level I

TEKS:

117.52 (1) perception (A&B) (2) creative expression / performance (A & C) (3) historical / cultural heritage (A) (4) response / evaluation (A)

OBJECTIVE:

Students will view and discuss the work of Luis Jimenez and then complete several gesture drawings using a variety of media.

MATERIALS:

• See images below
• Large drawing paper
• Ebony pencils
• Colored pencils
• Charcoal (Pencil, stick and/or vine)
• Oil Pastels
• Crayon
• Chalk or pastels
• Markers
• Watercolor paint or colored ink (optional)
• Brushes (optional)
• Containers for washes (optional)
• Handout on Gesture Drawing (optional)

Time Required: 1/2 to 1 weeks (3 to 5 class periods)

OVERVIEW:

Luis Jimenez was born in 1940 in El Paso, Texas. His fiberglass sculptures and mixed media drawings depict boarder land people and the struggles of their lives. As the son of an illegal immigrant, the artist has first hand experience with much of the subject matter he depicts. His work has been described as stereotypical. However, the artist uses Chicano stereotypes to redeem aspects of boarder lands' history that have been overlooked or ignored by more traditional sources.

Jimenez was exposed to art and design in the sign painting and neon-crafting workshop of his father. In this setting, Jimenez received experience with diverse art media and popular imagery. He first studied architecture before turning to two and three dimension works of art. His early training is evident in the dynamic use of line in is drawings.

Jimenez earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas in 1964. For more than thirty years, he has been an active contributor to the contemporary art movement, as well as champion of the Chicano way of life.

DISCUSSION:

Play some charades with the students. Make some gestures and ask the students to tell you what they mean. Examples: Wave goodbye, shake your head no, signal baseball's out and safe, shake your finger like you are angry, shrug your shoulders like you don't know and then like you give up. Tell the students that just like there are quick expressive movements that communicate an idea or feeling, there are also quick expressive drawings that communicate the essence of an object or feelings at a moment in time.

View the examples of Luis Jimenez's work and discuss the gestural qualities of his pieces.

1. Ask the students the following questions:
2. What do you think the artist is trying to communicate?
3. How does the work make you feel?
4. Is the feeling generated by the subject, the technique or both?
5. How long do you think it took to Jimenez complete each piece?
6. Do you think Jimenez probably first sketched the separate images individually in studies before completing the final work?
7. What different media and colors do you see?
   

ASSIGNMENT:

Create several gesture drawings in class. Use a variety of subjects and media. Try working on some different textured paper. Work from life, drawing student or teacher models, and still-lives. Work from photographs of animals and other images that interest you. Use large paper and draw with large arm movements. Try turning the media and applying different pressure to achieve a variation in line.

After viewing Luis Jimenez's work, tell the students they will now go through a lesson on gesture drawing to help teach them the quick expressive line quality artists like Jimenez use.

Objectives of the Drawing Lesson:
The student will:

• learn the definition of gesture drawing.
• learn some techniques used in gesture drawing.
• Practice some gesture drawings.
• complete one final project from their best gestural work.

DEFINITIONS:

Gesture: A motion or action intended to express an idea or a feeling. An expressive movement.

Gesture Drawing: A quick sketch used to capture the movement or position of a subject. In gesture drawing you are drawing lines quickly and loosely to show movement in a subject.

TECHNIQUES:

1. Look at the overall composition, proportion, and movement of the subject.
2. Start out by stick figuring the subject in to get the pose, angles, and proportions correct (this can be eliminated after some proficiency).
3. Hold the pencil (or other drawing tool) under your hand and use the flat side of the lead.
4. Draw with large arm movements.
5. Draw quickly and loosely keeping your eyes and hand moving together.
6. Draw only the main lines that capture the pose and movement of the subject. Eliminate detail. Describe the gesture of the object.
7. Change subject, media, and possible paper types with each drawing. Practice turning the media at different angles and applying different pressures. This will achieve a varied line quality. Try to produce a thick to thin line and a dark to light line.

Demonstrate gesture drawing before the students begin.

After the students have completed several gesture drawings, have them choose their best one. They can try the following methods to improve this drawing:

The best drawing can be recreated in a studied fashion by lying a sheet of transparent paper over it and retracing the best lines of the drawing, controlling the placement and line quality. You can also finish this drawing in mixed media, adding color in washes of ink or watercolor and black or gray lines in washes and/or marker that shade and delineate the subject. (This is similar to the look of Jimenez's Denver Mustang and Alligator Study.)

SUGGESTIONS:

• Try playing music as the students draw to help them create a flow and movement in their strokes.
• To loosen the students up, have them stand up and stretch before they begin drawing.
• After the students have experimented with different media, paper, and subjects, let them choose a final composition in the materials of their choice.
• Try recreating the final gesture drawing on a prepared paper such as paper that has been marbled or splattered with paint.
• After the students have completed their gesture drawings, ask them to choose their best one for critique.
  

RESOURCES:

Printable Student Handout on gesture drawing

Publications:
Katz, Elizabeth L., Lankford, E. Louis, Plank, Jan D. Themes and Foundations of Art. St. Paul: West, 1995. pp. (Slide # 33 ancillary material).
Ragans, Rosalind. Art Talk. Columbus, Ohio: Glencoe,1995., pp. 102-103.

Internet Links:
http://www.artsonthepoint.org/jimenez_luis/jimenez.html
http://www.exnet.iastate.edu/cyfar/art/artist.html
http://mati.eas.asu.edu:8421/ChicanArte/unit2/lius/q.a.jimenez.html#artmaker
http://sheldon.unl.edu/HTML/ARTIST/Jimenez_L/SSII.html