The document describes a middle school art lesson where students create emotional sculptures based on the style of artist Alberto Giacometti. Students sculpt figures out of wire and papier-mache that represent feelings of depression, struggle, pressure, loneliness, and confusion. The sculptures are accompanied by artist statements explaining the emotions depicted.

1. FEB
12
Taking a Stand: A Middle School Studio Lesson
"My emotional sculpture represents depression. I was young when many family members died, some very
close to me. This sculpture shows me being pulled into a depression vortex by a 'depression demon' as
some would say. The white is happy, the gray is the vortex of mixed emotions and the black is the
depression."
by Stacy Lord
The long, thin figures of Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) have become famous symbols of modern
sculpture. These fragile figures standing alone in an empty space visually express how many people
felt after the terrible destruction of the Second World War. Giacometti worked with volume, texture and

2. negative space to express a feeling of isolation in his work. The thin, gaunt bodies of his sculptures
suggest the hard times many people experienced after the war. A very limited color scheme adds to
the solemn mood.
"This represents a person who is depressed and withdraws themselves from society and locked themselves
in a cage alone and it's falling apart."

3. Making a sculptural figure involves critical thinking and problem solving. In this project students use
an instant papiermaché such as Celluclay over a wire armature to make a figure. Making the sculpture
stand up on its own is not easy and students have to figure out the best way to prop up the sculptures
up as they work on them. The process of this project is additive, working from the bottom up. The
instant papier maché is heavy when mixed and, if the armature is thin and flimsy, applying little bits of
material at a time is crucial to maintaining the overall form.

4. "My emotional sculpture represents the emotion of struggling and being puzzled. The person is trying to
climb up the ladder but pieces are broken and missing. The ladder represents my life and since I have so
many expectations on me I can't make my way through because of the broken and missing pieces."
Setting the Mood
After sharing works by Giacometti, tell students: “Think back to a time when you felt alone and
isolated. If you had to sketch an idea for a sculpture based on Giacometti’s work, how would it
look? Would it be one lone figure or more? Would you be suspended in space or trapped within a
cage? Would you be standing alone on a large or small platform? What would your stance (posture)
be? Would you be by yourself or would you have props? Would you have exaggerated and/or distorted
proportions?”

5. "My sculpture is a person being weighted down by an anchor. This represents a person being pressured
down by all the pressure the person has. The body is half gray and half white meaning it's halfway from
collapsing. The black dots on the board represents the sweat from all the hard work the person has on
them. If they fall all the hard work they have done will fall too."
“Think of your mood/emotion during that time of loneliness and then think how you would translate it
into a sculpture using Giacometti’s style of art. Use a paper to sketch out your ideas. Stress to the
students that the stories behind their sculptures are personal and do not need to be shared but the
theme/emotion should be expressed.”

6. "This sculpture is about when times are suppose to be happy but there is always a sad time in me that I will
always remember but I leave it behind. The black part is I feel lonely and feeling sad that my parents are
always arguing and always talks about divorcing."
Procedures
Once the designs have been sketched, have students begin with an armature of a figure using wire
and tape. Stress that the smaller they work the more challenging it will be to apply the instant
papier maché. Working extremely large will stress the wire into distorting the figure, causing
frustration. Finished sizes that work the best range between six to fourteen inches in height.

7. Once the wire armature is formed, have the students mix up the instant papier maché to a pulp a little
at a time. (Dust masks may be needed for students with asthma.) Working in an additive style from
the bottom up, have students start adding the wet papier maché pulp to the armature, making sure to
“squeeze” it on the wire. During this process, the students will need to prop up their sculpture as they
are applying the pulp. Anything can be used as a prop; rulers, stools, old books, string, etc. Drying
time varies depending how thick the paper pulp is applied.

8. "I build an emotional sculpture which a person is climbing a tall steep mountain. This person is trying to
reach the tip of the mountain. The tip of the mountain represents the place where he does his job. He has
a stick to help climb the mountain. The stick represents an education. If there was no stick he will fall by
tiredness and can't reach the tip. So, it's telling that education at school is very important for you to graduate
schools and do a job to live. The person is doing his best to get a job with the help of education."
My students really got involved in this project as they were continually talking to each other during the
process. This helped with students’ thinking when it was time to write their artist statements. I have
students write their artist statements on tags that are then tied to their sculptures. I stress that they
do not have to put their names on the tags so that they will write honestly about the emotions that are
expressed in their sculptures.

9. "My sculpture shows me running towards what I am longing to find out, my potential but there are obstacles
in the way trying to hold me back. My figure is black because I feel that black represents confusing and I
am confused of who I really am and if I am running towards the right direction."
Assessment
I set completed sculptures from a different class on the tables and give each student five pieces of
paper. I then ask them to walk around and read the artist statement for each piece. They write a
comment for five pieces of their choosing and leave the papers next to the relative sculptures. I then
ask the students to take two more pieces of paper and go to two pieces that have no or very few
comments left for them and write a note to the artists. This eliminates the “but I did not get any
comments” syndrome so often associated with this type of assessment. We then have a group
discussion about the works of art.
Materials
 Armature Wire or newspaper
 Wire cutters/ scissors

10.  Masking tape
 Celluclay (plan on two 5 pound bags per 15 students)
 Metallic spray paint
 Tempera or acrylic paints
Stacy Lord is an art teacher at Worcester East Middle School in Worcester,Massachusetts, a member
of the SchoolArts advisory board, and NAEA Middle School Director Elect.
This article was published in the March 2014 SchoolArts Magazine.
Posted 12th February 2014 by SchoolArtsRoom
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