Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash
We next looked at the work of Giacomo Balla, an Italian artist who
showed movement by repeated
sequence in the style of Futurism.
His oil painting, Dynamism of a
Dog on a Leash, a prime example
of Futurism, is on display in the
Albright Knox Art Museum here
in Buffalo. Students were asked to
compare and contrast the painting
with the gesture drawings they had
s een at the beginning of the lesson,
enn diagram.
ts saw movement in the
Balla painting as “more
than one move but at
the same time.” They
also looked at a black-and-white image of the
painting. This version
simplified the line move-m ents within the painting
made the repetition of the
clearer.
C reating a Collage
nal part of the lesson,
chose one of their gesture
to be used as a pattern.
The image had to show movement and a recognizable image of
a person. Students simplified the
images, cut them out, and traced
them on two contrasting colors of
construction paper. Each image was
reproduced and cut out four times
in each color, resulting in eight figures.
Students glued their images on
black construction paper, using an
alternating color scheme to create
action, movement, and rhythm by
overlapping and repetition. Students
discovered many ways to create the
illusion of movement. They could
take a standing figure and create an
image that was falling over. They
also learned they could vary the
amount of negative space between
the images to change the rhythm
of the movement. To complete the
project, students evaluated their
work by completing a simple rubric
and by writing responses to three
reflective questions.
The results were stunning. The
fourth graders worked diligently
to create unique and eye-catching
pieces. During the spring art show,
their efforts were rewarded by comments of “Wow!” “How’d they do
that?” and “This looks awesome!”
Lynda Lord is an art teacher at Roy B. Kelley Elementary School in Lockport, New
York. Lynda@adelphia.net
NATIONAL STANDARD
Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
WEB LINK
artchive.com/artchive/B/balla/
dogleash.jpg.html
www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/
degas/ jockey.jpg
www.ndoylefineart.com/gesture3.
html
www.daumier.org/
www.artchive.com/artchive/T/tou-louse-lautrec.html
