Tribute Murals

Middle school students completed these tribute murals as a group project before the end of the first semester. Each class was given a painting divided into sections- each student was responsible for one section. The two larger classes tackled the Stan Lee tribute paintings and the smaller class did a tribute to Spongebob Squarepants creator Stephen Hillenberg. This type of project is great for getting students to work together because every piece needs to line up and match the colors and lines.

The top image is a composite of several Stan Lee created characters from the Marvel Universe. They are:
Top Row: Captain America, Daredevil, Mr. Fantastic, Ant-Man
Second Row: Dr. Strange, Stan Lee quote, Spider-Man, Thor
Third Row: Falcon, Invisible Girl, Hulk, Sub-Mariner
Fourth Row: Dormammu, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Human Torch
Bottom Row: Black Widow, Thing, Silver Surfer, Conan

International Academy Mural

The three International Academy art classes worked collaboratively on this peace mural during the final two weeks of class. We began by projecting the images onto the wall and drawing them out in pencil. Students from each class were put into teams for different sections of the mural. Since my middle school classes are so large, we switched off throughout the period so every student was able to help with the painting. We included the Dealey logo on one side and a quote from John Lennon that relates well to the mural on the other side. The concept is many different hands of different cultures coming together for peace. We ended with each student signing their name around the perimeter of the painting. I was very proud of my classes for working so well together and creating something so beautiful that represents the theme of our school!

Murakami Murals

Takashi Murakami is an internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist. He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art. He coined the term superflat, which describes both the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of post-war Japanese culture and society.

The International Academy art students studied Murakami as part of our unit exploring Japanese Art. We looked at some of his designs fro Louis Vuitton, his videos for Kanye West, and his vast collection of deformed Manga characters. Each Academy class took a different Murakami print and divided it up into a large scale mural. This is a great collaborative project because students need to work together to make sure each piece lines up and all the colors match.