Description of the Unit – Students observed and discussed the work of contemporary American painter Chuck Close, a technically innovative artist known particularly for his large-scale photo-realist portraits. Students applied Close’s use of a grid to break down a self-portrait into individually colored squares that together create a cohesive whole.

Activity statement – In 1988, a spinal blood clot left Close almost completely paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. To keep painting, he devised a brush-holding device strapped to his wrist and forearm. It was then that he replaced the minute detail of his earlier paintings with a grid of tiles composed of abstract, organic shapes. Viewed up close, each tile is its own miniature abstract painting; seen from a distance, the tiles come together to form a whole portrait. After observing and discussing the characteristics of Close’s work, students took on the challenge of doing the same on a much smaller scale, using a self-portrait photo for reference. Of importance in this unit is for students to understand how to create tint, tone and shade, and how each contributes to express value, giving their portrait a three-dimensional expression while still being broken into a grid of individual shapes and colors.

Goals – Students should…

Understand:

• Tint, tone and shade, and how these come together to express value
• Abstraction
• Organic vs. Geometric shapes

Know:

• How to achieve tint, tone and shade

Be able to:

• Express value using tints, tones and shades
• Create a grid, and fill in the grid with individually colored squares while also composing a whole portrait
• Identify the art of Chuck Close

Resources and materials –

• Examples of Chuck Close’s portrait grid paintings
• Student photographs
• 9×12 Bristol or cardstock paper
• Pencils
• Erasers
• Rulers
• Multicolored markers or sharpies
• Colored pencils
• Watercolors (w/brushes, cups, etc.)

Questions – (while observing Close’s paintings):

• What do you notice? What is Close doing with these paintings?
• Look inside each square: what is each square made of?
• How does Close express shadows and highlights?
• How does he make each tiles come together to form a whole?
• What do you think of Close’s paintings?

Evaluation – Did students:

• Break their image into a grid and fill each square with a range of various colors?
• Effectively composite the individual squares into one cohesive image?
• Express value within the portrait?

Informal:

• Student questions
• Group discussions
• Oral responses to essential questions
• Elaboration and risk-taking
• One finished self-portrait

• 6th grade
• mixed media