Before you marvel at everything new on a stick at the State Fair, try twirling with a Picasso.
The Walker’s exhibition Picasso and American Art is closing in four weeks, so plan a visit, and after seeing the show, you may want to try your own Deep-fried Picasso on a Stick.
Check out the portraits by Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and Jasper Johns among others and note the way they processed Picasso’s imagery. Many of their painted, drawn, and sculpted faces were treated cubistically, so the viewer sees several planes of the face simultaneously. With this concept in mind, combined with an eye on popular culture, the twirled portrait was born.
Yesterday, August 9, 2007, some dynamic young artists (ages 5 and 6) from Minneapolis Kids made some bold portraits. These students played with the features of a face and worked on four sides to simulate a 360 degree portrait.
If you’d like to do this kitchen lab at your table, here is the recipe.
Materials: Tagboard, oil pastels, colored tape, 1 chop stick, and a pair of scissors
- Draw a wacky profile
- Cut it out
- Trace around it on a second piece of tagboard
- Cut that one out
- Put the 2 profiles together (one on top of the other - both noses on the same side)
- Fold nearly in half and crease
- Make 2 pairs of 1/2 inch cuts into the folded side of both heads
- Separate the heads
- Draw features on all 4 sides (add them anywhere)
- Fill in with any colors
- Line up the faces on the creases (noses point in opposite directions)
- Insert stick into the 2 slots leaving enough stick at the bottom to hold onto
- Secure the faces at the bottom and top of the stick with colored tape
Congratulations you’ve made a Deep-fried Picasso on a Stick!
All photos: Ilene K. Mojsilov