6th Grade artists recently finished up a lesson on Salvador Dali and the Surrealists. We combined found images from magazines and calendars to create a new scene with a surreal feel. I first saw this lesson done with the cooperating teacher I worked with when I was doing my student teaching in a suburb of Philadelphia. I started out by showing a short video clip from the "Get Surreal" production released by the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. My art teacher idol, Phyl over at There's A Dragon in My Art Room suggested using this video.
I plan on purchasing the DVD for next year, but for this year, a condensed version of the film exists on YouTube. My students were pretty awestruck by Dali's life and work. They remarked that they thought his work was "weird," "bizarre," "strange" and quickly embraced the potential for absurdity this lesson allows for.
