I and the Village: Marc Chagall with 2nd Grade

I and the Village is a 1911 painting by the Russian-French artist Marc Chagall, which is shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  I like to share this image to my 2nd graders to introduce the idea of surrealism. Although Salvador Dali is the name we recognize with "surrealism," I felt that Chagall's "dream-like" imagery was more appropriate for this grade level.

The work contains dreamlike images overlapping in the space, appearing as if gravity or size does not matter.  I and the Village is about the memories of the artist's place of birth.  When I talk with students about "dream-like" images, I ask them to think about what objects would be represented in a dream they have had.  

In creating this artwork, I like to focus not only on representing the artwork, but also to encourage students to create a profile drawing of a face (like a self portrait).  I also encourage students to create objects that can represent a specific dream, like a visit to Disney World or a good memory.

The materials used:

-tissue paper squares
-glue/water mixture
-paintbrushes
-white paper
-markers/crayons
-pencil
-scissors
-glue

On day 1, I start by showing students a Powerpoint I created with Chagall's artwork and explain about his dream-like images.  We discuss how size and space can be altered since dreams are not real.  After the discussion, I have the students cover a white paper with squares of colored tissue paper, using a glue/water mix to keep the squares flat down on the paper.

On day 2, I show the students how to create a profile face that can be traced, colored, cut out, and glued onto the paper.  I then ask students to draw objects that would represent or help illustrate the dream they are trying to  share for their project.  If unfinished, a 3rd day can be used for finishing.  

Here are a few finished projects from the end of the school year!

For any spare time you may have for students to catch up, you can use a coloring picture of the inspired painting for students to color on their own!