Salvador Dalí and the Surrealists: Their Lives and Ideas, 21 Activities (For Kids series) - Softcover

Ross, Michael Elsohn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155652479X ISBN 13: 9781556524790

Publisher: Chicago Review Press, 2003

Synopsis

The bizarre and often humorous creations of René Magritte, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, and other surrealists are showcased in this activity guide for young artists. Foremost among the surrealists, Salvador Dalí was a painter, filmmaker, designer, performance artist, and eccentric self-promoter. His famous icons, including the melting watches, double images, and everyday objects set in odd contexts, helped to define the way people view reality and encourage children to view the world in new ways. Dalí’s controversial life is explored while children trace the roots of some familiar modern images. These wild and wonderful activities include making Man Ray–inspired solar prints, filming a Dali-esque dreamscape video, writing surrealist poetry, making collages, and assembling art with found objects.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Elsohn Ross is a science educator and the author of more than 35 children’s books including Sandbox Scientist, The Happy Camper Handbook, and Wormology, from the bestselling Backyard Buddies series. He lives in El Portal, California. Peter Tush is the curator of education at the Salvador Dalí Museum. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-This visually stunning work enhances the body of material on the artist and his contemporaries. Eminently readable, the crisply written text is detailed and thorough, including pronunciations of many place and personal names. Dal¡'s life is presented familiarly, drawing in many details of life as an artist during that period in Europe and the relationships among the surrealists. No actual dialogue is included, but conclusions are drawn about Dali's thoughts from historical evidence. Sidebars cover other artists (Miro Eluard, Picasso), styles (Cubism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art), and elements of history (the Spanish Civil War, Fascism and Franco, Communism). The attractive layout includes numerous excellent-quality reproductions of the work of Dali and many of the other artists mentioned in the text, and period photographs. Of particular interest here are the 21 activities that will engage budding artists and encourage them to think and to look at familiar objects in a different way. Requiring no unusual supplies, they might be used by classroom teachers as well. There are rich potentials for jumps from here to history and the "'20s in Europe" art era. A valuable addition to any collection.
Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NY
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About this edition

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 155652479X
• ISBN 13: 9781556524790
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144