CITYSCAPES AND THE BALTIMORE CITY COMMUNITY

Projects based on Baltimore City and the surrounding community will help build on the background and prior knowledge that the BCPS students have of their community.

Community-centered projects can also help build community and city pride.

Studying places that “hit close to home” should help increase student engagement and motivation to learn about the different subjects covered in their classes.

Baltimore City, Maryland has a rich, colorful, artistic culture and many, different, diverse neighborhoods.

BALTIMORE CITYSCAPES

EXAMPLES OF CITYSCAPES IN

ART:

Whether documenting the architecture, skyline, people or urban landscapes, cities have been the focus of many artists throughout art history. Cities

have been depicted using many different styles and types of media.

VAN GOGH ‘Café Terrace at Night’ 1888

PAUL KENTON‘Going Downtown’ 2010

ROMARE BEARDEN‘The Dove’ 1964

ROMARE BEARDEN‘The Block II” 1972

JAMES KERRY MARSHALL‘Our Town’ 1995

JAMES KERRY MARSHALL‘Garden Party’ 2003

JANE WESTRICK – MICA STUDENT

‘Bolton Hill’ 2010

SUSAN SYKES (LEXINGTON MARKET)Information Unavailable, private collection

BALTIMORE SPECIFIC ART PROJECT: Students will create cityscapes and sky lines

on canvases or paper provided. They will create symbols that represent the different parts of the city they are studying to show the culture, landmarks and geography of the different neighborhoods using collage, colored paper, paint, glue, and crayons. Students are encouraged to bring in their own photographs, limited to four.

LIST OF MATERIALS NEEDED FOR PROJECT

•Glue •Crayons•Paint•Tape•Colored paper•Scissors•Magazine images/cut outs•Canvas or 8 by 11 paper•Wall-sized sheets of paper •Map of Baltimore •Images of Baltimore for inspiration!

This unit on the urban landscape of the Baltimore City community will focus on the eclectic neighborhoods such as Charles Village, Federal Hill,

Fells Point, Caton, Druid Hill, etc. Other areas of interest that could be included are the universities (Johns Hopkins, Morgan State), landmarks

and transportation systems such as Lexington Market, City Hall, the ballparks, art museums, light rail system and Inner Harbor. This

particular lesson focuses on the Inner Harbor as it is a geometric, colorful landmark that could feature the Aquarium and boats in the harbor.

LOOKING AT DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS

The end product will be the classes own brightly colored (wall sized) map of Baltimore City, Maryland

telling stories about the different neighborhoods, landmarks and geography of the culturally diverse

city.

Students think about the uniqueness and special attributes of their own community and city as well

as get a better understanding of the geography and culture of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE SPECIFIC ART PROJECT

CLASS PRE-ASSIGNMENT PROMPT: Thinking about this image above and the paintings/artists/techniques you just saw, what traits or characteristics would you want to incorporate into your cityscape of the Baltimore Harbor?