Introduction: What is the hook, the attention grabber, the interesting beginning?
Begin with a discussion of what a heritage site is. Introduce students to Mount Rushmore as an American heritage site and discuss how the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, decided to carve the heads of the four Presidents. Show two pictures of Mount Rushmore: before and after carving. Help the students recognize that the change was brought about through the implementation of a human design and the use of geometry concepts to translate that design into the full-size sculpture. The design development process should be discussed because the design evolved between various mediums (drawings, clay, rock). Even though these are all iterations in the process to arrive at the final Mount Rushmore sculpture, they can all stand as individual pieces of art. Look at the following video of recreating Mount Rushmore at “home” for introduction to a non-traditional method used to create a new “iteration”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej4iXE61a-8
Content:
After completing the introduction, students should begin looking closer at the sculpture by using the provided drawings and Measurable 3D PDF of the model, or the 3D viewer on the CyArk website. In both the 3D PDF and online 3D Viewer, the teacher can cut sections through the model to give a better understanding of the contours of the mountain.
Hands-on activity: Students must use non-traditional sculpting media to recreate Mount Rushmore. Students should not use traditional materials (clay, papier-mâché) or perishable materials. Students should get their material choice(s) approved by teacher before proceeding with the sculpture.
Summary and Conclusion of Lesson: What helps set a course of action or leaves them thinking?
Summarize the concepts covered through activities.
Theme Statement: (The "big picture," the final result, the "so what?!")
Gutzon Borglum used a variety of sculpture media as a way to develop his design. Different stages of his design development and the scale he worked with determined the materials that he used, but they can all stand as individual pieces of art. Materials are an important part of process and artistic expression.
