Older Children

Jim Dine

American, born 1935

History of Black Bronze I

1983

Subject: Appropriating objects
Activity: Creating a collage of your life
Materials: Magazines, small objects, glue, paper
Vocabulary: appropriation, bronze, depict

Introduction:

Jim Dine grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his family owned a hardware store. Dine often depicts tools in his art. In this piece, Dine shows tools alongside several reproductions of famous works of art. When artists use existing objects in their work (as opposed to creating them originally), they are using a method called appropriation.

Questions:

Do you see familiar objects?

Which objects did the artist make? Which were appropriated?

Why do you think the artist placed his tools alongside the other objects?

Activity:

Create a collage that tells a story about your life. Use pictures from magazines or small objects and glue them to a new sheet of paper. Add your own drawings to the paper. Which parts are original, and which are appropriated?

Vocabulary:

Appropriation - using something not made by you
Bronze - a gold-brown metal that is a mixture of copper and tin
Depict - to represent by a picture

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