The artist depicts contemporary versions of Abraham and Isaac in an allegory for the May 4, 1970, tragedy at Kent State University. A poignant visualization of humankind's struggle between ideology and paternal love, it mirrors the conflict that led to the death of four students at the hands of the Ohio National Guard. Though Abraham looks poised to strike his son, the artist emphasized that Genesis 22 ends without tragedy, as Isaac is spared.

Students will examine three images that represent different ways that artists, in the years between World War I and World War II, responded to the social and political turmoil around them; discuss these images in terms of subject matter, composition, style, and representation.

Whether specialising in Painting, Graphic Design, Photography, textiles or Sculpture, most high school Art students begin by selecting a topic for their Coursework or Examination project. One of the most crucial decisions an IGCSE, GCSE or A Level Art student has to make is what subject or theme they will spend the year exploring. It is a decision that many find difficult, whether due to a lack of inspiration, an inability to discern between two or more possible ideas or a general misunderstanding about the type of topic that is appropriate. This resource contains a step-by-step guide that students can use to brainstorm, evaluate and select (in conjunction with advice from their teacher) an outstanding topic for their high school Art project.

Students will learn how artists explore personal, cultural, and national identity through materials, process, and tradition; see how contemporary artists have adapted historic, culturally specific art-making practices to the present day; begin to consider the role of politics and religion in contemporary art.

Students will look at Serra's 'Circuit, 1972' and Brancusi's 'Torso' and compare the two works. Students will consider how sculptors articulate a form in space and how the sculptor draws a volume. They will also consider the phrase 'articulation of process' as expressed in much of Serra's early work. Students will reflect on Serra's verb list and experiment by making three different works from three different materials in response to a verb. Students will also create a more advanced sculpture based on Serra's second verb list incorporating suggested action or movement within the work.

Students will create pinhole cameras to learn how artists manipulate light to make photographs. They describe and analyze a nineteenth-century photograph and use their cameras to capture the architecture of their school or other buildings.

Students will look at Oldenburg's "Late Submission to the Chicago Tribune Architectural Competition of 1922: Clothespin" and discuss scale, function, and form. Students will consider Oldenburg's reimagining of every day objects into monumental works of art. Students will then create their own "late submissions" for the world's most beautiful office building.

Students will:

* Learn about Farnsworth (the house) and Ludwig Mies van deer Rohe (the architect).
* Conduct research on the Bauhaus movement.
* Write a report about the artists and intellectuals, like Mies van deer Rohe, who sought asylum in other countries to escape censorship and the suppression of individual and political rights under Hitler in the 1930's.

From Creative Living: Residential Architecture in MoMA's Collection, A Guide for Educators

House Three: The House on Stilts--Villa Savoye, Poissy-sur-Seine, France, 1929-31

Students will:

* Discuss the particulars of the Villa Savoye.
* Discuss the Le Corbusier's "Chaise Longe" chair.
* Learn about the occupants, the Jeannerets, of the Villa Savoye.
* Analyze and evaluate "home" and "home atmosphere".
* Compare and contrast, through a series of writing exercises, the qualities of Villa Savoye with their own.
* Learn about Le Corbusier's "Five Points of Architecture" and the "International Style".

From Creative Living: Residential Architecture in MoMA's Collection, A Guide for Educators

House Two: The Red and Blue House--Schroder House, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 1924

Students will:

* Discuss the particulars of the Schroder House.
* Discuss the "Red Blue Chair".
* Learn about the occupants, the Schroders, of the Red and Blue House.
* Analyze and evaluate "home" and "home atmosphere".
* Compare and contrast, through a series of writing exercises, the qualities of Schroder home with their own.
* Learn about the "De Stijl" movement.

Students will examine the ways in which an artwork is innovative or daring for its time; investigate how a new style was furthered by the exchange of ideas between Picasso and Braque; compare and contrast Cubist works depicting the human figure.

Students will be able to discuss and analyze the sculpture Sketch for a Fireplace Overmantel by Francesco Antonio Franzoni; consider current styles of home interiors; create studies in 2-D and 3-D for a decorative overmantel for the celebrity patron of their choice; research and read about the life and style of an arts patron and create a design for an overmantel that reflects the patron's life; and articulate in writing the processes they followed to create their overmantels.

Students will be able to discuss depictions of the civil rights movement; analyze the effectiveness of juxtaposing image and text; create an image that addresses a social, economic, or political problem in their community; and write accompanying text to an image that addresses a social, economic, or political problem in their community.

Students will be able to respond in written and/or visual form to photographic stimuli; create a movement theme (phrase) based on elements perceived in a photograph; and choreograph a solo composition based on chosen photographic stimulus.

Students will be introduced to artists who developed new visual forms through experimentation; consider artists' choices of material; introduced to the term "Constructivism."

Students will be introduced to two artists, Kazimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian, who pioneered different systems of abstract painting; consider how the two artists' use of shape, line, composition, and color reflect both similarities and differences in their artistic ideologies.

Students will paint a landscape where the body and nature are interconnected. Students will experiment with weight, gravity, tension and balance. Students will also watch a Neto video on Intimacy.

Students will go through a series of sensory experiments to learn to express subjective sensations. Students will transform the classroom into an installation piece and discuss how they interact and integrate with the altered space. Students will also design and create a living sculpture where they are each a part of the interconnected work.

Students will view Neto's "Coconut Water" 2008. Students will also conduct fieldwork collecting data around the school and in their own neighborhoods, document their fieldwork through video, photographs, or drawings, and share findings through a roundtable discussion. Students will also select a typical local product and write a manifesto as to its importance. Also, students will create a mural in the style of Neto's installations.

Students will learn to broaden their descriptive and analytical vocabulary through comparisons and close analysis of works of art; discuss changes taking place in the modern world and the psychological effects on the artists discussed in this guide.