Cover image titled "The Simpsons Space Adventure"
"Optimus Prime is making the final lap in Mario Kart's Rainbow Road in outer space with Luigi following close behind him. Optimus Prime drifts on a sharp turn trying to dodge the bananas being hurled in his direction while Luigi makes a last stitch effort to desperately finish first by throwing a blue shell..." Such is the scene set from an 8th grade student's artist statement titled "Autobots Road Out" for the Pop Culture Mash-Up drawing project.
This year's 8th grade group were new to the building as 6th graders during my first year of teaching at New Buffalo Middle/High School. I've gotten to know these students pretty well and I've seen a strong interest in characters from cartoons, anime, and video games. Sometimes I swap stories with kids in conversations about new Marvel movies or Star Wars series that we've seen while taking brain breaks together in the courtyard. I thought that this art project would be a nice way to give my students an opportunity to express something that interests them at the beginning of the trimester and it was it most definitely a fan favorite.
We began the unit with Art History references to Pop Art when people like Andy Warhol shocked the art world by creating work based on mainstream commercial influences. From Campbell's soup cans to printed copies of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol was part of a movement of artists who drew inspiration from commercial products and public figures that were more accessible by the masses with recognizable cultural references.
We also looked at contemporary interpretations of Pop Art from artists who used references from art history combined with modern-day popular content!
Students paired up into groups to brainstorm ideas of pop culture references before creating a list as a class with as many sources that we could think of that are popular today. Then my students did a little creative writing in their sketchbooks to create scenes of action for their character mash-ups. For example, if you were to combine Homer Simpson with Rick and Morty, what would that look like? What environment would they be in and what would be happening? Well, it would be a Simpsons Space Adventure as seen in the cover photo of this story! Students reflected on the meaning and purpose of their pop culture references while preparing their thumbnail sketches for the final artwork.
Josh Lane: Designer and Illustrator who created a series of "Hero-Glyphics"
It was exciting to see these mash-ups come to life as they began composing their final scenes.
In the images below, these two boys decided to collaborate on their themes by drawing Barney and the Minion facing off in a Star Wars ship after fending off Elmo's attack. Each student's drawing shows the opposite side of the hallway as they approach each other.
Top: "The End of the Minion"
Bottom: "Minion attacks Barney"
"Barbie Time Travel" (Barbie travels to the dinosaur ages and meets the Powder Puff girls where they decide to ride dinosaurs into the sunset).
"Phineas and Ferb Farmers"
"Big Bird as a Snack"
Left to Right: "Hollow Knight and Pokemon," "Lego Stonehenge", and "Venom-Man" (Venom chases Pac-Man)
"Friends"
"Baby Kong" (Yoda is in a chill state of meditation while causing chaos on the Empire State Building.)
"Stranger Falls"
Here in this artwork, there are Dipper and Mabel, along with Lucas, Will, Steve, & Robin, squished up into a van, as they are getting chased by the Mind Flayer. There are also some tiny catches, like Mabel holding up a wooden sword, and the radio, where Dustin and Suzie are obnoxiously singing “Never Ending Story” in this packed up chaotic scene. This idea came to me because the characters in both “Gravity Falls” and “Stranger Things," have a unique contrast, with outcasted characters, and just a weirdly good vibe.
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