George Segal's Connection to the world
Goals:To provide a foundation about the artist George Segal and establish characteristic of his work that can be utilized in other disciplines in education.
Objectives:Students will feel confident in creating a cross curriculum lesson plan that illustrates a concept or subject matter described through Segals artworks.
Content:George Segal was born in New York on November 26, 1924, in Bronx New York. He attended Pratt, Cooper Union, and finally New York University where he furthered his art education and received a teaching degree in 1949. During these years, Segal met other young artists eager to make statements based on the real world rather than the pure abstractionism that was all the rage in abstract expressionism.
In 1961, while teaching an adult education class in New Brunswick, a student brought to George’s class a box of dry plaster bandages. Segal took them home and experimented with applying them directly to his body. Moving away from the traditional casting techniques, the artist invented his own idiosyncratic method of employing plaster medical bandages to capture his subjects, resulting in roughly textured white forms.
These figures were often placed alongside everyday objects, resulting in what the artist described as "situation sculptures". The capturing of these figures performing everyday popular activities replicates the ideas associated with the Pop art movement. In addition to these everyday themes, Segal also explored biblical, historical, and mythological subjects.Segal's work has been widely exhibited, including retrospectives at the Jewish Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1998. In 1999 he received a National Medal of Honor.
Please watch the following videos to become familiar with this artist and the medium he worked in:
Video 1: George Segal The Sculptor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0atz88CQHfY
Video 2: George Segal in Black and White - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgzfJGi1jnM
Video 3: Montage of George Segal Work - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GxhEkfN3-4
Main Page : James_Pisaturo_Mini_Course:_Pop_Art