Author: Rebecca Chapman

MICHAEL CRAIG-MARTIN

Michael Craig-Martin was born in Dublin Ireland in 1941.
He grew up and was educated in America.
He studied Fine Art at the Yale University School of Art.
He came to Britain in 1966, and has lived and worked here ever since. His first solo exhibition was at the Rowan Gallery, London in 1969.
Michael Craig-Martin has explored lots of different materials throughout his career as an artist.
He uses everyday objects in his work, mainly household objects. Some objects we might consider quite boring or strange to put in a painting but he brings attention to them by making them colourful and exciting.
As well as producing large scale paintings he also works on installations, a bit like Julian Opie did and sometimes these are in public locations.
He worked at Goldsmith’s college of Art and tutored some famous Art names like Damien Hurst.

Create a fact page on artist Michael Craig-Martin
Write the title creatively ‘Michael Craig-Martin’
All answer the following:
Do you like his work? What do you like/not like about it?
Add some images from the image sheet of his work.
You must answer questions worth at least ten points-you can choose which ones.
Write 3 facts about his work. ( 2 points)
How does his work link to your new project ‘Creative colour’? (1 point)
What sort of objects does he use in his work? (1 point)
Which is your favourite piece by him and why? (2 points)
Using the Art vocab list you were given at the start of the lesson write three words from the sheet that you feel describes his work. (2 points)
What sort of colours does he use in his work? (1 point)
The image above to the right is called ‘Fan’ and it is one of Michael Craig-Martin’s public piece of art. Why do you think that some artists like to put their work in public? (2 points)
What unusual objects can you see in the image below to the right-why do you think Michael Craig-Martin used objects like this? (3 points)
Why do you think that Michael Craig-Martin used everyday objects in his work? (2 points)
What is unusual about the scale of the objects in his paintings? (3 points)

Practical Task
Using objects that you find around your house to draw from, create a Michael Craig-Martin inspired piece.
Consider the scale and size of the objects– could you change these to that you might for example draw a pencil sharpener that is the same size as a broom?
Make sure your overlap the images and use the whole A4 page.
Then add bright colours– use whatever materials are available to you at home. Remember to use abstract colours (unrealistic colours).
To push yourself: If you have colouring pencils or paint have a go at expanding your skills by adding tone to the objects by blending the colours.