Lesson Plan #1: Abstract Music Drawings with Moe Brooker

Students learned about the Philadelphia-based contemporary artist Moe Brooker, and how he uses music to inspire the marks in his artwork. While viewing some of his work, we discussed the possible mood and tempo of the music he was listening to while making each piece. Students then listened to upbeat jazz music and made abstract drawings inspired by the sounds that they heard. Next, we looked at some work from Kandinsky, and discussed how he could actually see colors while listening to music. To finish the project, students listened to soothing instrumental music and added watercolors on top of our drawings with color palettes inspired by the calm sounds.