Surreal Tunnel Books ~ Inquisitive Art Teacher

Surreal Tunnel books

I teach an elective in 8th Grade called Contemporary Art. While I realize Surrealism was a movement that came out of the Modern Art Era, contemporary artists continue to create surreal imagery. The idea of surrealism really resonates with my students and they are excellent at discussing surrealism. When I showed Magritte’s The Treachery of Images, there was instantly a buzz of side conversation as apparently this image in on a shirt in The Fault in Our Stars. Whenever there is relevancy within popular culture, the students love it.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MagrittePipe.jpg

My students were tasked with creating a surreal tunnel book and we spent a considerable amount of time in the planning process. Some people go to that off-the-wall surreal place effortlessly while others require a more involved process. The best tip I had for the kids who seemed to struggle with coming up with an idea was to establish a place (a desert, a landscape, a sky, outer space) and then add surreal elements into that place.

This is the process along with instructions on putting a tunnel book together:

1. I had my students start with a 2d sketch. It's okay if your idea changes or develops further in the process but I needed to see a general pencil sketch of their plan.

2. Next, paint a background, mine was 11x14.

3. Next, cut out frames (mine were 11x14) and create "props" or items which will be attached to those frames. My props are a combination of painted imagery (the tree) and edited and printed out images (butterflies, children, animals). You will also want to do a poster board backing behind your props so they stand up the right way. Also, paint your frames however you want.

4. Attach all props (tree, butterfly, children) to frames

This is what you will have:

Now, let's talk about how to attach the accordion sides. You will need:

1. 2 11x9 inch black papers

2. a white colored pencil

3. masking tape

4. your background

5. your 3 frames

First, lets prepare the accordion sides. Start with 2 9x11 black papers.

1. Fold in half

Fold the top part back (sort of like how you fold back wings of a paper airplane).

Fold the bottom back.

You will have four sections. Fold each section in half and you may have to make a fold go the opposite way in order to have 8 sections that go back and forth like a fan. This is what it will look like: