Discipline: Drawing, Collage, Set Design
In this pathway, suitable for ages 11 to 14, we explore a series of coal mining drawings made by Henry Moore. Use his work as the basis for conversation in the classroom, and then use the AccessArt resources below to enable a contextual exploration of figurative drawing, mark-making and collage, or scratch model design, inspired by Moore’s work.
This pathway has been made in response to the exhibition Drawing in The Dark, a curation of Henry Moore’s coal mining drawings, inspired by the release of a new book written by art historian (and AccessArt Trustee), Chris Owen.
Theme:
Mining
Medium:
Paper, Charcoal, Cardboard
Artist:
Henry Moore
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Four Studies of Miners at the Coalface, 1942, drawing. (HMF 2000a). Photo Michael Phipps. Reproduced by permission of The Henry Moore Foundation copy
1942 Henry Moore sketching two miners at Wheldale Colliery Henry Moore Foundation archive 7 x 8” black and white print. Photo: Reuben Saidman
Explore an Artist…
Talking Points: Henry Moore
Explore “Talking Points: Henry Moore” to introduce the artist and his ‘Pit Project’ to students. Use the questions to prompt discussion about the processes used by Moore and the work he created.
Invite students to make some “Visual Notes” as they watch the video.
A Brief History of Coal Mining
Watch some videos depicting the day-to-day life of a coal miner at “Drawing source Material: Coal Mining“.
Pause the films on interesting compositions and invite students to draw in sketchbooks. Take inspiration from the “Show Me What You See” resource to guide the session.
Pit Boys at Pit Head 1942 by Henry Moore, Wakefield Permanent Art Collection Image Courtesy of The Hepworth Wakefield LR copy
Figurative Drawing
Henry Moore created drawings of coal miners as they worked. You may want students to create some figurative drawings of classmates in sketchbooks.
A photographer once captured images of Moore drawing the miners as they worked. Use the “Drawing Someone Drawing Something” resource to emulate this idea.
Focus on drawing faces using the “Portrait Club” resource as inspiration for a classroom set up.
Mark-Making and Collage
In this resource, artist Laura McKendry demonstrates different ways to make expressive marks using charcoal, in order to create a collage of a coal mine scene.
Use the “Expressive Charcoal Collage: Coal Mines” to encourage students to explore ways of working expressively and abstractly using charcoal, and explore different mark-making processes to portray the enclosed space of a coal mine.
