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Tagature, or Literary Graffiti

Posted on Oct 5, 2012 by Randy Scherer

10 1,440

Strong

Subject

English

Resource Type

Project

Keywords

art, graffiti, history, Illustrator, lightroom, literature, Photoshop, reflection, standards, tags

Products Used

Description

As we entered the spring semester, I searched for the most meaningful way to help students review for standardized tests. How could students revisit texts in a way that was creative and personally fulfilling. I proposed to the class that we select sections of our previous reading and transform these quotes into graffiti-style tags, using Photoshop and Illustrator, and paint or post these tags each week on ten large panels hung in the school’s common areas. Each week for approximately one month, students selected quotes from the novels, historical texts and related articles studied in our integrated history and English class, and transformed them into graffiti-style tags. Each week, students brought new quotes to make into new tags, and they tagged the boards, or over and around each other’s work, modified the art, or responded to it creatively. The panels became living environments for literary graffiti, which we named “tagature.” Each week, the students photographed their work, edited the photos in Photoshop and archived them online in digital portfolios, along with written, reflective artists’ statements. After four rounds of “tagature,” students selected their favorite examples of literary graffiti, edited their artist statements and used, Lightroom, Photoshop and InDesign to create a coffee-table-styled art book of the class’ work, which was then sold in the community through a publishing company created by our class. What began as standardized test review led to a living project that spanned visual art, reflective writing, digital archiving and hard copy publishing.

Resource Assets (3)

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Downloads

opentagature.jpg - 0.85 MB

tagature.jpg - 0.58 MB

Web Links

Online resource to start the project

Additional Information

Content Standards

California

Custom Standards

Reading

3.0 Literary Response & Analysis

Literary Criticism

3.7 Analyze recognized works of world literature from a variety of authors:

a. Contrast the major literary forms, techniques, and characteristics of the major literary periods (e.g., Homeric Greece, medieval, romantic, neoclassic, modern).

b. Relate literary works and authors to the major themes and issues of their eras.

c. Evaluate the philosophical, political, religious, ethical, and social influences of the historical period that shaped the characters, plots, and settings.

3.8 Analyze the clarity and consistency of political assumptions in a selection of literary works or essays on a topic (e.g., suffrage, women’s role in organized labor). (Political approach)

3.9 Analyze the philosophical arguments presented in literary works to determine whether the authors’ positions have contributed to the quality of each work and the credibility of the characters. (Philosophical approach)

Writing Application

2.2 Write responses to literature

2.3 Write reflective compositions

ISTE NETS·S Standards

Communication and Collaboration, Creativity and Innovation, Technology Operations and Concepts, Critical Thinking Problem Solving and Decision Making

Timing

1-2 Hours
1+ Day
1+ Week
1+ Month
Semester
Year

Technical Expertise

Rookie
Novice
Intermediate
Pro
Expert

Materials/Equipment

Wooden panels and mounting hardware (screws, anchors, screw driver, etc.)

Paints, glue, rollers, brushes

Computer & printer

Strong

All Comments (10)

Randy Scherer

Posted on Nov 13, 2012 - Permalink

Thank you very much for the congrats, and thank you very much for the honor!

I had a lot of help from others in developing this project. If you think your students might like something like this, please take it, use it, make it better.

Again, thank you, Adobe community!

Michael Cole

Posted on Nov 12, 2012 - Permalink

Congratulations Randy...

Kris Fontes

Posted on Nov 12, 2012 - Permalink

Congratulations from last year's winner to this year's winner!!!

Matt Cauthron

Posted on Nov 12, 2012 - Permalink

Congrats!

Nicole Dalesio

Posted on Oct 29, 2012 - Permalink

Great project! I love how you are making the learning something so much more meaningful than just taking a test. You are also making it into something that requires such creativity. Thanks for sharing!

Randy Scherer

Posted on Oct 26, 2012 - Permalink

Thanks for the invite—we will definitely check it out.

I am also happy to report that the physical panels from this project were recently selected by a theater company in downtown SD to be used as set elements in a professional theater production about street art.

Thanks for the support for this project—we really appreciate it!

Matt Cauthron

Posted on Oct 22, 2012 - Permalink

Randy, Thanks for sharing those links. Didn't realize off the bat you were at HTH. I visited there with a team a handful of years ago and do remember seeing some impressive layout work posted up on the glass walls... geussing those were from your students. Great job!

Would be great if you guys could join us in the Student Creative challenge this year. We have our past three projects on Blurb as well.

Randy Scherer

Posted on Oct 22, 2012 - Permalink

Hey,

Thanks for the ratings. We did in fact use blurb to publish our book, and others. I need to share the link here—it's already on my digitial portfolio. To see this book, and many others from my students, please visit www.hthmapublishing.org

thanks,

Randy