Art Masterpiece: Three Flags, 1958 by Jasper Johns
Keywords: Symmetry, Repetition
Symmetry: parts are arranged the same on both sides
Repetition: a design that has parts that are used over and over again in a pleasing way.
Grade:
1st Grade
Activity:
Painted Flags
Meet the Artist (5 minutes):
· He was born in 1930 in Augusta, Georgia, but grew up in South Carolina. He had little
formal art education since there weren’t any art schools nearby.
· When he moved to New York, he became friends with the prominent artists of the day.
· In 1954, he had a dream that he painted a large American Flag.
· He liked his art to be symmetrical, repetitious and minimalist. In other words, he wanted
it to stand on its own and without the attachments of emotion. He liked the simple design
of objects like the American Flag.
· His Flag series made him famous as an artist.
Possible Questions (10 minutes):
• Do you see repetition in this picture?
• Is it symmetrical? Are the parts arranged in the same basic way on both sides?
• Describe the lines that you see...
• What makes this picture different from a real American Flag?
Property of Knox Art Masterpiece
Revised 8/3/13
• What does our American Flag mean to you? Symbolism, liberty, freedom, pride. The
American flag flies on the moon, sits atop Mount Everest, is hurtling out in space. The
flag is how America signs her name.
• Sometimes the Flag is hung at half-staff. Why? (To honor certain people who have died)
• Who created the American Flag? Betsy Ross. Congress adopted it as our National Flag in
1777.
Activity: Painted Flags
Materials Needed:
Per student: Cardstock templates (one of each size per student)
two foam paint brushes per student
2-2” corrugated cardboard squares
one q tip per student
One bottle of red tempera paint per class
one bottle of blue tempera paint per class
one bottle of white tempera paint per class
paint plates (three per table)
glue-class set
scrap paper
newspaper for the desks
parent letter
Advance Prep: On white cardstock, copy flag template in the three sizes for each student
(one full page template-8.5x11, one half page template-5.5x8.5, and one quarter page template4.25x5.5 is needed for each student.) Cut apart the half page template and quarter page template so that there will be enough for one per student. Cut corrugated cardboard into 2”
squares. Each student will need 2 squares. Copy and cut parent letter.
Technique Mini Lesson (5 min): Have the kids experiment painting stripes on scratch paper—making sure to leave space between the red lines to represent white stripes. They may
use the thin tip of the brush for thinner lines, or the flat wide part for thicker lines.
Process: (30-40 min)
• Cover the desks with newspaper.
• Use one plate of red paint, one white, and one of blue, for every four children or table.
Do the technique mini lesson before passing out templates. Give each child their three
flag templates (one large, medium, and small) and have them put their name on the back
of the largest flag sheet as soon as you pass them out.
• Stress that this is a painting process that needs to be done in a particular order to
allow the blue to dry so stars can be painted on their flag.
Property of Knox Art Masterpiece
Revised 6/26/13
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Before beginning the painting process, have the students glue the parent letter to the
back of the largest flag.
They should begin by painting the blue rectangle in the upper left hand corner of each
flag first. Emphasize that they should cover the whole blue rectangle area, but that they
shouldn't glob on the paint. We want this part to dry quickly! When all three blue rectangles are painted, they may move on to the red stripes.
Have them paint red horizontal stripes across each of the three flags to make the red
stripes They should leave white space in between each of the red stripes to form the
white flag stripes. Make sure they don’t paint inside the blue rectangle area.
When all the stripes are completed, they may take their q tip and dip it into the white
and then dot on their blue rectangles to make stars. The blue should be sufficiently dry
to put the white paint on top provided that they are gently dabbing on white dots.
When they are done painting they need to layer their flags. They may need assistance
with this step. They should glue down a cardboard square to the center of the largest
flag, then put glue on the top of the square to center and adhere the medium flag to the
larger one. You will repeat this process having them glue their remaining cardboard
square to the center of the medium flag, placing glue on the top of the cardboard square
and centering and adhering the smallest flag to the medium. If the paint is slightly wet
when gluing on the cardboard, the glue will still dry and adhere the paper to the cardboard.
Clean up: Please make sure you rinse all brushes thoroughly and store brush side up to prevent
molding. If possible, combine like color paint bottles so we don't have several half full bottles
in the bins.
Property of Knox Art Masterpiece
Revised 8/3/13