The Big Idea:

How does mood contribute to the creation of imaginary worlds?

Activity overview

The artist Nathan Oliveira seeks a delicate balance between representing the human figure and painting purely abstract lines and colors. Some of his paintings portray imaginary worlds. In this activity you will study how art can evoke a mood by creating an imaginary world.

Look closely

Click on each artist button at right to view detailed screens about the artist and his or her works. Be sure to click on all images, view all videos, read all documents, and use the zoom tool to look closely at the works of art.

In this activity you will:

1. study the art of Nathan Oliveira
2. describe an imaginary world in words or pictures
3. present to the class and critique your peers' work
4. create a timeline (optional)

You will be graded on:

1. analysis of Nathan Oliveira's work
2. effort in identifying and collecting examples of other worlds
3. creativity, extent, and detail of imaginary world
4. presentation and group participation
5. detail and extent of timeline (optional)

New terms:

abstraction, expression, mood