New Camouflage Curriculum - Invisible: Abbott Thayer and the Art of Camouflage

“As soon as I got back to Boston I popped in the DVD. Watched it 2X in a row...

2010-11-12T06:11:00.005-05:00

What a great documentary. I adore it on so many levels -- the history of the area, the love of the mountain, the drama of life, and the complexity of what we think of as a more simpler time. Reminds me that nothing is really simple, even when we desire and design for simplicity. A great human story.” - Jen Hall, Professor of Art Education, Mass. College of Art

W E L C O M E ! Students, teachers, artists, naturalists, writers, photographers! You found...

2009-12-17T02:12:00.006-05:00

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I N T R O D U C I N G . . . the movie, the blog, the banners, the mission

2009-12-14T04:00:00.009-05:00

The Camouflage Curriculum is the blog for the movie, INVISIBLE: Abbott Thayer and the Art of Camouflage. MISSION: Together, the movie and blog seek to encourage people everywhere to learn about the artist Abbott Thayer, to think more deeply about art and the environment, about conservation of natural surroundings as a form of sanctuary, and through camouflage, about humanitarian issues in

I N V I S I B L E . . . the movie's back story

2009-12-13T17:59:00.002-05:00

Pamela Peabody discovered rare, archival footage and produced new interviews with historians, descendants and... ...artists, with an original, vibrant music score, character voices for Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and Thayer himself, woven together with his paintings, patrons, artist friends of the Dublin Art Colony, and scenes of the beautiful New Hampshire countryside that inspired his

B E G I N N I N G S . . . from animal portraits to global theory

2009-12-13T12:03:00.000-05:00

The peacock - invisible to the eyes of a fox or weasel or turkey vulture < Peacock in the Woods, by Abbott Thayer, assisted by Richard Meryman, click image to pop up 'Concealing coloration' and 'countershading' are combined in Camouflage View more examples in 'full story' below - Illustrations from the book, Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, An Exposition of the

DUBLIN ART COLONY . . . Thayer & friends, Meryman, Brush, James, Smith, Monadnock

2009-12-12T21:59:00.001-05:00

< Winter Morning Sunrise at Monadnock, 1911. "You don't look at the painting to see what Mount Monadnock looked like. You look at the painting to see Thayer," said Richard Murray, senior curator, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, in the movie. Richard Meryman spoke on the Dublin Art Colony: A Medley of Great Gifts with pictures, lore, anecdotes and surprises on Friday, July 16 at Amos Fortune

G O A L S . . . Follow Thayer's quest for international military camouflage -

2009-11-30T23:47:00.000-05:00

- and one can see the results of commitment to ideals, not only to the artist's 'ideal beauty' but also to humanitarian......issues, to the struggle against mental illness, and the struggle for visionary leadership, as well as the difficulties and deep despair associated with the invention of camouflage. GOALS -- Students will: • View the movie, Invisible: Abbott Thayer and the Art of Camouflage

S Y L L A B U S - 9 LESSON PLANSLesson Plan 1: INVISIBLE - 'Before' Viewing Questions

2009-11-30T23:33:00.010-05:00

Before viewing the movie, please read the following questions, and then as you view the film, jot down ideas......for your own answers. Please be prepared to discuss your ideas and answers after the viewing. Look for the bonus questions below. 'Before' Viewing Questions - 15-20 minutes 1. Who was Abbott Thayer and when and where did he live? What activities did Abbott Thayer find interesting as

Lesson Plan 2: View the Movie - 'After' Viewing Questions

2009-11-29T16:38:00.005-05:00

In the movie you will discover the background, logic and chaos of camouflage, and see connections between art and... ...and cultural forces of history, for example, links between Thayer’s work and life, and other artists and events the lifestyle of artists, their methods of observation, conservation and invention artistic concepts shown in the film The Movie Time - 45 to 80 minutes or more

Lesson Plan 3: Mentor or Hero - Post Your Comment

2009-11-29T16:37:00.002-05:00

After seeing the movie, participate an extended online discussion of mentors and heroes by posting your own......comment as your answer to the question: Do you see Abbott Thayer as a mentor or hero? Why or why not? Write a comment of 3 well-written sentences or more, and sign your name. Follow the entire discussion, and you may write additional comments.

Lesson Plan 4: Field Trip - Memorable Mount Monadnock

2009-11-27T17:38:00.001-05:00

Plan a day trip to visit the mountain that inspired Thayer's ideas of camouflage, a group hike on Mt. Monadnock... ...using Field Trip links at left for maps and trails. Take notes and/or make sketches. Study the observations written long ago by Henry David Thoreau, observe nature as if through the eyes of Thayer and Thoreau, and compare your own original observations. Plan for plenty of water,

Lesson Plan 5: Write a Monologue - "I am Monadnock"

2009-11-26T17:36:00.003-05:00

Imagine yourself as Grand Monadnock. In the first person, write 700 words about: Who are your friends... and why. Impersonate Monadnock as a living character. You can review and explore paintings, photos and maps of the mountain through many links at left. Other topics may include: when were you born, and how you have you changed or remained the same, what you know about your environment

Lesson Plan 6: Art Studio One - New Camouflage Art

2009-11-23T16:40:00.001-05:00

Create your own designs for camouflage art, with 3 colors of acrylic paint on on paper or old clothes... ...or muslin, or wood, or even furniture - and then display the camouflage art as an exhibition. Before you begin, study and explore camouflage images online. Here are 2 examples, you can find many more. Materials: • newspapers to cover the art studio tables• acrylic paints in natural colors:

Lesson Plan 7: Art Studio Two - My Monadnock - Art and Photo

2009-11-22T16:41:00.014-05:00

Monadnock is like a giant mirror that reflects the weather and the time. Monadnock looks different every... ...day, every hour of the day, sometimes with variations of light by the minute or a matter of seconds. Seeing atmospheric changes against a landscape can be thrilling especially for artists and photographers. Tens of thousands of paintings and photographs of Monadnock have been made by

Lesson Plan 8: Art Studio Three - New Animal Art

2009-11-21T16:41:00.002-05:00

Thayer began his career as an "animalier" - a painter of animal portraits as a child and teenager... Gather a group to paint animal portraits from photographs or from life. Study Thayer's animal portraits online. How realistic can you be?

Lesson Plan 9: Art Studio Four - Monadnock Angel

2009-11-20T16:42:00.005-05:00

Thayer was a portrait artist of celebrities and high society. He often added wings to his subjects. One of his last... ...paintings was the Monadnock Angel, painted to protect the mountain in 1911. Make your own version of Monadnock Angel: yours can be a careful copy of the painting, in a smaller size, or a drawing of the painting, or an interpretation of the painting. Be prepared to explain your

Art Show Event

2009-11-19T17:30:00.003-05:00

Gather all the art and writing projects related to The Camouflage Curriculum and present a public exhibition. Invite parents and friends of students, perhaps read some of the monologues, and send press releases and photos to the local newspapers.

Your Recommendations

2009-11-18T19:46:00.001-05:00

Please post your recommendations for reading in the comments box. For insights and photos, read the articles... Abbott Thayer in the Spell of Monadnock, by Richard Meryman, in the anthology, Where the Mountain Stands Alone, Stories of Place in the Monadnock Region, edited by Howard Mansfield The Crucial Moment of Deception, by Hannah Rose Shell in Cabinet Magazine and books - • Grand

Camouflage Curriculum Assessment / Evaluation

2009-10-08T16:43:00.001-04:00

We welcome your comments and suggestions in the box below.

M O N A D N O C K . . . Abbott Thayer's Legacy

2009-10-06T17:48:00.000-04:00

The natural setting of Monadnock is being challenged every day. A group of concerned local citizens... ...has organized to preserve the natural setting of Mt. Monadnock and the Mountain Zone and to challenge the exploitation of Mt. Monadnock and the Mountain Zone. Citizens for the Protection of Mount Monadnock (P.O. Box 62, Jaffrey NH 03452) is a local organization including H. Charles Royce,

The Crucial Moment of Deception

2009-06-01T21:16:00.003-04:00

"On 11 November in 1896, an American painter known for his society portraits and demure landscapes made an unusual appearance at the Annual Meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Abbott Thayer arrived at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology on Oxford Street bearing a sack of sweet potatoes, oil paints... ...writes Hanna Rose Shell in Cabinet Magazine #33 (

C O N T A C T

2008-10-07T16:52:00.002-04:00

The Camouflage Curriculum offers teachers Camouflage Workshops by artists as well as the Monadnock Angel banner... ...and Thayer's Concealing Coloration on loan, and custom educational projects on request. PRP Productions is an independent film company making films about American culture and art for distribution to the public, schools, museums, and cable and commercial television. For more