Andrew Breen

About Mr. Breen

I earned my BFA in Fine Art Photography with a minor in Art History from Columbia College Chicago in 2007. After working in the photo industry and teaching at the Evanston Art Center, I pursued my passion for teaching and obtained my teaching license from Northeastern Illinois University. I then student-taught at Amundsen.

I've been teaching for 15 years, with 9 of those being in CPS. I spent 5 years at Goode STEM Academy as part of the award-winning Museum of Contemporary Art SPACE program. In 2021, I earned my MA in Digital Communications and Media Arts at DePaul University and even co-designed a web-based virtual reality project with my students.

Now in my 4th year at Amundsen, I'll continue to teach Graphic Arts I and IB Visual Art. My passion for interdisciplinary curriculum shines through in my lessons, fostering creativity and connection. By co-sponsoring the Garden Club and GSA, and serving on the MCA's teacher advisory committee, I actively promote collaborative learning communities, ensuring an inventive and engaged student body.

Outside the classroom, I enjoy tending to my native plants and raised beds, listening to electronic music, binge-watching dark comedies or dramas, and experimenting with new art projects.

Current Courses Taught

MYP Graphic Arts / Graphic Arts I

This IB Middle Years Program Visual Art course will familiarize you with art and design fundamentals, contemporary and traditional art-making processes, methods for close reading and interpreting art, and the ways in which artists are influenced by and shape the world. You will also articulate and express your ideas visually, verbally, and in written form. This course emphasizes design elements and principles in the purposeful arrangement of images and text to communicate a message. Students will utilize industry-standard software and also study the cultural and historical design works of different periods, genres and styles by considering context, audience, and techniques.

Units of Study:
•Composing our Graphic Life (Logos and Publication Page)
•The Journey is the Destination (Travel Posters)
•Lean Forward (Virtual Reality)
•Ready to Wear (3D Prototypes)
•Photo Constructions (Photo Collages)
•Book Report (Cover Designs)

IB Visual Arts

The IB Diploma Programme visual arts course encourages students to challenge their own creative and cultural expectations and boundaries. It is a thought-provoking course in which students develop analytical skills in problem-solving and divergent thinking, while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers. In addition to exploring and comparing visual arts from different perspectives and in different contexts, students are expected to engage in, experiment with and critically reflect upon a wide range of contemporary practices and media. The course is designed for students who want to go on to further study of visual arts in higher education as well as for those who are seeking lifelong enrichment through visual arts.

The aims of the arts subjects are to enable students to:

Enjoy lifelong engagement with the arts
Become informed, reflective and critical practitioners in the arts
Understand the dynamic and changing nature of the arts
Explore and value the diversity of the arts across time, place and cultures
Express ideas with confidence and competence
Develop perceptual and analytical skills
Make artwork that is influenced by personal and cultural contexts
Become informed and critical observers and makers of visual culture and media
Develop skills, techniques and processes in order to communicate concepts and ideas

Our course units will cover a variety of media and genres. This is subject to change based on time and interest:

Cultural Identity and Growth
Laying a Foundation
A Sense of Place

Visual Storytelling
Material Transformations
Mock Exhibition

Name: Mr. Andrew Breen
Position: Teacher
Email: abreen1@cps.edu

Mr. Breen's Google Classrooms

Advisory 513

1st: Graphic Arts I (rm 113)
2nd: Graphic Arts I (rm 113)
3rd: Prep
4th: Graphic Arts I (rm 113)
5th: MYP Graphic Arts I (rm 113)
6th: Lunch
7th: Prep/Course Team
8th: IB Visual Arts (rm 303)

Tutoring TBD
Office Hours by appointment only ([email protected])