Art Odyssey Multiple Visit Program Teacher Guideblantonmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/artodyssey.pdfArt Odyssey Multiple Visit Program Teacher ... We recommend that you teach

Education 2015-2016

Art Odyssey Multiple Visit Program Teacher Guide

How to Use This Guide These materials provide additional context for what your students will experience when visiting the museum. Pre- and post-visit lessons target a variety of curricular areas including literacy, drama, and visual art. They ask students to think critically and solve problems. Lesson plans are carefully aligned to provide either an entry into the conversations that will take place in the galleries, or further ideas that were constructed during time spent at the Blanton. We recommend that you teach them in order and within two weeks of your museum visits. You will notice that lessons vary in duration from thirty minutes to one hour, and many include extensions for both the classroom and home. Specific TEKS are outlined within each lesson plan and also on the Teaching Timeline. The timeline will help you quickly assess the content of all six lessons, as well as let you know what materials are needed. The Art Odyssey curriculum, both in the museum and classroom, is organized around three themes that build upon one another: experimentation, reading works of art, and the beauty of the everyday. It has been written for elementary, middle, or high school students. TEKS are aligned to grades 3-8. Occasionally suggestions are included for scaffolding content to accommodate student needs. You are encouraged to adapt lessons to meet the needs of your students and to f i t your teaching object ives. We welcome your feedback! Please get in touch to let us know how things went! We would love to see pictures of students at work or of completed projects. Don’t hesitate to share suggestions for how we can improve our teacher resource materials. Email us at [email protected]. Blanton Education For more information about education programs at the Blanton, including teacher resources, school programs, opportunities for families and public audiences, please visit our website: www.blantonmuseum.org. Support for K-12 education programs at the Blanton is provided by the Buena Vista Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc. Education Endowment and the Burdine Johnson Foundation Education Endowment.

Art Odyssey Grades: 3-12

Teaching Timeline Visit 1 Visit 2 Visit 3 Concept/s Discovery Storytelling Translations

Subject Area/s

Pre: art, ELA, Science Post: art, ELA, Science

Pre: art, ELA Post: art, ELA

Pre: art, ELA Post: art, ELA

Lesson Pre: Observational Drawings Post: Sunprints

Pre: Story Detectives Post: Visual Stories

Pre: Everyday Note Cards Post: Memory Statements

Focus Works of Art

for Pre-vis it Lessons

Essential Question

John James Audubon Carolina Parrot

What can we learn by drawing from observation?

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, The Storyteller

What stories might a work of art generate?

Edda Renouf, For Dorothy on her birthday: to be read from right to left-14.5.'77 forty times

How does legibility effect our interaction with a work of art?

Focus Works of Art

for Post-vis it

Lessons

Essential Question

Eric Avery, The Last T Cell

How can you take a picture without using a camera?

Donald Roller Wilson, Mrs. Jenkins Late Night Dinner…,

What is the difference between being alone and being lonely?

Celia Munoz, “Enlightenment #4: Which Came First?”

How can we use images and text to illustrate a memory of something we have learned?

Materials

Pre: drawing paper, pencil, colored pencils Post: sunprint paper

Pre: a prop for the speaker to hold. Post: paper, pencils

Pre: blank note cards, vocabulary sheets 1 & 2 (provided in lesson), drawing supplies Post: drawing paper, drawing materials, lined paper, glue, scissors

MVP

Art Odyssey

Sequence

Pre Lesson for Museum Visit 1

Lesson Tit le

Observational Drawings

Grade Level/s 3-8

Subject Area/s Art, English Language Arts

Durat ion 30 minutes

Essential Question

What can we learn by drawing from observation?

Abstract

Students will create still life drawings of everyday objects in their classroom and place finished drawings in their portfolios.

Focus Work of Art

John James Audubon Carolina Parrot 19th century

TEKS Correlat ions

Art (3.b.1, 4.b.1, 5.b.1, 6.c.1, 7.c.1, 8.c.1) The student develops and organizes ideas from the environment. (3.b.2, 4.b.4, 5.b.4, 6.c.4, 7.c.4, 8.c.4) The student makes informed judgments about personal artworks and the artworks of others. English Language Arts (3.b.1, 4.b.1, 5.b.1, 6.b.26, 7.b.26, 8.b.26) The student listens actively and purposefully in a variety of settings. (3.b.29, 4.b.27, 5.b.27) The student listens and speaks both to gain and share knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements of cultures. (3.b.23, 4.b.23, 5.b.23, 6.b.22) The student understands and interprets visual images, messages, and meanings. (3.b.24, 4.b.24, 5.b.24, 6.b.23) The student analyzes and critiques the significance of visual images, messages, and meanings. (3.b.17, 4.b.15, 5.b.15, 6.b.14, 7.b.14, 8.b.14) Students use elements of the writing process to compose text. (3.b.19, 4.b.17, 5.b.17, 6.b.16, 7.b.16, 8.b.16) Students write about their own experiences.

Learning Outcomes

Students will develop observational skills by closely observing a work of art and drawing objects from life.

Vocabulary

N/A

Materials

Drawing paper Pencil Colored pencils

Resources

http://collection.blantonmuseum.org (search: ) http://www.audubon.org/john-james-audubon http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/audubon_j_STUB.html

Lesson

Components

Introduction to artwork (10 minutes) Using the same strategy that students learn at the Blanton, invite them to silently LOOK at . Next, ask students to DESCRIBE what they see. After taking full inventory, students should move on to ANALYZING the artwork. [As facilitator, the teacher should link observations and descriptions to assist student analysis.] Finally, students should be asked to RELATE their discussion to their own lives. Activ ity (15 minutes) Pass out drawing paper and pencils. Have students select an object that is interesting to them and start sketching. They may wish to practice sketching the same object more than once. Reassure students that it is OK if their drawing doesn’t look just like the object they are looking at. This activity might be done outside, for a wider range of subjects. While students are drawing, circulate to talk with them about what they are carefully observing. Encourage younger students to look for simple shapes in objects (for example a pencil is a long rectangle). Older students might add shading to their drawing to produce a 3D effect. Reflect ion (5 minutes) Re-visit Carolina Parrots. Ask students to compare how their observational drawings were similar and how they were different to the painting. Ask students to share which object they liked to draw the most or the least. Ask them to explain why. How did the objects look different when they were viewed through the magnifying glass? Did you like drawing the objects up close (through the magnifying glass) better? Why or why not?

Assessments

The discussion about the work of art and the art making exercise may be used to assess students’ ability to look closely. Research how observational drawings are used in different fields, such as medicine and biology.

In Class Extensions

Create an oversized classroom sketchbook out of construction paper or butcher paper. During transitions or for a quick art minute, invite students to practice drawing random objects in the classroom (this could also be a “popcorn” type drawing game). Have students take turns choosing what to draw. Encourage students to continue practicing their observational drawing skills by sketching at center time or during times of the day.

At Home Extensions

Encourage students to closely observe the world around them and draw objects that they think are interesting.

MVP

Art Odyssey

Sequence

Post Lesson for Museum Visit 1

Lesson Tit le

Cameraless Photography

Grade Level/s 3-8

Subject Area/s Art, English Language Arts, Science


Essential Question

How can you take a picture without using a camera?

Abstract

Students will make sunprints, continuing their experimentations with transfer techniques.

Focus Work of Art

Eric Avery The Last T Cell 1993 Relief photo-engraving and linocut over monotype with bleeded handwork

TEKS Correlat ions

Art (3.b.1, 4.b.1, 5.b.1, 6.c.1, 7.c.1, 8.c.1) The student develops and organizes ideas from the environment. (3.b.2, 4.b.4, 5.b.4, 6.c.4, 7.c.4, 8.c.4) The student makes informed judgments about personal artworks and the artworks of others. English Language Arts (3.b.1, 4.b.1, 5.b.1, 6.b.26, 7.b.26, 8.b.26) The student listens actively and purposefully in a variety of settings. (3.b.29, 4.b.27, 5.b.27) The student listens and speaks both to gain and share knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements of cultures. (3.b.23, 4.b.23, 5.b.23, 6.b.22) The student understands and interprets visual images, messages, and meanings. (3.b.24, 4.b.24, 5.b.24, 6.b.23) The student analyzes and critiques the significance of visual images, messages, and meanings. (3.b.17, 4.b.15, 5.b.15, 6.b.14, 7.b.14, 8.b.14) Students use elements of the writing process to compose text. (3.b.19, 4.b.17, 5.b.17, 6.b.16, 7.b.16, 8.b.16) Students write about their own experiences. Science (3.b.3, 4.b.3, 5.b.3, 6.b.3, 7.b.3, 8.b.3) The student knows that information, critical thinking, scientific problem solving, and the contributions of scientists are used in making decisions. (3.b.6, 4.b.6, 5.b.6, 6.b.9) The student knows that forces cause change and that energy exists in many forms.

Learning Outcomes

1. Learn about sunprint photography as an artistic medium. 2. Students create artwork made from sunprint paper.

Vocabulary

Sunprint: also known as cyanotype, is a photographic printing process developed in 1842 as a means to reproduce images and writing, as in blueprints.

Materia ls

sunprint paper (1-2 sheets per student) water (to rinse paper) sunlight small objects that create interesting silhouettes when laid flat drawing paper pencils cardboard tape (to tape down objects to sunprint paper, in lieu of acrylic) Teacher handout: How Sunprints Work

Prep Make a test sunprint to know how much light is needed for a successful project. Set Up (to take outside) In large tub: drawing paper, pencils, objects (assorted) Pass out when ready: sunprint paper, cardboard, tape

Resources

http://collection.blantonmuseum.org (search: Avery) http://www.sunprints.org

About the

Artwork/Art ist

This print presents the link between the emotional and physical realities of the AIDS patients that Avery treated as a psychiatrist. The Last T Cell refers to the stage of the AIDS epidemic when patients’ T-cell counts kept dropping to the point where the remaining T cells would be given names.

Lesson

Components

Introduction to artwork (10 minutes) Using the same strategy that students learn at the Blanton, invite them to silently LOOK at The Last T Cell. Next, ask students to DESCRIBE what they see. After taking full inventory, students should move on to ANALYZING the artwork. [As facilitator, the teacher should link observations and descriptions to assist student analysis.] Finally, students should be asked to RELATE their discussion to their own lives. Activ ity (30 minutes) Show your sunprint sample to the class. Tell students that you will be working in a sunny area outside (if it is a cloudy or overcast day your sunprint will just take more time). Follow steps on handout Sunprints- How They Work and Tips for Best Results c2010 Regents of University of California http://www.sunprints.org/how-it-works/ Take group outside to make sunprints. As students wait for their prints to be exposed, have them make sketches of their objects. Once sunprints are brought back inside the classroom and are ready to be rinsed off, students can trace their objects, create rubbings, or make another sketch. They will then have between two and four complete works of art by the end of the project. Reflect ion (5 minutes) Have a gallery walk to view everyone’s finished sunprints. What were the results of students’ sunprints? Did some objects print better than others? How did this method of photography compare to digital photography commonly used today?

Assessments

Compare and contrast sunprints and photographs with the class to assess understanding of the medium. Chart student responses to questions.

In Class Extensions

Invite students to create rubbings of the same objects from which they made their sunprints. How was this process different? How was it similar? Ask students to notice how many photographs they see every day. Are the photographs of people, objects, places, or something else?

Look at family pictures together. Do you have a family photo album where you keep your favorite pictures or pictures from special occasions?

If you have any questions about any of the steps in this process or about how to get the best

results from your Sunprints, contact Seth at 510-642-8856 or [email protected].

©2010 Regents of Univeristy of California

SUNP RINT S – HOW T H EY WORK & TIP S FOR B EST R ESU LT S

I. What you need

1 Sunprint paper, acrylic sheet, cardboard, a tub full of water, fun and interesting objects to print.

II. Arrange your objects on a piece of Sunprint paper out of the reach of the sun.

1 The blue molecules embedded in the paper are sensitive to ultra-violet light. For best results,

prepare your print in a place where the sun’s light cannot reach the paper as you arrange objects

on top of it. Direct sunlight will expose the paper quickly, but even ambient light in the shade, or

in a room with a big window will cause slow exposure of the paper.

III. Place the acrylic pressing sheet on top to flatten and hold your items to the Sunprint paper.

1 Using the acrylic pressing sheet when taking prints of flat or almost-flat objects will help to

sharpen the edges between blue and white in your final print. The ambient sunlight outdoors

will find its way underneath the edges of your objects if they are not pressed firmly to the paper,

and you will get Sunprints with blended edges.

IV. Take your Sunprint outside and lay it in direct sunlight for 2-5 minutes.

1 The areas of the paper exposed to the sun will fade from blue to white. When you see most of

the color disappear from the paper, your print has been fully exposed. If no direct sunlight is

available, don’t worry—just expose your print a little longer and wait for the same fading effect.

Under cloud cover, the process will take 5-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the clouds.

What is happening in this step? Two crucial molecules in the paper are interacting, forming a

new molecule. Their interaction is initiated by specific wavelengths of ultra-violet light. The new

molecule is colorless so that as the blue molecules are converted, the white of the paper base

begins to show through. Areas of the paper covered by your objects still contain the original blue

molecule, so they remain blue.

V. Rinse your Sunprint in water. Watch the white turn into blue and the blue turn into white.

1 To get the deepest blue that the paper can give, leave it in the water for a while: 1-5 minutes.

There are two exciting things happening underwater. First, the original blue compound is water

soluble so that when you immerse it in the bath, the water carries it away, leaving only the white

paper base in those areas. Second, the colorless compound whose formation was caused by the

sun’s energy is not water soluble, so it cannot wash away in the water bath. It is sensitive to the

water in another way. Just as the Sun’s light stimulated a chemical change in the previous step,

the water stimulates another chemical change. The water causes an oxidation reaction that turns

the colorless compound into the deep blue of a finished Sunprint.

VI. Lay your Sunprint flat on an absorbent surface and allow it to try.

1 You can use a paper towel, or a piece of cardboard as a bed for your Sunprint while it dries.

Putting it on something absorbent helps to avoid the formation of water spots by drawing the

water from the Sunprint paper.

2 When you take your paper out of the water, it will probably not have finished oxidizing. The

water remaining in the paper will do the job before it evaporates. By the time it is all gone you

should have a beautiful deep blue Sunprint!

MVP

Between the Lines

Sequence


Lesson Tit le

Story Detectives

Grade Level/s 3-8



Essential Question

What stories might a work of art generate?

Abstract

Students will compose a collaborative story based on observing Tiepolo’s The Storyteller.

Focus Work of Art

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo The Storyteller Mid 1770s

TEKS Correlat ions


Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to… 1. Have an interpretive discussion about The Storyteller. 2. Work with their classmates to create a narrative about The Storyteller, based on their observations.

Vocabulary N/A

Materials

Venitian mask, magnifying glass, or other object which students can hold while they tell their portion of the story (optional)

Resources

http://collection.blantonmuseum.org (search Tiepolo) http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=787

About the Artwork On the edge of a Venetian piazza, a cantastorie—a popular storyteller and balladeer—entertains a group that seems a microcosm of society. The scene appears at first a slice of contemporary life. Underpinning it, however, are the basic conventions of Venetian decoration from Paolo Veronese through Sebastiano Ricci: horizontal proportions, a low viewpoint that translates the group into a procession, and a distribution of light and color that give it structure. Any simple realism is put to further question by the loose brushwork, by the traces of underdrawing in black, and in general by a display of process that underscores artifice. Ultimately the picture insists upon its own exquisite fiction, echoing the performance of the cantastorie, enchanting the viewer as he does his listeners. Another version of The Storyteller, larger and more even in finish, belongs to a famous series of genre pictures painted by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo just after going to Madrid with his father, Giovanni Battista, in 1762. Some time later Giovanni Domenico revisited the subjects with a cooler palette, more nervous touch, and

greater whimsy. This picture is one of those re-creations. That it was conceived thus, as part of a personal repertory performance, only multiplies and deepens the ways in which the work is reflexive. Contemporary and nostalgic, real and artificial, the painting is emblematic of the Venetian school in its waning moments.

Lesson

Components

Introduction to artwork (10 minutes) Using the same strategy that students learn at the Blanton, invite them to silently LOOK at The Storyteller. Next, ask students to DESCRIBE what they see. After taking full inventory, students should move on to ANALYZING the artwork. [As facilitator, the teacher should link observations and descriptions to assist student analysis.] What do they think is happening here? What clues can they find to determine when this might have been painted? What title would they give the painting? What story do they imagine is being told? Finally, students should be asked to RELATE their discussion to their own lives. Have they ever heard someone tell a story? Where? Who? Activ ity (15 minutes) Explain to students that they are going to make up their own stories about this work of art. These stories might or might not relate to the conversation they just had. The teacher should provide an interesting story starter to begin (optional: while speaking, students can hold an object to pass to the next storyteller). Each student should take a turn adding to the story- the teacher might choose to interject phrases or words at any point. [If the story is written, model writing skills related to sentence structure, word choice, spelling, and punctuation.] Reflect ion (5 minutes) How was making up a story about the painting different than analyzing the painting? How was it similar? Did students have a preference? How can we tell when a story is “finished?”

Assessment

Assess understanding through closely observing student participation.

In Class Extensions

Use this strategy with other images. Ask students to work in small groups to develop short stories about The Storyteller and present these to the class.

At Home Extensions

Encourage students to ask their older family members to share their favorite stories. Photos are good story starters for these conversations. Are there special family stories that might be recorded or written down?

MVP

Art Odyssey

Sequence


Lesson Tit le

Alone or Lonely? Poems

Grade Level/s 3-8



Essential Question

What is the difference between being alone and being lonely?

Abstract

Students will compose poems related to their reflections on times when they have either been alone, lonely, or both.

Focus Work of Art

Donald Roller Wilson Mrs. Jenkins’ Late Night Dinner in Her Room, Alone (While, Out in the Hall Leading to Her Room, Her Small Friends were Sleeping) 1984 Painting

TEKS Correlat ions


Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to… 1. Reflect on the differences and similarities between being alone and lonely. 2. Write a poem about a time when they have either been alone or lonely.

Vocabulary N/A

Materials

Image Poem Paper Pencils

Resources

http://collection.blantonmuseum.org (search Donald Roller Wilson)

About the Artwork The title of Mrs. Jenkins’ Late Night Dinner in Her Room, Alone (While, Out in the Hall Leading to Her Room, Her Small Friends Were Sleeping) and a poem that accompanies it tell part of a sprawling story while the haunting and realistic large-scale canvas tells another. With words and images, Donald Roller Wilson weaves a Southern Gothic tale of sorts. In the painting we do not see Mrs. Jenkins, who is invoked in the poem, or the surreal cast of characters that recur in many of Wilson’s canvases, often animals dressed in vintage clothing. Employing the painting techniques of seventeenth-century Dutch masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Wilson paints from life, filling his studio with scouted artifacts. He attends to every detail with photographic precision and the finest of touches: here, the wrinkles and folds of the fabric covering the chairs, the halos of stains coming through the paint on the walls, and the evocative play of light and shadow dancing across the room.

Lesson

Components

Introduction to artwork (20 minutes) Using the same strategy that students learn at the Blanton, invite them to silently LOOK at the painting by Donald Roller Wilson. Ask students to pay attention to the many details included. Next, ask students to DESCRIBE what they see. After taking full inventory, students should move on to ANALYZING the artwork. [As facilitator, the teacher should link observations and descriptions to assist student analysis.] What is happening here? Provide the title of the painting. How would they describe Mrs. Jenkins? How does knowing the title of the painting alter their first impression of what was going on? Next, read the poem by Wilson (you may also want to project it while reading). How does this change their analysis? Why might Mrs. Jenkins’ set the table for two? Pass out copies of the poem to groups of students. Ask them to discuss its meaning and report back. Discussion questions might include: What does Wilson mean when he writes, “Most who peeked inside had seen the plates, but none had seen the light.” In what ways do you think “those who knew” were trying to be polite? Was she alone? Was she lonely? Why might she have been lonely? Warm-up (20 minutes) Pass out paper and pencils. Ask students to think about times when they are alone and write these times down. Next, ask them to consider if they were lonely during these times. Did they want companionship or were they OK being alone doing the things they had just written down? Students should make a mark next to the times they were alone and also felt lonely. Discuss the difference between being alone and feeling lonely. If you are alone, does that mean you are also lonely? If you are lonely, does that mean you are also alone? How can you tell when somebody else feels lonely? What might you do for someone who you think is lonely? What might you do if you are lonely? Activ ity (20 minutes) Found word poems Finally, ask students to think of times they have been lonely. Ask them to really think if they have ever felt this emotion. Students should then write down the times or adjectives they associate with loneliness. Ask students to circle three to five words from their brainstorm and arrange in any order they wish. Share poems. Reflect ion (10 minutes) How did the poems reflect their brainstorms? Did students notice certain words used more frequently? Did they notice things in common with other students?

Assessments

Check for student understanding by looking for equal participation during the introductory, warm-up, and reflective sections of the lesson. Circulate to monitor time-on-task during the activity.

In Class Extensions

Write letters to senior citizens or create a class project to assist a senior center. Brainstorm ways students can help one another when they are feeling lonely.

At Home Extensions

Encourage students to talk with family members about loneliness. Encourage students to spend time with an elderly member of the family or volunteer at a senior center.

Mrs. Jenkins’ late night dinner in her room, alone (While, out in the hall leading to her room, her small friends were sleeping) Mrs. Jenkins set her table Made it look like two Had dined together in her room last night And in the morning—through her keyhole Most who peeked inside Had seen the plates but none had seen the light And very few who saw caught on For most were fooled—it seemed And those who knew had tried to be polite They knew that though she played her tricks Down deep, she was inside And, in the end, that she would be allright. Donald Roller Wilson, 6:32 p.m., Saturday evening, July 14

MVP

Art Odyssey

Sequence


Lesson Tit le

Artists as Political Commentators

Grade Level/s 3-8



Essential Question

How can artists use their work to bring attention to social or political issues?

Abstract

After discussing an engraving by Leopoldo Mendez, students will review political cartoons found in today’s media. They will discern the artistic viewpoint of the cartoons viewed and consider if they do or don’t agree with the artists’ opinions.

Focus Work of Art

Leopoldo Mendez Casateniente 1943 Wood engraving

TEKS Correlat ions

Art (3.b.1, 4.b.1, 5.b.1, 6.c.1, 7.c.1, 8.c.1) The student develops and organizes ideas from the environment. (3.b.2, 4.b.4, 5.b.4, 6.c.4, 7.c.4, 8.c.4) The student makes informed judgments about personal artworks and the artworks of others. English Language Arts (3.b.1, 4.b.1, 5.b.1, 6.b.26, 7.b.26, 8.b.26) The student listens actively and purposefully in a variety of settings. (3.b.29, 4.b.27, 5.b.27) The student listens and speaks both to gain and share knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements of cultures. (3.b.23, 4.b.23, 5.b.23, 6.b.22) The student understands and interprets visual images, messages, and meanings. (3.b.24, 4.b.24, 5.b.24, 6.b.23) The student analyzes and critiques the significance of visual images, messages, and meanings. Social Studies 3.b.1, The student understands how individuals, events, and ideas have influenced the history of various communities. (3.b.3A) The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. (3.b.18, 4.b.22, 5.b.25, 6.b.22, 7.b.22, 8.b.30) The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. (6.b.2B) The student understands the influences of individuals and groups from various cultures on various historical and contemporary societies. (6.b.17A) The student understands relationships that exist among world cultures.

Learning

Objectives

Student will be able to… 1. Articulate how cartoons and caricatures can be useful tools for expressing a viewpoint about a

certain issue or person. 2. Discuss issues relevant to them and to society today and consider how artists have presented these

in cartoons.

Vocabulary

Casateniente: n. a man who is both the owner and head of a household. The closest English language equivalent is patriarch.

Materials

Image: Casateniente Political cartoons from magazines, newspapers and/or online journals

Resources

http://collection.blantonmuseum.org (search: “Casateniente”)

About the

Artwork/Art ist

Leopoldo Méndez is considered the finest printmaker in the history of Mexico. In 1937, Méndez, Luis Arenal, and Pablo O’Higgins founded the Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP). Established in Mexico City, the TGP (or Peoples' Graphic Workshop) was active through the 1960s, creating thirty-five major portfolios of woodcuts, linocuts and lithographs, and a total output of over 4,000 prints. TGP fervently believed in art’s capacity for social protest and the betterment of the masses. Its productions celebrated revolutionary heroes, Mexico’s ancient history, and the folk culture of the native peasantry. Artists wished to declare a national Mexican identity based on a deep pride in the country’s pre-Hispanic and colonial past. It was a shared belief that indigenous peoples were the cultural foundation of a modern Mexico.

Working quietly and preferring to be relatively anonymous during his life, Méndez did not gain immediate recognition. It was only after his death that art historians and museum curators began to realize the importance of his contributions. He now ranks among the greatest of twentieth-century Mexican artists, keeping good company with artists such as José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siquieros, and Diego Rivera.

Art as social commentary is a major theme in modern and contemporary art. The artist assumes the roles of reporter and analyst in an exploration of the nature of society. Subjects range from momentous historical events to everyday activities. Always at stake is the artist's wish to uncover the workings of society and draw conclusions for understanding it more effectively. Art that falls within this theme is often critical of political structures seen as harmful, but it also celebrates the achievements of human communities and can poeticize everyday life. Its ultimate ideals are to preserve what is good and to condemn what is threatening in hope of a better society. Taken from Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, http://www.mmoca.org/mmocacollects.

Lesson

Components

Introduction to artwork (10 minutes) Using the same strategy that students learn at the Blanton, invite them to silently LOOK at Casateniente. Next, ask students to DESCRIBE what they see. After taking full inventory, students should move on to ANALYZING the artwork. [As facilitator, the teacher should link observations and descriptions to assist student analysis.] What is happening here? Who do you think these people are? What does the artist do to influence your opinion about them and about what is going on? Finally, students should be asked to RELATE their discussion to their own lives. Mendez made this print, and many others, because he wanted to stand up for people who were being abused or mistreated by people in power. Who are some people that you want to stand up for? How would you want to do this (examples: political art, a speech, a letter…etc)? Warm-up (5 minutes) Relate Casateniente to today’s political cartoons. Ask students if they have ever seen or read comics or cartoons in the newspaper. Have they ever seen political cartoons? Can you name other people/issues that might be popular to include in political cartoons today? Activ ity (15 minutes) Provide students with several different political cartoons/caricatures from recent newspapers, magazines, online journals, etc. Split the students into groups of 3-4 students and ask each group to choose one cartoon to work on together (or, you can choose the cartoons yourself and distribute to each group). Ask them to work together to discuss what they think is happening in the cartoon. They should then try to determine whether the artist has a particular viewpoint or opinion that he/she is trying to communicate to us. If so, what do they think that opinion is? Do they agree with it (be sure to tell them that they don’t have to all agree or disagree, they can have different opinions within the group). After the groups have finished their discussions ask one student from each group to share their readings of the cartoons with the class, and if there are differences in opinion. Reflect ion (10 minutes) Discuss everyone’s cartoons together. Were there any people/issues/places/things that appeared in more than one cartoon? Why do you think these artists chose to represent the people, events or issues that they did? If you were to make a cartoon about any person or event or issue, what would it be and why?

Assessments

Assess student comprehension throughout the lesson by asking clarifying questions and checking for understanding. If a hypothesis was recorded, ask students to write a conclusion that either verifies or corrects their hypothesis.

In Class Extensions

Think about a political person or event from history that you’ve learned about. Imagine what a political cartoon about that person or event might look like. If there is time, have the students create their own historical political cartoon.

At Home Extensions

Look through newspapers, magazines, etc. and try to find political cartoons. Look at them with family or friends and discuss what you think about the issue that the artist is addressing.

MVP

Art Odyssey

Sequence


Lesson Tit le

Memory Statements

Grade Level/s 3-8



Essential Question

How can we use images and text to illustrate a memory of something we have learned?

Abstract

The students will have an interpretive discussion about one of five prints from Enlightenment #4 by Celia Munoz. After analyzing the relationship of the text and image in her work, they will compose personal statements that will be juxtaposed with found images.

Focus Work of Art

Celia Alvarez Munoz Enlightenment #4: Which Came First? 1982 Five color photographs, letterpress on rag paper, & graphite in curly maple box

TEKS Correlat ions


Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to… 1. Recall a memory of something that was challenging for them to learn. 2. Translate their memory into a work of art using text and image.

Vocabulary

N/A

Materials

Image Drawing paper Lined writing paper Scissors Glue Pencils and other drawing supplies Found images (If using photographs from students, collect in advance). Use magazines and printouts from images online for other sources.

Resources

http://collection.blantonmuseum.org (search Celia Munoz)

About the Artwork One of the leading Latina Conceptual artists in the United States, Celia Alvarez Muñoz is an ingenious strategist who exploits the full effects of the words and images she employs in her elegant and spare photo-

based works. Asking questions about the borderlines of personal and cultural identity, and playing with the puns and double entendres of the English/Spanish language dance in Mexican American culture, each of the ten works in her Enlightenment series tells a visual/verbal story that seems part joke and part confession, ultimately calling into question how we acquire wisdom and what we choose to do with it. Comprising multiple panels of photographs and text encased in a custom-made box (or exhibited on the wall or in a vitrine), these “bookworks” draw on fuzzy memories of childhood for their unexpectedly witty parables. Examining language as a key to knowledge and denoting its specific complexities for bilingual youth, Muñoz traces the circuitous paths of the routine lies that pass between adults and children. Her gently probing work makes us aware of the paradox of viewing photographs, reading literature, or depending upon any art form to convey truths about the past or the present.

Lesson

Components

Introduction to artwork (10 minutes) Using the same strategy that students learn at the Blanton, invite them to silently LOOK at Enlightenment #4. Next, ask students to DESCRIBE what they see. After taking full inventory, students should move on to ANALYZING the artwork. [As facilitator, the teacher should link observations and descriptions to assist student analysis: Share information contained in About the Artwork section. Let students know that the statements in Enlightenment #4 are from the artist’s memory of her childhood.] How do the two statements relate to the image Munoz chose? How do the two sentences relate to one another? What message do they think is the artist trying to convey by juxtaposing these statements with the image of chicken eggs? How does knowing this work is contained in a handmade box with four other similar works contribute to their interpretation? Finally, students should be asked to RELATE their discussion to their own lives. Can students relate to this image? How and why? Warm-up (5 minutes) Working in pairs, ask students to share a memory about something that was challenging for them to learn. When was this? What things do they associate with this memory? For example, if the student knows how to skateboard, learning to ride it might be the memory they share and the object related might be the skateboard, helmet, pads, or street. If the student was shy and learned how to talk in front of a crowd, they might associate a room full of people or a stage with their memory. Activ ity (30 minutes)

1. Ask students to choose an image that evokes the memory they discussed during the warm-up. They can also think of a different memory, if they find an image that is relevant to something else. If students do not find an image or have an old photo to share, they might instead choose to illustrate their memory.

2. Once images have been selected, ask students to glue it to their drawing paper (anywhere). 3. They should then write a sentence or two describing their memory. They can use the lined paper, if

they wish. Reflection (10 minutes) Do a gallery walk around the classroom to observe the artwork created. Discuss similarities and differences among the memories recorded with students. What did they learn by doing this project?

Assessments

Assess student comprehension throughout the lesson by asking clarifying questions and checking for understanding.

In Class Extensions

Invite students to create a series of these works to turn into a book.

At Home Extensions

Discuss memories of learning with family members. If family members speak a language other than English, talk with them about their experience learning English.

Art Odyssey Multiple Visit Program Teacher Guideblantonmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/artodyssey.pdfArt Odyssey Multiple Visit Program Teacher ... We recommend that you teach

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