Visual Culture - Springville Museum of Art

Visual Culture
Table of Contents
Artist List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Gregory Abbott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Art Criticism: The Sacredness Cow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Doug Braithwaite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Fluency in Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Jonathan Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Art of Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Alex Darais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Visual Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Paul Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Understanding the Idea of Visual Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Do You See What I See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Frank McEntire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Pop Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Swapping Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Bruce Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Art as a Cultural Critique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Andy Warhol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Film in Visual Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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Visual Culture
Artist List
Gregory L. Abbott (1945– ) St. George, Utah
Sacred Cows of Art History at the End of Innocence: Homage to Kurt
Schwitters 1986
mixed media
23” x 39-1/4”
Doug J. Braithwaite (1964– )
Toys and Tools 1996
oil on canvas
38” x 40”
Jonathan Douglas Brown (1963_ )
So, Luke has a Sister 2000
watercolor
Alex Basil Darais (1918– ) Provo, Utah
Over Three Billion Served
mixed Media
36” x 36”
Paul Howard Davis (1946– )
State Street 1979
oil on canvas
19-5/8” x 15-3/4”
Frank McEntire (1946– ) Salt Lake City, Utah
Buddha in the Beehive 2000
mixed media
61” x 30”
Bruce Hixson Smith (1936– ) Springville, Utah
Ode to Ad 1978
oil on canvas
48” x 42”
Andy Warhol (1928–1987)
Marilyn 1962
silkscreen, 36” x 36”
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ARTIST:
TITLE:
MEDIA:
SIZE:
Gregory L. Abbott (1945– ) St. George, Utah
Sacred Cows of Art History at the End of Innocence: Homage to Kurt
Schwitters 1986
mixed media
23” x 39-1/4”
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Born in 1945 and raised in Bakersfield,
California, Gregory Abbott has had the
desire to paint for as long as he can
remember. During his childhood, his parents took him on outings to Los Angeles
to visit museums and art galleries. Abbott
remembers attending the opening of the
Los Angeles County Art Museum. He
and his parents attended surrealist shows
that included the works of Dali, Miro, De
Chirico, Ernst, and Duchamp. They also
attended a show of works by impressionist
Pierre Bonnard. Even today, Abbott is
challenged by works he first saw as a youth.
Abbott once had a preschool teacher
criticize him for “not using the ‘right’ colors
for a drawing.” Abbott remembers being
offended by the teacher’s attempt to “control
his artwork.” Seeing himself as an artist at
an early age, he painted murals on the walls
of his home. At the age of 12, he painted his
uncle’s water tower in Parowan, Utah, with
the image of a huge reclining nude. His
uncle was shocked by the image and made
Abbott repaint the tower with solid gray
primer.
Following high school, Abbott attended
Brigham Young University before moving to
Oakland, California, where he enrolled at the
California College of Arts and Crafts, earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1970 and his
Master of Fine Arts in 1972. Since graduation Abbott has worked as both an artist and
as an interior designer.
Abbott is currently painting murals in private homes in Las Vegas as well as in the
Luxor and Monte Carlo hotels. In addi-
tion, he is designing wall papers, fabrics,
and murals for Disney’s new Lion King and
Venezia Hotels. For Venezia, with his impudent sense of humor, he has used elegant 18th
Century Baroque designs whose negative
spaces form Mickey Mouse ears, as do the
spaces in the Quattrocento windows copied
from the Palace of the Doges. His paintings
can be found in a number of private and
public collections. His work is shown in
numerous galleries in Utah, California, North
Carolina, New Jersey, and New York.
Before Abbott begins the physical creation of a piece, he contemplates the overall
mental image of what he wishes to express in
his art. Once the image is clearly defined, the
artist quickly executes the work in acrylics on
acid-free paper or masonite panels. Framing
materials are often unconventional materials
such as particle board with “overart” in mixed
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mediums. Abbott often incorporates trompe
l’oeil (fool the eye) images along the margins of a piece, creating additional references
which influence the interpretation of the
work.
Using surreal images, Gregory Abbott’s
work depicts an ever-changing and complex
narrative using ordinary objects juxtaposed
in settings that jar the viewer into looking
more deeply at the work. Through the use
of paradox, Abbott takes “ordinary images
like cows—his ‘everyman’— and establishes
relationships that create new ways of seeing
those objects, giving them new meaning and
increasing our understanding of ourselves
and others.”
Gregory Abbott’s surrealistic art
expresses a unique point of view which
includes a strong sense of beauty and the use
of hidden images and word play, combined
with humor and satire. His cow paintings,
like Sacred Cows of Art History:At the End
of Innocence, express his feelings about life:
Ordinary people, obscured by the group,
have extraordinary events happen to them
that spark heroic acts,greatness,or marvelous
insight and set those ordinary people apart
from the group.
“His masterful treatment of trompe
l’oeil, realistic fantasy, and surrealistic methods of painting help the viewer see beyond
the subject matter and into the content of
each painting. His art has a life of its own,
and it reflects his celebration of life.” Abbott
is recognized as a clever artist, master
designer, and storyteller.
Continuing to paint as he did when he
was a child, Abbott surrounds himself with
dinner plates heaped with pigments and
crouches over his work, which is placed on
the floor of his studio. With this set-up, he
can work on a painting from all four sides.
The different perspectives allow him to correct composition and discover new shapes.
“’I love color, form and message,’ says
Abbott. ‘It is all important to me. What I
choose to paint makes sense of what I expe3
rience. It is the means used to analyze and
justify my existence.’”
Abbott’s Sacred Cows of Art History: At
the End of Innocence—Homage to Kurt Schwitters
depicts a living room scene in which a cow
is seen looking at a black and white cowhide
couch set against a window. Also in the room
are two wooden cow-shaped forms, one of
which is covered with a collage of images and
newspaper clippings. All the different shards
and objects have come together to make the
room. The cow appears startled to see the
familiar-looking couch, which Abbott says
is actually part of the cow itself. He sees the
cow as being totally immersed in himself and
perhaps, headed toward his own destruction.
Like all Abbott’s paintings, the work has many
layers and symbols and can be understood
and appreciated on many levels.
Sacred Cows of Art History is a tribute to
the artist and writer Kurt Schwitters, who was
a member of the Dadaist movement. The artists of this movement were disillusioned by
World War I and as a result, promoted ironic
and cynical anti-art. Although these artists
expressed themselves in a number of different styles, their work all dealt with absurd
and illogical subject matter, sharing a common
emphasis on the importance of chance.
Kurt Schwitters was born in Germany
in 1887. He emigrated to Norway in 1937
and later fled to England in 1940 to avoid
the Nazis, who considered him a degenerate artist and had put him on their death list.
He died at the age of 61 in England in 1948.
Schwitters is best known as the developer of
a style of collage known as Merz (pronounced
Mertz), which used old bus tickets, string,
candy wrappers, newspapers, and other refuse
to create images. The name came about by
chance, as befitted a Dadaist form of art, when
Schwitters cut the word “kommerz” from a
newspaper, but then used only the last four
letters in his collage. The artist referred to his
collages as “Merzilden” (merz pictures) and
his sculptural versions as “Merzbau” (merz
building). Of the latter, only one remains in
existence, located in the Hatton Gallery, New
Castle upon Tyne, England.
Abbott says of Schwitters’ work that it
consists of “wonderful assembleges,” which
although Dadaist, are “almost sentimental,
conveying a strong sense of humanity.” A
piece owned by the Los Angles County
Museum even has a “tenderness and sweetness about it.” Greg Abbott enjoys how the
works retain a sense of the origins of the
found objects yet make a new whole, a quality also evident in Abbott’s own works.
Endnotes
Abbott, Gregory L.Interview, August 13,
1999
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Art Criticism: The Sacredness Cow
OBJECTIVES Students will (in small group discussions):
1. Describe the visual qualities in the art work. (What are the images found in the
artwork?)
2. Analyze the elements and principles of design found in the artwork. (How are the
images arranged in the artwork? How is color, texture, line, shape, etc. used in the
artwork? How are the elements arranged in a similar way as Schwitters artwork?)
3. Interpret the meaning of the artwork. (What message or meaning is the artist trying to
communicate?)
4. Judge the effectiveness of all the elements and meanings of the artwork? (Do all the
visual elements add to the meaning of the work of art?)
5. Create a student generated collage by using the style of Kurt Schwitters or Abbot as
examples.
STATE CORE LINKS
Standard 2: Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating visual
art.
Standard 4: Students will find meaning in visual arts through settings and other modes of
learning—Obj. C: Evaluate the impact of visual art on life outside of school.
Materials
1. Poster of Sacred Cows of Art History: At the End of Innocence—Homage to Kurt
Schwitters by Gregory I. Abbott.
2. Slides of Kurt Schwitters artwork: Okola (1926) and Merzbild 25A (1920).
Instruction
1. Teacher shows the poster of Sacred Cows of Art History: At the End of Innocence—
Homage to Kurt Schwitters by Gregory I. Abbott. and slides of Kurt Schwitters
artwork and asks students to make comparisons and contrasts between the artists’ work.
2. Divide the students into small groups (depending on the class) and give each group a
task to describe, analyze, interpret, or judge Sacred Cows.
3. Have each group choose a spokesperson to share the groups findings in front of the
class.
4. Provide a common object (ie. a chair, an orange) as a theme for their small group art
work. Provide heavy paper or cardboard, glue, paint, fabric, newspaper, magazines
and other found objects. Each small group will create a collage using the
different materials provided.
Assessment
1. Informal assessment: Teacher will observe individual students’ understanding and work.
The teacher will talk to students during group discussions and guide the students through
the art criticism process
2. Studio assignment and rubric used as a tool to assess student-generated artwork.
Sources
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1. Arnason, H.H. History of Modern Art (1970).
2. Utah State Core Curriculum.
3. Sources for Kurt Schwitters images and information:
Okola: http://www.caleidoscopio.art.br/cultural/artesplasticas/vanguarda/dada_04.htm
Merzbild 25 A:
www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/408.html
Other Schwitters images and information:
• www.sprengel-museum.de/englisch/12SchwArchiv/12schwitters-intro.html 3 works
• virtuell.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/WebObjects/KMBSiteVirtuell.woa/Contents/
WebServerResources/static/index.html
• www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_works_144_0.html 4 works, large images
• moma.org/collection/depts/drawings/blowups/draw_015.html
• www.ncl.ac.uk/hatton/collection/schwitters/index.html only surviving image of
merzbarn—Schwitters said “My Merzbarn is better and more important than everything
I have done up to now.” Site contains biographical info, photos, and links to a page with
articles etc.
• www.roland-collection.com/rolandcollection/section/18/563.htm source for a video
about Schwitters, Norwegian with English subtitles
Kurt Schwitters
Merzbild 25A
usc.edu/schools/annenberg/
asc/projects/comm544/library/
images/408.html
6
ARTIST:
TITLE:
MEDIA:
SIZE:
Doug J. Braithwaite (1964– ) Sunset, Utah
Toys and Tools 1996
oil on canvas
38” x 40”
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Artist’s Statement
I was born May 9th 1964 in Sunset,
Utah. My parents both came from Central
Utah (Manti and Salina) and I spent a lot
of my growing up days there riding horses
and helping/playing on the farm. My wife
Jeanette came from Escalante, and we also
spent a lot of time down there. I graduated
from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s
degree of Fine Arts in May 1992. I studied
mostly with Paul Davis and Dave Dornan,
but also spent limited time with Ed Maryon,
Doug Snow, and Tony Smith. I have participated as a staff member of the University of
Utah Summer and Fall Painting Workshops
held in Southern Utah from 1990 to the present, where I have picked up experience organizing and teaching landscape painting and
figure drawing. I have also taught life drawing at the Petersen Art Center in Salt Lake
City from 1995 through 1996. I have taught
beginning painting (still life) and landscape
painting for the University of Utah Division
of Continuing Education. My work has been
at Broschofsky’s in Sun Valley, Phillips in Salt
Lake City, and Torrey Gallery in Southern
Utah.
My work is presently developing in two
directions, landscape and contemporary still
life. I am spending a lot of time out in the
landscape where I have mostly been looking
for subjects that connect me to my roots in
Central and Southern Utah. I have also been
working in the studio on more contemporary still-life paintings, subjects that are more
personal. I have been looking at paintings
by Walter Murch and some earlier paintings
by William Harnett. I like the idea of using
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objects that are found around the house
that are not normally considered worthy of
painting but are able to work as metaphors
or simply as objects that are dated and tied
to my lifetime.
Doug Braithwaite’s brushwork is
strong and skillful and his paintings have a
striking clarity and honesty that appeal to a
broad spectrum of art lovers.
He has won many awards, had solo
shows at Phillips Gallery, Torrey Gallery,
and at the Coda Gallery in Park City, Utah,
and his work is in the permanent collection
of the Springville Museum of Art.
Fluency in Art
OBJECTIVES-State Standard Assessed: Standard 3 EXPRESSING—Objective B: Curate works
of art ordered by medium and content, Indicator 2: Exhibit works of art selected by themes,
such as mastery of a medium, Core objectives, and significant content.
OUTCOME ASSESSED: Students will be connecting theories to objects, participating in collaborative learning brainstorming groups, and individually developing an idea into a concrete object that will be displayed to an audience.
Materials:
Tools by Braithwaite
Images of Tom Friedman’s work dealing with the pencil. see Hainley, B., Cooper, D., & Searle,
A. (2001). Tom Friedman. New York: Phaidon.
Information on the history of the pencil, see references
http://www.pencilpages.com/mfg/fabercastell.htm
http://www.pencilpages.com/articles/make.htm
http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/PencilGrades.html
http://www.roger-russell.com/normapg.htm
http://stjosaphat.tripod.com/nserratosays/id9.html
http://widerreach.com/yellowpencil/pencilhx.htm
http://www.papermate.com/sanford/consumer/papermate/jhtml/faq/faqpencil.jhtml
Lots of pencils
See handouts
Location to hold finished exhibition
Activity
Discuss the Braithwaite painting entitled “Tools” with students. Questions can include: Why
did the artist choose the title “Tools”? Does the artist have an agenda for the viewer? Who is
the artist targeting? What other “tools” could the artist have depicted in the painting and how
could those tools be politically or socially charged? What are the tools of an artist? What are
the tools of a student?
Explain to the students that they will be using the most basic tool of a student and an artist to
create an art exhibit… A pencil.
Students will create a thematic exhibit that conveys a sense of fluency within a chosen theme.
For example, the artist, Tom Friedman, may be studied and discussed in terms of fluency
and flexibility. Mr. Friedman’s art works are novel in many media and processes, although
each one discusses the content of novelty. An exhibit will be curated that discusses one of
Mr. Friedman’s works in terms of fluency. An example of this would be to see how many
sculptural ideas could be made using common materials, such as the pencil. Students will be
using the pencil as a concept for a sculptural piece that they will photograph upon completion. The photograph and the sculptural pieces could be exhibited along with preliminary
sketches and brainstorming notes. A handout on the subject of pencils has been included to
simplify this process for the student and to explain what is required of him/her.
8
Tom Friedman’s work is known to be creative
in both fluency and flexibility. These examples
show Mr. Friedman’s ability to express novelty
within one material, which shows that he has a
fluency in this medium. . . . a pencil.
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Student example
10
The following list was generated by a high school student as part of the lesson.
• Make a list of aesthetic theories or art movements with the class and have students come
up with a novel idea for exhibiting something about a pencil from that aesthetic
perspective on their own paper.
• In groups, decide upon one aesthetic theory and share the ideas that each student
gathered for that theory. Every student should come up with three more ideas for that
theory while working in groups.
• Students should sketch out one of the most novel ideas developed individually. Ideas
may be reworked until they are truly unique.
• Share the sketches together as a class. If the idea is novel, the student will be able to
create the idea, photograph it, and display it, along with an artist statement about the
work.
VARIATION:
A photograph of the work is optional.
10 Sample Pencil Ideas By Clark Goldsberry
1) Use a pencil and a jet ski to write my
name on a lake.
2) Draw a line through nature: Hike over a mountain with a pencil tied to my shoe.
3) Leave a pencil in a river for a really
long time.
4) Carve a pumpkin… with a pencil.
5) Cover a pencil in chewing gum, then
leave it on my bedpost overnight.
6) Make chocolate dipped pencils and put
sprinkles on top.
7) Try to write the entire dictionary with
one pencil.
8) Pencil Popsicles?
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9) Glue a lot of pencils together to make
one big pencil. Then make a drawing of something… maybe another pencil?
10) Get a pencil vending machine. Fill it full of
pencils that have already been used, and guarantee that each pencil was used to create some sort
of a graphite masterpiece. Sell them for a lot of
money
Name:
Period:
Date:
List aesthetic theories or artistic movements, and describe or sketch a novel idea for creating
something about a pencil from that aesthetic perspective.
Theory:
Sketch or describe your idea:
Theory:
Sketch or describe your idea:
Theory:
Sketch or describe your idea:
Theory:
Sketch or describe your idea:
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Theory:
Sketch or describe your idea:
13
Name:
Name:
Name:
Name:
Name:
Period:
Date:
Choose one aesthetic theory or artistic movement as a group to discuss. Share each of your ideas that
were generated about that particular theory. Then, come up with three more ideas for that theory as a
group.
What is the theory your group will brainstorm?
List the three new ideas that you have come up with as a group to display an object (pencil) in terms of
this aesthetic theory:
1.
2.
3.
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ARTIST:
TITLE:
MEDIA:
Jonathan Douglas Brown (1963– ) Springville, Utah
So, Luke has a Sister 2000
watercolor
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Jonathan Brown was born in Muncie,
Indiana on November 24, 1963. His love of
drawing started early, and one of the cartoons he did of the high school principal
almost got him expelled. (Luckily, “free
speech” came to his rescue.) He attended
Salt Lake Community College and landed
his first job at the Davis County Clipper in
Bountiful, Utah. Brown joined the team of
Salt Lake City’s Deseret News when he was
hired as a free-lance editorial cartoonist in
1997. Shortly thereafter, he beat out the competition and earned the highly coveted position of Editorial Cartoonist, which he still
holds today.
Brown has won many awards for his
editorial cartoons and is recognized nationally and internationally. Most often his recognition comes from editorials written in
response to his work, and these range from
citizens all over Utah to Salt Lake City’s
mayor, Rocky Anderson. Even though he
was once seriously threatened by a reader,
Brown doesn’t mind negative reactions to
his editorial cartoons. What he hopes for
most is that his work will inspire people to
act, and writing a letter to the editor is just
that. Because all art is subjective, many times
his work is misunderstood; people see things
in the cartoons that he didn’t intend. Even
though some don’t agree on his viewpoints,
most praise him for keeping them “current
on national and local Utah issues.”
Brown’s artistic inspiration came from
a variety of sources including Pat Oliphant
(often seen in the Washington Post and the
New York Times), Jeff MacNelly (creator of
the comic “Shoe”), and Jim Borgman (of the
Cincinnati Enquire). Brown comments that
15
although he tries to deal with all subjects, his
favorite to do is political cartoons. He does
the most of these as he jumps from one issue
to the next.
His style has evolved over the years
and varies from one genre of cartoon to
another. He usually sticks to traditional stylistic methods (such as cross hatching) in his
political cartoons. The one artistic technique
he uses in all his works is drawing with
the Col-Erase non-photo blue pencil first.
This pencil does not reproduce when photocopied or scanned into the computer, so
he can use ink directly on top of it. When he
does ink in the cartoon, he uses sable brushes (Kolinsky series 7, No. 2, and No. 0). He
actually draws with the ink-filled brushes
and later adds the cross hatching and lettering with a pen. The final step is to scan it
into his computer and email it to his boss at
Deseret News. (Gotta love the information
age!)
There are no secrets to how Brown
comes up with his memorable editorial
cartoons. “It’s definitely a process that you
learn how to do over time,” he explains.
“The first thing you need to do is narrow the
topic down so it’s bite size. A reader needs to
‘get it’ in a matter of seconds. . . . Flood your
mind with lots of news, and connections
happen between one story and another.” The
ideal cartoon is one that seems “organic: so
perfect and natural.” Of course, perfection
doesn’t come instantly. “Once you come up
with a good idea,” he confesses, “You need
to keep working on it to better it. It takes me
two to four hours to think of an idea and a
few more to try it out. Often, I change my
mind mid-process. It doesn’t always end up
how I started.”
Many might argue that cartooning is not art,
and his high school teacher even told him
this.Brown completely disagrees. “I don’t see
any difference between oil painting and cartooning. . . . Artists create. . . . Construction
workers can be artists, too. They can create
artwork just as much as I do.” Besides doing
editorial cartoons, Brown sculpts and hopes
to one day do cartoons in 3-D.
Brown gives several pieces of advice
for those wanting to fully experience his
work or actually go into cartooning themselves. “If you want to understand an editorial cartoon,” he advises, “Plug yourself into
the media for a while and you’ll understand
it better. [My cartoons] are social commentary.” For young artists wanting to follow
Brown’s footsteps, he recommends that they
saturate themselves with current events.
“You need a college degree to broaden your
experience as much as possible, and you
also need to develop a talent for drawing.”
He also admonishes “not to limit yourself to
just the visual because dancing, acting, and
theatrics will help your cartoons.” One more
thing: writing is key. “Cartoon writing must
be in bite-size chunks. Avoid the temptation
16
to write too much. Less is more!”
[If you would like to contact Jonathan
Brown for additional information for your
class, he requested you call his office phone
number at (801) 491-8221. Don’t hesitate to
leave a message if he’s not there.]
The Art of Comics, Darth Vader, Jonathan Brown
Comics in Visual Culture and Their Effects on Humanity
OBJECTIVES
AH–Art History, A–Aesthetics, C–Criticism, P–Production
Students will be able to:
• examine a new artist, Jonathan Brown, and his style of painting–AH
• analyze a comic based on it’s ability to clearly address a social or political theme–P
• discuss the aesthetic question what is art? Begin to create own opinion on the matter–A
• discover how society has affected comics and illustration throughout this century–AH
• create a comic which is either funny or has a superhero, and which addresses a social or
political idea using the same steps as would be used with a professional comic artist–P
• express opinions of comics and artworks through new aesthetic/criticism philosophies–C
STATE CORE LINKS
Based on a Foundations 1 (7-12)
Standard 1
-Explore a variety of art media, techniques, and processes.
-Create works of art that show the use of the art elements and principles.
Standard 2
-Objective 1, Interpret works of art.
-Objective 2, Learn how to use aesthetic approaches to compare and discuss works of art.
Evaluate works of art based on how they were created, effective use of the
art
elements and principles, fulfillment of functions, and expressive
qualities.
Standard 3
-Objective 1, Identify and Create works of art that show subject matter, themes, or
individually conceived content.
Standard 4
-Objective 1, Use visual characteristics to group artworks into historical, social, and
cultural contexts.
Analyze the impact of culture on works of art.
Evaluate own relationship with artworks from various periods in history.
-Objective 2, Evaluate the impact of art on life outside of school.
Materials
• Jonathan Brown’s cartoon
• Examples of other comics both funny and with superheroes
• Picasso’s Guernica, and David’s Death of Marat
Large image of Guernica at mala.bc.ca/~lanes/english/hemngway/picasso/guernica.htm
Large image of Death of Marat at cgfa.sunsite.dk/jdavid/p-jdavid26.htm
• Movie clips of comics made into films (Spiderman, Superman, Batman, etc.).
• Watercolor paper.
• Pen and Ink
• Watercolor
Activity
17
Definitions
What is Art? - A question,which is posed through the study of philosophy in art, called
Aesthetics. Implies a search for a true definition for art. Can everything be considered art or
is there criteria to make it so?
Instrumentalist theory—Philosophical theory in art which implies that the greatness of a
work is dependent on the greatness of its purpose. The artwork serves a political, moral, or
economic purpose and should have a great effect on the audience.
Sociological theory—Much like the Instrumentalist theory, but more directed to social ideals.
Art is identified with its context and is a radical means of communication–the social force for
promulgation of revolutionary ideas. Believes the artist’s inner world is too narrow and the
artwork must embrace deeper social values.
Introduce the artist Jonathan Brown and discuss his comic style and subject matter. In his
painting of Darth Vader, Jonathan
Brown has used information from the
culture around him to create a comical
rendition of the idea of genealogical
studies. To make numerous comics
for the Deseret News, Jonathan Brown
has to stay on top of the news and
events around him, finding ways to tie
them together. Discuss what different
aspects of the culture an artist must
study in order to be a successful political cartoonist.
Discuss the idea of Visual Culture with
the students and how images around
us can affect the way we think or
react in certain situations. Discuss the possibility of film being a large contributor to Visual
Culture. How has film changed since times such as in Frank Huff’s painting of a drive-in?
Are actors better or worse? Have special effects taken over the importance of good acting? Is
a movie less successful if it doesn’t utilize 3-D animation for special effects?
Art History
Look at Jonathan Brown’s and other political cartoonists’ work and discuss their reflection of
society. Do they seem accurate or exaggerated? Explore different works of art through history which directly address different political and social issues. Why would visual images like
cartoons and painting be a good way to address social and political views which may be very
sensitive topics in society? Look at works such as Picasso’s Guernica, which depicts a horrible
war scene of an innocent town that was bombed for political end. David’s painting Death of
Marat is also a good example of addressing a controversial event.
18
Art Criticism
Visual Culture is a wonderful way to introduce new criticism philosophies. Using comics,
explore the philosophies of the Sociological and Instrumentalist theories. Discuss how, based
on these theories, artists should always be creating art with respect to society or social and
political ideas. This philosophy suggests that art isn’t good enough if created just within the
artist’s own thoughts, it must communicate ideas and events of present history, social and
economic issues, class distinction, and so forth. These artworks should be making a statement calling for action from the audience with regards to the society around them. Have students use a basic criticism model to critique an artwork and a comic with these philosophies
in mind. Does the work call for action? Does it address issues of society or is it just a reflection of the artist’s ideas or life in some way?
Aesthetics
Exploring comics and illustration is a good way to introduce the area of Aesthetics, which
asks,”What is Art?” Whether or not illustrative and commercial works are truly fine art or
just a well-learned trade has been an argument for decades. Some feel that artwork created
for commercial means is not real art, it’s just an expression of someone’s idea in a pictorial
form. Ask students how they think comics or illustrations might be different than the art they
might see in a museum. Ask what is similar. Have students choose a side and argue their
point with artistic examples in a short essay; then separate the class into two groups, each
representing the opposite opinion. Hold a mock trial of illustration/graphic design vs. fine
arts. The teacher can be the judge and mediate responses; each group will have to argue its
points with relevant questions and answers. At the end, bring all relevant points to the bench
and discuss, this time with the class being the jury, and arriving at a verdict. The class can
vote to see if a consensus is reached, or they can be a hung jury, left to contemplate further
the information gathered. A retrial can later be scheduled if needed. This option allows for
further thought and research.
Production
Have students use the example of Jonathan Brown and other comic artists to help them create their own comic design. Students should go through each step: first, create a character
for their comic. They must decide if it will be a political cartoon, funny comic, or a superhero
comic. Students should map out the character development, answering questions about personality (funny, serious, superhero), looks, background information, where the characters live,
special quirks, super powers, and so on. Have students do a pencil and pen drawing of their
character, complete with costume design. If it is possible to get the same blue pencil comic
artists use for preliminary drawings, it would be most authentic. Comic artists most often
use colored ink to fill in the drawings; however, watercolors can also be used for the colors
and might be more accessible to the classroom. After a full character analysis and drawing is
done, the students can then create a full comic with numerous frames.
Assessment
-After discussion of Comics effects on Visual Culture have each student write down two
ways they believe comics are a part of our visual culture. This can be used as an informal
19
assessment.
-Participation in Aesthetics can be an informal assessment.
-Formal Assessment- After students have written a short essay for the aesthetic argument
what is Art? Have them switch essays with another student with the same opinion on the
matter. Students should then analyze and rate the value of the arguments made and the
clarity of the argument; reasons should be given along with examples of good arguments.
Both should be turned in and graded a 1-3 rubric based on, clarity, ability to analyze
neighbors essay, valid points in own essay, and composition. Artworks can also be graded
using a rubric with criteria being creativity, craftsmanship, and completion character
analysis and rendering.
-Artworks can be added to portfolios and graded on an analytic rubric rating scale of 1-5.
-The artworks and critiques can also be combined into one rubric as well or graded
holistically with all works at the end of a term.
Sources
Additional reading:
Past evening for educator packets
Barret, Terry. Criticizing Art. Mountain View,
California. Mayfield Publishing Company.
1994.
Townsend, Dabney. An Introduction to
Aesthetics. Massachusetts.
Blackwell Publishers. 1997.
Day, Michael & Hurwitz, Al. Children
and Their Art: Methods for the Elementary
School.
Texas. Harcourt Brace College
Publishers. 1958.
Beattie, Donna Kay. Assessment in
Art Education. Massachusetts. Davis
Publications, Inc. 1997.
VARIATIONS
This lesson is based on a middle-school
level. Various areas can be altered to
accommodate an elementary-level learner.
Students may not understand certain
Aesthetic philosophies like the socioeconomic and instrumentalist theories. In critiquing
the artwork, the student may analyze the
work and decide their own interpretation of
what the comic artist is trying to
www.nthurston.k12.wa.us/ths/
portray. Then each student can try writing
his or her chosen comic artist and asking
the artist specifically about a certain comic
study to find out the artist’s thought behind it. Did it truly have something to do with some
social issue? Was it a successful work according to what the artist intended the artwork to
accomplish?
20
EXTENSION
Students may take the production assignment further by creating a full comic with numerous frames or create the additional character analyses for the comic. Also, it would be good
for students to further research another comic artist besides those discussed in the lesson
like Jonathan Brown. Students can have firsthand information on whether another fine artist through history influenced the artist. They can learn an illustrator’s personal view on the
question of What is Art? And whether they believe their work is truly fine art or just commercial, propagandistic drawings.
Shafer, Bo Peep’s Cost of Living http://
www.lib.byu.edu/online.html
21
ARTIST:
TITLE:
MEDIA:
SIZE:
Alex Basil Darais (1918– ) Provo, Utah
Over Three Billion Served
mixed media
36” x 36”
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Alex Darais was born in 1918, in
California, to Greek parents. He gives credit
for his interest in fine arts to his parents, who
exposed him to their Greek culture. Both
the fine arts and Greek traditions remain an
important part of Darais’ life.
When he was serving in World War II,
Darais received a paperback book of poems
from the Red Cross titled The Pocket Book of
Verse, Great English and American Poems,
edited by M.E. Speare. He read these verses
a great deal, and they inspired his life-long
love of poetry.
In 1946, back from the war, Alex Darais
attended Brigham Young University and
majored in art. He also began to write poetry.
After graduating, he went to Claremont
Graduate School in California. Having
completed his master’s degree, he returned
to Brigham Young University in 1953 to
teach art at the old Academy. As a designer
and painter, he became one of BYU’s most
beloved and respected faculty members.
Alex Darais was deeply influenced by
cubist watercolorist John Marin and abstract
artist Marsden Hartley, as well as by the oriental philosophies of Zen Buddhism. Darais
often quotes from his favorite philosophers
in classes and in casual conversation. For
example, when being interviewed for this
biography, he said at his age, he’s very aware
of the passage of time, and he quoted two
old Greek proverbs. “The only permanent
thing is change,” and “You can’t step in the
same river twice.”
Darais says his art works come in
response to feelings and experiences, they
are intimate and involved. As a teacher and
father of seven, he found time constraints
22
required him to do his art “ on the run.” He
changed from oils to gauche and acrylics so
he could allow his art “ to spill out onto the
canvas.” This change in media has given his
art a sense of expediency and spontaneity
that accurately reflects his feelings.
Alex has always had an exquisite eye
for design, especially for pleasing and interesting patterns hidden in everyday scenes
and objects. He finds aesthetic value in
shapes most people never notice. Once, at a
wedding reception of a friend, he had someone stand on a chair to take a photograph
of the intriguing shape of a spill on a tablecloth. As a teacher, he worked to awaken in
his students a sensitivity to the infinite beauties all around them, as well as to the design
of utilitarian objects.
He was once asked to no longer bring
his design class to a local department store
because the department manager was afraid
the students’ outspoken critiques of the dinnerware and flatware would discourage
customers. Darais constantly points out both
interesting shapes and also poor design to
his students and to anyone who happens to
be around him. He asks everyone to think
and to analyze whether objects fit, ( How
would that spoon fit your hand? How would
it feel in your mouth?) whether the objects
are comfortable, are durable, and are practical.
Graphic design has also always interested Alex. His best-known projects are
probably the Bonneville Bank and Sundance
logos. His design orientation carries over
into his approach to painting. He makes no
attempt to create a three-dimensional picture plane, but uses a straightforward, twodimensional expression of his ideas and feelings. His paintings are graphic images.
Besides his innate interest in design,
Darais’ love of poetry has helped inspire his
art, as well as, his art inspiring his poetry.
Darais painted Over Three Billion Served in
1974, and later in 1986, he wrote the poem
“Beef.” (The poem is found in his book Little
Bird, Selected Poems and Paintings available
through BYU’s Museum of Art) Conversely,
he wrote the poem “Dark Continent” in
1965, after reading a news story in the Provo
Daily Herald ; and in 1969, painted a work
with the same title, Dark Continent.
The painting Over Three Billion Served
was painted after Darais noticed a red
cross lying on the ground in a parking lot.
When he picked it up, the McDonalds’ “Big
Mac” container “immediately conjured
up an image with religious connotations.”
Thoughts of all the animals that had been
slaughtered to make hamburgers came to
mind, and he could envision one cow that
was trying to break out of the herd. The
images also were tied to personal and powerful religious feelings about sacrifice. Out of
these feelings came a piece of art portraying
both religious values and social criticism.
Like many artists and teachers, Darais
paints and teaches for the sheer joy of it.
However, unlike most artists, Darais has
23
shied away from promoting or selling his
art. His wife says each art work is like a
child to him, and he can’t bear to discuss
price, so he doesn’t sell many. He has given
a few pieces to area museums, and his seven
children have each picked out their favorites.
In 1990, Darais had a book of poetry
and art published: Little Bird, Selected Poems
and Paintings. The book is the result of more
than a decade of work. And in April of 1995,
a retrospective exhibit of his art work was
displayed at the new Museum of Art on the
Brigham Young University campus.
Darais’ metaphorical work Over Three
Billion Served includes a flattened “Big Mac”
container from McDonald’s, which forms
a red cross in the center of a muddied,
asphalt-like background on which white
cows have been sketched in rows, all but one
cow facing the center.
Darais’ inspiration for this piece was
the discovery of this red cross hamburger
carton lying on the pavement in a parking lot. For the artist, the flattened “Big
Mac” container “immediately conjured up
an image with religious connotations.” He
thought of the many animals that were
slaughtered to make hamburgers and
envisioned one cow trying to break out of
the herd. These images were linked to the
artist’s own personal feelings regarding sacrifice. The resulting artwork candidly depicts
religious values and social criticism.
For many years, Darais has been an
avid writer of poetry as well as a painter.
One inspiration has often led to the other,
whether it be art inspiring poetry or poetry
inspiring art. Darais painted Over Three
Billion Served in 1974, for which he later
wrote the following poem, “Beef” (1986),
which describes the modern phenomenon
of fast-food restaurants and the artist’s
response to their ever-growing clientele.
Beef
by Alex Darais May 10, 1986
Not long ago, while waiting for one of my sons
to finish his shift at the fast-food restaurant,
I glanced at the dramatic curvilinear sign
And was stunned by the latest statistics
Proclaiming that three billion had been served.
It seemed only last week when it was only two.
I watched the constant stream of customers
Standing impatiently in several of the lines
While others voraciously ate and chattered,
Seemingly oblivious to the food or traffic.
And could easily believe he increase in the number,
No wonder my son developed a sore wrist from
Scraping the hot grill night after night
As I waited and watched this modern phenomenon,
I envisioned a long, solemn procession of
Mournful, mooing cows moving slowly to the
Slaughterhouse. I couldn’t help but recall
With nostalgia my father’s cafes along the
Ocean Front in Venice, California, in the early
Twentieth century an unforgettable era when
eating out was a leisurely, romantic experience.
Recently, the number served in the fast-food
Restaurant has accelerated to an incredible
sixty billion hamburgers throughout the world.
At this rate it won’t be very long before
This astronomical number will easily surpass
Our national debt; a number beyond comprehension
The young would add that it’s gastronomical
As their figures also get bigger and bigger,
Along with their expanding cholesterol count-And human casualties in the battle of the bulge.
Again I envision the long procession of cows
Doomed to become mincemeat--I mean hamburgers
60,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 hamburgers!
Used by permission of Alex Darais and the BYU Museum
of Art
24
“VISUAL CULTURE”
Over Three Billion Served by Alex Basil Darais
OBJECTIVES Students will (in small group discussions):
1. be introduced to images and definitions of Postmodern art,
2. recognize images found in Visual Culture,
3. analyze and interpret the meaning of symbols found in Visual Culture,
5. create a student-generated image reflecting a Postmodern theme and using symbols from
Visual Culture.
STATE CORE LINKS
Standard 2: Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating visual
art.
Standard 4: Students will find meaning in visual arts through settings and other modes of
learning—Obj. C: Evaluate the impact of visual art on life outside of school.
Materials
1. Posters of Over Three Billion Served by Alex Basil Darais to show that the artist used an
ordinary object and Homo Barbarus Cum Tano Dolore Capitis—Bearded Man With A Headache
This Big by Wayne Kimball.
2. Slides, transparencies, or reproductions of: (can find using Google’s image search)
# 1 Brillo Box (19 ) by Andy Warhol (ordinary kitchen objects)
# 2 Green Coca Cola Bottles (1973), by Andy Warhol (symbol of marketing food objects)
# 3 Marilyn Monroe (1962), by Andy Warhol (symbol of mass media and superstar
image)
# 4 Whaam (1963), by Roy Lichtenstein (symbol of mass media and comic strips)
# 6 Soft Toilet (1966), Claus OIdenburg (ordinary household object)
3. Handout with symbols from Visual Culture.
Instruction
1. Teacher will pass out a handout with
symbols found in visual culture and have
students identify them.
2. Show the poster of Over Three Billion Served
by Alex Basil Darais. In a class discussion,
ask the students to identify the images
found
in the art work and to interpret the
meaning
of the work of art.
Students might say that
the McDonald’s cover is representative of
mass consumption in this country and the
McDonald’s image is found throughout the
world. It stands for fast food.
.
McDonalds sells food but it is really about
the acquisition of real estate.
3. A slide presentation of artwork that depicts
25
symbols of visual culture will be shown to
students. Emphasize that
artists in the postmodern era often use images from Visual
Culture in their
artwork. The artist’s intent is to show that in contemporary times art and
life are often synonymous.
4. Show the poster of Homo Barbatus Cum Tano Dolore Capitis—Bearded Man With A Headache
This Big by Wayne Kimball. Ask students if they remember a commercial that used a
similar statement. Act out the Excedrin commercial that states (with extend arms) “Take
Excedrin for a headache this big.” The artist intermixed the commercial with a classical
Greek image (appropriation) to create a humorous double meaning or visual pun. Wayne
Kimball states that he “selects subjects which, when put together suggest meanings
beyond themselves—in hope that they will be perceived as some kind of metaphor,
puzzle, or riddle or dilemma to which contemplation will surely supply an answer.”
Kimball assumes that the viewer, as a member of visual culture who watches TV
recognizes the gesture and reference to the commercial, as well as seeing the humor in
juxtaposing it with the classical ideal represented in Classical Greek art and text.
5. On the board write Postmodern Art and list its characteristics as follows:
a. Sometimes relies on knowledge of Visual Culture.
b. Appropriates (borrows or steals) images from other works of art or Visual Culture.
c. Sometimes uses text, language or double meanings, such as a metaphors or visual
puns.
d. Sometimes the artist’s intent is to make a political, social, economic, or a very
personal statement about gender, race, or culture.
6. Have students break into groups and brainstorm to come up with various examples of
visual puns (e.g. brainstorm, bulldozer, handgun, rainbow trout, bookstore, water-ski).
Have the students share their examples with the class.
7. Explain the production assignment to the class. Have the students design a student-generated art work with a postmodern theme.
The assignment should have at least three of the following design elements:
a. A visual pun or metaphor the student wants to communicate.
b. A political, economic, or social statement that reflects what his
or her art is about.
c. Use of a postmodern format or media.
d. The art history references (appropriation) to be used in the
work.
Assessment
1. Informal assessment: Teacher will observe individual students under
standing and work. The teacher will talk to students during group
discussions and guide the students through the art criticism process.
2. Studio assignment and rubric used as a tool to assess student
generated artwork.
SOURCES
1. Arnason, H.H. History of Modern Art (1970).
2. Utah State Core Curriculum.
26
ARTIST:
TITLE:
MEDIA:
SIZE:
Paul Howard Davis (1946– )
State Street 1979
oil on canvas
19-5/8” x 15-3/4”
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Paul Davis, a painter, teacher, and art
administrator, was born December 2, 1946, in
Quonset Point, Rhode Island. After attending Boston University and earning both a
Bachelor of Fine Art (1973) and a Master of
Fine Art (1975), Davis began a long and distinguished career as a teacher and painter.
He taught at Boston University, Reegis
College, Art Institute of Boston, and the
University of Utah, from which he recently
retired.
Davis has exhibited around the state of
Utah as well as in numerous group exhibits
throughout the country. His work has been
seen at the Bountiful Art Center (Bountiful
UT), the Kimball Art Center (Park City UT),
Springville Museum of Art (Springville
UT) Corcoran Gallery (Washington, DC),
Amerika Haus (Hamburg, Germany) and
many others. Paul Davis is the recipient of
the Painting Prize, “Utah ‘80” from the Utah
Museum of Fine Arts, the Utah Arts Council
Visual Arts Fellowship, and the Western
States Arts Federation/NEA Fellowship for
Visual Artists. Davis says of his own painting methods, “As my paintings accumulate
layers of paint, they accumulate layers of
meaning for me. When a painting is almost
done, if it is any good, I begin to realize what
it has been trying to tell me. If it is a good
picture it continues to reveal itself.” Deseret
News Jan. 24, 1981
Paul Davis has had a distinguished
career as an artist. His work is described as
being remarkably original. Davis is a realist
who probes beyond mere imitation to find
complexities and intensities of contemporary
living. “He has great sensitivity to
27
conditions of light and a wonderful control
of tonal values. This responsiveness to light
is the painter’s supreme gift. He is a most
serious and dedicated artist with an acute
eye and a highly developed critical sense.His
work is sophisticated, knowledgeable and
completely independent.” (Andrew Forge)
As Davis looks to the future he continues to accelerate in his painting career. He
is currently working on opening a studio/
gallery for Utah artists.
UNDERSTANDING THE IDEA OF VISUAL CULTURE
When Captain James Cook’ ship, the Endeavour, sailed into the bay that we know
now as Cape Everard on April 22, 1770, touching upon Australian shore for the first time,
the British saw Aboriginals fishing in small canoes. Whereas the native population of Tahiti
had responded with loud chanting and the Maori of New Zealand had thrown stones, the
Aboriginals, neither afraid nor curious, simply went on fishing (Hughes; 1986).
That afternoon, two heterogeneous world views met for the first time. Only when
Cook had lowered a small boat and a small party rowed to the shore did the Aboriginals
react. A number of men rowing in a small boat was a practice they could interpret. To them,
it signified a raid and they responded accordingly (Moorehead; 1967).
Undoubtedly the Aboriginals must have ‘seen’
something and
even if they could not see it as a ship, they
must have felt the waves it produced
in
their canoes.
However, as its form
and
height was so alien, so contrary
to
anything they had ever observed
or produced, they simply chose to
ignore it since they had no procedures of response for something
they could not remotely recognize.
The waves Cook’s ‘Endeavour’ sent
out that gently rocked the canoes of
the fishermen can in retrospect be seen
to have functioned as the vanguard of the
alien
system of signs the British imposed on the
native
population of Australia.
De Certeau (1984:171) argues that it is the operation
home.wnclink.com/russell/
of encoding, which is articulated on signifiers, that produces
images/photos/endeavor.jpg
meaning. This extraordinary story of Captain Cook perfectly narrates the steps that are required in this operation of
encoding. What is essential in this reflexive process is a procedure of translation. This is the
moment when a practice or a visual object that requires an interpretation is translated into an
understandable experience. This occurs when a familiar aspect or procedure is recognized in
an otherwise unknown experience. Making sense or producing meaning always requires the
possession of procedures of translation. This is just as true in your classroom as it is when
divergent cultures collide.
The Australian Aboriginals saw something they could not translate into their own
way of seeing, as the Native Americans who first saw the Conquistadors riding horseback
and misinterpreted them as two headed, four legged creatures. The Hawaiians who first saw
James Cooks ships could only recognized the mast and sails as the ancient symbol of Lono,
the God of the Productivity, which was a long upright stick with a cross bar near the top and
long streamers of white Kapa cloths hanging downward like flags or pennants from the cross
beam. For that matter, the Europeans mistranslated the same Lono symbol as a vestige of a
Christian crucifix. Or like the pre-World War II Americans who listened to the radio from 8:
00 to 9:00 on Halloween eve in 1938 and tuned into Orson Wells infamous broadcast of H.G.
28
Wells, War of the Worlds had but one adequate procedure of translating what they heard into
their own private surroundings: PANIC.
For the radio listeners of the 1930’s the news flash was the proper mode for depicting
‘reality.’ Its alleged truthfulness had never been publicly questioned before. ‘Infotainment’ as
we know it in our postmodern times, was unknown in pre-war America and nearly everyone
hearing the broadcast, including the disclaimer at the beginning, believed it to be an actual
invasion of Aliens from Mars.
That critical moment that occurs when something unintelligible is introduced into an
otherwise intelligible discourse has always fascinated artist. This breakdown of the normal
attribution of meaning might cause panic, or it might seem so strange the the mind ignores it,
but it is always a moment of wonder and surprise. Moments of wonder and surprise make
us question our normal repertoire of responses. These moments make us aware of the social
and cultural nature of our ways of seeing.
In these moments of surprise we wonder. Wonder is a very productive critical operation. We may become curious as to what or who is causing this breakdown of meaning. We
might want to find out who or what is responsible, and in doing this we learn, and the beauty
of it is that this learning doesn’t feel like learning; we simply acquire new insights.
Why is it important to be aware of the social and cultural nature of the procedures that
determine what is sense what is non-sense? If you are aware that making sense - producing
meaning - is a social and cultural agreement, you will see that ways of seeing , ways of reading and ultimately ways of living are social and cultural human made constructions and that
human made constructions can be changed and even improved upon. If you can’t see these
cultural constructions as “invented” but as sacrosanct then you have lost your ability to find
yourself within it or to attempt to make any improvements, awarenesses or changes.
Learning about the nature and function of the procedures that determine the boundaries between sense and non-sense is ultimately learning how to change these procedures and
thus how to change social and cultural constructions.
Artists have always exploited the moment of breakdown precisely in order to show
how social and cultural factors determine exactly that domain where these factors supposedly
do not count: aesthetics.
In 1917, Marcel Duchamp donated a found object sculpture entitled “Fountain” to an
exhibition at the new ‘Society of Independent Artists’, of which he was a director. ‘Fountain’
was an ordinary urinal, signed by the artist and displayed upside down. Duchamp offered
his work anonymously under the name “R. Mutt” in order to, “test the society’s supposedly free, non-restrictive policy toward modern, independent art.” The committee failed
Duchamp’s test, as they rejected “Fountain,” which was nothing but a urinal with the supposed artist’s name painted at the base, as ‘dirty and vulgar’. Duchamp was disgusted at this
display of what he considered to be Victorian values of morality and propriety, and dedicated
the second and final issue of his publication, ‘The Blind Man’ to the criticism of the society
which had failed to live up to his ideals. (Terry: 2001)
Where the Aboriginals thought they saw an island instead of Cook’s sailing ships
and where Amerindians saw Spaniards as monstrous alien animals and average Americans
mistook drama for news, the initial public of Duchamp’s “Fountain” thought they saw an
ordinary urinal displayed upside down, signed by the artist. And of course, they were right!
It was and still is an ordinary urinal displayed upside down, signed by the artist. Duchamp
thought and claimed however, that by signing it and by placing it in another, very different,
context, that by these simple acts he could transform the object - the urinal - into a work of
29
art. Not that the object had changed but that the viewers perceptions had changed.
ART IS NOT THE THING ONE LOOKS AT.
ART IS THE WAY ONE LOOKS AT THE THING.
The ‘Society of Independent Artists’ rejected
Fountain. Remember that the people belonging to this society were among the most progressive, avant-garde artists
of their day. And even they could not see what Duchamp
was actually trying to do. Duchamp’s intention was not
to transform the object into a work of art, but to transform our way of seeing an object as a work of art. What
he actually said was: “Why is it that an object placed in
a museum is so intensely looked at from every angle, is it
that only those things that deserve to be gazed upon are
in museums, not in our everyday surroundings, not in our
everyday life? Should we only look intensely when we
walk in a museum? Why can’t we look a little closer at
those things that surround us? A urinal, for example?”
georgetown.edu/faculty/
Here we have a series of lessons designed to help
irvinem/CCTP738/artsurvey.html
young students look and see what they are looking at.
The only way that I can see this skill being developed is
to engage in the process and the phenomena. By deconstructing aspects of our visual culture and reassembling the visual elements in our minds (and the camera) we can learn to see
(understand) what we are looking at and thereby empower ourselves toward discernment
in an otherwise chaotic glut of visual culture. We are attempting to help our students create
procedures of translation.
Do You See What I See?
State Street by Paul Davis
OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the difference between looking
and seeing and that their perception of a thing is skewed by its “cultural context”, by exploring the visual culture of their school, neighborhood, community to find visual messages that
are neither intentionally there or obviously there and by using a still camera to photograph
the “hidden” letters of the alphabet found in the more obvious cultural objects that surround
us.
STATE CORE LINKS: The third grade core in visual arts: Preceiving: Point out and discuss
elements that artist have made dominant in their artwork. Expressing: Interpret possible
meanings of some significant works of art. 2. Discover what symbols are and how artist have
used them to express ideas in their art. 3. Create (discover) symbols in artworks that express
student, class, or community interests.
4. Select student artworks based on a common theme, visual element, or principle and dis30
play them in the art museum. Contextualizing: Discuss how the meaning of an art work
might change depending on how it is displayed. 2. Investigate why different cultures use
different materials to create their unique arts and crafts.
Materials
Camera (this can be most any kind of camera, digital, optical, 35mm, point and shoot, disposable, digital camcoder with still picture mode and so forth.) The objective of this lesson
is philosophical and cultural rather than only technical art production. If you would like to
include technical, aesthetic, or production objectives in this lesson there is plenty of room
and you should use the camera and other equipment that lends to that objective. If the “eye
opening” objective is enough, then any kind of visual recording devise is sufficient. To finish
this project as described, the students will need their photos to be printed as hard copies for
exhibition purposes.
Activity
Have students look carefully at Paul Davis’ painting, State Street. Talk about the difference
between “LOOKING” and “SEEING.” Looking is a thing you do by pointing your eyes at
something. Seeing is what happens when you understand what you are looking at. One is
done with the eyes,and the other with the brain. Do you SEE what I mean?
Now have students look at Davis’ image and share what they see. Most students will
only see “subject matter” initially (sidewalk, stores, lamp post, signs), but with a little coaxing
and sharing and modeling, the students will come to the realization that what they are actually looking at is lines, shapes, values, colors, and textures that somehow remind one of the
artist’s intended subject matter.
Divide students into small working groups and give them a disposable point and
shoot camera (or digital camera). Teach them enough to be able to make an exhibitable exposure. Personally, l use an optical 35mm camera with t-max 400 asa black and white film,
or for color, we use a slow ecktocrome transparency film so we can use the slides as proofs
before printing. For 35mm, find a good photo processing company in your area and establish a personal relationship so they will help you and your students. If you offer a little free
advertising, most local businesses will be glad to cut you a break. The digital camera works
very well because we can do the editing, cropping and printing ourselves. While the product
with digital photography depends excessively on the weakest link in your desk top publishing equipment and is usually not very astute with the average classroom computer equipment, the accessibility of the editing and printing give digital photograph a very large learning window opportunity.
So any way, we have groups and we have cameras...now we want to play “hidden
alphabet” in our classroom. First have students see how many letters they can see in Paul
Davis’ State Street or any other art images you would like to use. Next, challenge students
to look around the room and find all the letters of the alphabet (try upper and lower case,
also try cursive and try numbers) hidden in something else. If it works for you, make it into
a competitive game. . . points for letters and all. The point here is to have students be able to
see past the obvious subject matter of the visual stimulus with which they are surrounded.
We are so overdosed with visual stimuli that we don’t seem to have to actually see what we
are looking at. Looking for the visual elements of line, shape, value, color and texture instead
of shallowly focusing on the obvious subject matter in the objects around us or buying into
the “marketing” motive is the first step to understanding and
W by Bridger, 3rd Grade
31
appreciating the nature and impact of visual culture.
After students have played the game in class send
them out into the school, remembering to be sensitive
to the learning needs of the other students who are
still in class and have them discover the “secret” letters scattered around the school in hidden shapes and
lines. Hidden in plain sight. When enough pictures are
collected print them up and have the students decide
which are the best version of each letter. You may have
to introduce some “critical criteria.”
A by Seth, 3rd Grade
That is just fancy art talk of way of judging. For
example: you may want to use a technical criteria like; is it focused, is it exposed enough or over
exposed? Is it cropped appropriately? Is the letter big enough in the picture to make it the thing
the viewer will look at? Which one of these is best
example of the letter “R”. [I have had Elementary
students come back years later to show me a letter they had just recently found hidden in the pipes
behind the drinking fountain]
X by Thomas, 3rd Grade
It might be
o.k. to let students use letters
found in signs as long as they find a different letter than
the obvious one. An E on it side can look a lot like W or
on the other side an M. This is the learning facilitators
option.
Assessment
For young elementary students, self assessment is a very
powerful tool to focus the students attention on his own
work and the work of others. Using a group brain storming process have students determine what criteria for
success we are looing for. List two or three criteria on
the board. Equitably choose representative curators of
an exhibition and have those student curators choose the
D by Ashley, 3rd Grade
“definitive” version of each letter, matt and frame the
32
work and hang in the hall with didactics explaining
the process, objectives and expected intellectual outcomes.
Sources
Cameras and printers and software: Sony has a
variety of fairly inexpensive digital cameras with
large, 1 1/2 x 2 , viewing screen on the back. Books:
If you choose to do this project with traditional optical cameras use a 35mm single lens reflex camera
and try World Wide Photo Lab or Allens Photo in
Provo to do your processing and printing. (see previous SWAP lesson packet on photography)
Variations
V by Jessica, 3rd Grade
There are several useful variations on this
lesson and this project. Obviously, we can look for
other “hidden” symbols, or objects in our visual
culture environment like numbers, shapes, faces, patterns, textures or have everyone look
for one shape, letter, or number, and collect all of the variations. The “search area” can be
extended or restricted to include only the classroom, the whole building, the building and the
playground, or just the playground. We call the alphabet project that we do outside, “landscape closeups.” This is even a good project for a field trip. We have done it at the Zoo, BYU
Sculpture Garden, and the American Fork Cemetery.
If the photography project seems too technical, try using magazine photos and finding
the hidden alphabet in there and then matting and displaying your findings.
Extensions
Use the suggested art print images in the state core to find the alphabet, numbers or shapes.
Photograph the alphabet, numbers etc. hidden in the shapes of “Found Objects.”
Book making as a way to house and exhibit the photos is an excellent extension to this project. (see previous SWAP lesson packet on book making)
Vocabulary: visual culture, found objects, alphabet, symbols, culture.
Bibliography: Anno’s Alphabet, by Thomas Y. Crowell; Alphabatics, by Suse MacDonald; The
Letters Are Lost, by Lisa Campbell Ernst; The Story of “Z”, by Jeanne Modesitt and Lonni Sue
Johnson.
33
ARTIST:
TITLE:
MEDIA:
SIZE:
Frank McEntire (1946– ) Salt Lake City, Utah
Buddha in the Beehive 2000
mixed media
61” x 30”
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Frank McEntire was born in Wichita
Falls, Texas, in 1946. When he was nine,
his family moved to Houston where he can
remember “drawing” and “poking around
old things piled in heaps in the corners of
antique shops.” He also took art classes at
the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. After
high school McEntire attended Lon Morris
College, Jacksonville, Texas, and graduated
with an associate’s degree with an emphasis in theater arts. His next move was to the
University of Texas and then to Brigham
Young University, where he finished his
master’s degree in 1976.
McEntire has a broad range of experiences in the arts. He has been coordinator
and chair of various arts committees and
projects, and has extensive experience as a
scene painter and set designer, and has acted
in several major and minor productions. His
experiences with theater have perhaps carried over into his art in his frequent choice
to involve the viewers of his art in more
than just visual experiences, to have them be
active participants in his 3-D sculptures and
installations.
Certainly McEntire’s interests in and
involvement with various cultures and religions has had a very profound impact on his
work as an artist. He is particularly interested in religious objects and instruments such
as divining rods and seer stones. Time spent
living with Northwest Indian tribes and as
a Hare Krishna, introduced McEntire to the
powerful cedar and root-knarled staffs used
by the Northwest Indian shamen to divine
and to whisper important knowledge, and
to the Hare Krishna saffron-wrapped staffs
that designate power and religious authority
34
to those who carry them.
A Christian and Mormon background
taught him about the Old Testament prophets Moses and Aaron, who have mystical
staffs—divining rods and powers against
the staffs of the Egyptian magicians. And
about how early Book of Mormon prophets
made use of both seer stones and also divining rods. Each of these groups’ beliefs in
the power of religious objects centers on the
objects’ ability to provide divine sight.
This interest in divine ways of seeing
has led McEntire to create mythic assemblages of odds and ends that gain meaning
through ties to our deepest religious enactments and symbols. His art works ask us to
examine our beliefs and understanding, not
as detectors of error, but rather as participants in exploration and growth.
“Pop” Culture
OBJECTIVES:
1. Students will examine samples of symbols they encounter in their everyday lives.
2. Students will be quizzed on a group of unknown symbols to access how designs
communicate meaning.
3. Students will design a personal symbol that they feel symbolizes who they are or who they
want to be.
4. Students will create their own soda pop label that represents their own “pop” culture.
STATE CORE LINKS
1. Standard 1 MAKING—Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a
variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles.
2. Standard 2 PERCEIVING—Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and
evaluating works of art.
3. Standard 3 EXPRESSING—Students will create meaning in art.
Materials
Transparencies of artworks: Beehive Buddha, Over Three Billion Served, (or any other piece that
deals with visual symbolism or emblems)
1. Mass media magazines
2. Advertising samples, such as clothing tags, posters,
hangtags, wrappers, and so forth
3. Assorted labels from music CD’s, games, cereal boxes
and the like
4. Clothing with designer labels or identification
5. Empty plastic two liter pop bottle for each student
6. Paper
7. Markers, colored pencils, or paint
8. Glue
Activity
1. Assemble a “pop” quiz consisting of various labels, brand name icons, or logos that
students would recognize. Discuss questions such as the following: What are symbols?
Why are symbols important to these businesses? How do these symbols represent each of
these organizations? How long have symbols existed? Discuss the impact of symbolism in
everyday life and the practices of creating professional symbols.
2. Divide students into groups and have them formulate a list of brand names, organizations,
or popular labels. Ask students to describe or draw the logo/icons that customarily
accompany each of the brand names that they have chosen. Teachers may also choose to
have students find magazine examples of these logos.
3. Invite students to identify and discuss the expressive qualities of various symbols, logos
and typography found in magazines, on billboards, on wrappers, and other everyday
items. How do these symbols/texts/logos communicate feelings, values, and meanings?
35
4. Discuss Beehive Buddha. What do these symbols represent? How is the Beehive Buddha
statue a representation of culture? What did the artist place inside the beehive? Why do
you think the artist chose to put these two icons together? What idea is the artist trying to
portray in this statue?
5. Invite students to create a collection of pictures, icons, logos, and typography that will
represent their personal culture. Remind them to look for styles and images that will help
to identify and explain their personal identity. Students will glue the pictures and labels
onto a paper in a collage format to be used as a resource to formulate ideas for the next
studio project.
6. Invite students to critique their own collages. Are there any common themes present? Are
there any strange combinations (like the Beehive Buddha)? How do the typefaces you
have chosen represent you? How are the symbols similar? How are they different? Is
there a message that you would like to portray with your collage?
7. Next, students will design a completely unique bottle of soda pop that will represent them
personally. Using the collage as a springboard, students will create their own personal
symbol or logo that will be integrated into the label of the soda bottle. Refer to the Pepsi
symbol as an example. Ask questions such as the following: What do you think the Pepsi
icon represents? How is Pepsi supposed to make you feel? What does the Pepsi icon
remind you of?
8. Students must create a series of sketches to design their personal icon. These symbols may
36
be a mixture of a few of their favorite logos, or a completely original design. The logo will
become a part of the soda label. Students may choose to re-name the soda, or they may
integrate their logo into an existing soda brand. Students must also design the “ingredients” and the “contents” by using adjectives that describe them personally. For
instance, Nutrition facts might read: ingenuity= 20% creativity=10% stubbornness=2% and
so forth. Ingredients or contents might read: Brown hair, blue eyes, Gap jeans, braces,
alternative music, piano lessons, cell phone, and the like.
9. Once their “pop culture” labels have been completed and attached, students will present
their soda to the class in the form of a commercial. Their job is to “sell” the soda in a way t
that will make people want to buy it. They may choose to work in groups, or individually.
Assessment
1. Using a rubric, student artwork will be graded according to originality, creativity,
craftsmanship and personal expression.
2. Student presentations will be graded on organization, communication, and completion.
Sources
1. Communication Arts Online magazine: http://www.commarts.com/
2. Pentagram Design, NYC: http://www.pentagram.com/
VARIATIONS
1. Teachers may choose to have students create additional posters or flyers to publicize or sell
their soda.
2. Teachers may choose to have students research graphic designers such as Paul Rand, Herb
Lubalin, and Neville Brody.
37
Swapping Culture
Buddha in the Beehive by Frank McEntire
OBJECTIVES
• Students will recognize the artistic potential of everyday objects.
• Students will collaborate with their peers.
• Students will associate everyday objects with their own personal identity and broader
culture.
STATE CORE LINKS
3-6th Grade- Standard 3, Objective 2. Discuss, evaluate, and choose symbols, ideas, subject
matter, meanings, and purposes for their own artworks.
Materials
Buddha in the Beehive transparency
Other pictures of Buddha figures
Each student needs to bring two everyday manmade objects that are representative of their
culture (these objects should be easily painted)
Primer, Paint
String
Electrical Tape
Cardboard
Glue, Hot Glue
Activity
Discussion
Send home a note with each child the day before the activity asking them to bring two everyday man-made objects to class that are representative of the child as an individual or of his or
her community. For example if a child is interested in art he or she could bring a paintbrush.
These objects will be traded and painted so they should be things that the child will not want
returned.
The Amida Buddha at Kamakura, Japan
Begin by showing the class four
people.cornell.edu/pages/rr10/images/buddha.jpg
everyday symbols without words:
a red octagon, a no smoking sign, a
handicap parking sign and the golden arches (McDonald’s). These are all symbols that the children should be able to recognize
immediately even though there are no words. Ask the children if they recognize the symbols.
Have them explain how they knew the symbols even though there was no written explanation. Explain that we use visual symbols to represent ideas, rules, and even businesses. Ask
the children to think of some other symbols they might recognize.
Now show the slide of Buddha in the Beehive. Ask the children to guess what the beehive represents. Explain that Utah is known as the Beehive State, and that the beehive was chosen as
a symbol to represent Utah by the Mormon pioneers. Ask the children if they have ever heard
38
the phrase “busy as a bee.” Explain that the pioneers chose the beehive because they were
hard working, and busy just like bees. Show the
children some examples of beehives being used such
as the Utah State Flag, the Beehive House in Salt
Lake and the State highway markers.
Next show the children a few pictures of Buddha.
Explain that inside the beehive there is a small
Buddha figurine. Ask the children to guess what
the figure
represents.
After some
discussion
explain that the figure is also a symbol, just like the
beehive. The figure represents the religious leader for
a group of people called Buddhists. Discuss the idea
that different symbols can represent different groups
of people.
Project
Ask each child to take out the items that they brought
to represent themselves. Have the children discuss
the meaning of their items in small groups or as a class. Next each child will place one of his
or her items in a bag or pile. One by one have each child choose a new item, that is not his
or her own, from the bag or pile. Tell the children that now they have an item that represents
them, and an item that represents someone else, just like Buddha in the Beehive.
Now ask the children to use tape, glue, string, or hot glue (with supervision and assistance)
to create a sculpture using the two items. Use the cardboard as a base for the student’s sculptures. Encourage children to position their items in several different ways before attaching
them. Once the children have attached their items and secured them to the cardboard base
they will paint them a single color. Make sure all the glue is dry before painting. It may be
necessary to prime some of the items with spray gesso or other primer so that the colored
paint adheres to the items. Painting the items a single color creates a unity between the
items. In Beehive Buddha the beehive and the Buddha are both gold. Explain to the children
that the paint will provide a common trait for the two items.
Assessment
At the end of the project, when the paint is dry, ask each student to write a paragraph about
his or her sculpture. Each student should explain what both items in his or her sculpture
represents. They should also write why they think their sculpture is art. Have students set
39
up their sculptures for display around the classroom with their paragraph. Allow students to
walk around the class and look at their peer’s sculptures.
Sources
Learn about the beehive as a symbol at:
http://www.utah.gov/about/symbols.html
Learn about and find pictures of Buddha at:
http://www.bighappybuddha.com/buedin.html
Learn about assemblage art and artists at:
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/nevelson_louise.html
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/C/cornell.html
VARIATIONS
For younger students:
Instead of having each child bring two items, have them bring one. Have the child explain to
the class why they chose the item. Then as a class create one large assemblage sculpture that
represents the whole class. It will be easier to paint the items before you put them together.
At the end of the lesson have each student choose his or her favorite item in the
sculpture and write about what he or she
thinks it represents.
EXTENSIONS
Have the students study the importance
of recycling in our community. Discuss
how
different artists recycle materials in order
to make assemblage art. Have students
brainstorm ways in which they can recycle materials they would normally throw
away. See websites related to Louise
Nevelson, Joseph Cornell, and John
Chamberlain.
Andrew P. Smith
Times Up! 2003
metal assemblage, 44” high
40
ARTIST:
TITLE:
MEDIA:
SIZE:
Bruce Hixson Smith (1936– ) Springville, Utah
Ode to Ad 1978
oil on canvas
48” x 42”
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Bruce Hixson Smith, a graduate of
both Brigham Young University and the
University of Utah, teaches drawing and
painting at BYU. He currently lives in
Springville with his family. While attending college, he studied with both Doug
Snow and Alvin Gittins. At that time,
Bruce’s works leaned heavily toward non
objective art; however, after several oftenfrustrating years spent exploring abstract
art, Smith shifted his focus.
Currently, he is pursuing the spiritual
in a style he calls academic objective realism. Bruce Smith relies heavily on repetition, often painting objects two or three
times on the same canvas. He begins his
work in a relaxed, uninhibited manner. He
draws and redraws contour lines, making
no attempt to cover up the first lines. These
lines create a sense of movement, as if the
person had paused momentarily or the fabric might move in the breeze. Smith brushes
colors on thinly and briskly. He then moves
from general to specific, usually concentrating on one focal point, building up colors,
textures, and details, but leaving some areas
gestural.
Although painting is a private experience for Smith-visitors to his studio will find
his easel facing away from the door and
objects, while seemingly randomly distributed, blocking the path-he deliberately leaves
his paintings “open-ended, “ inviting viewers in.
Smith’s use of symbols contributes
to this open door sensation-the meanings
of some of the symbols he uses are dis41
cernable but layered. Other symbols are
obscure: a ribbon, a bottle of fruit, a piece
of cloth. Smith says sometimes he doesn’t
know the meaning of the symbols he uses.
Not because he picks them randomly, but
because he chooses the symbols intuitively,
happy to let them remain undefined. He
explains, “When they seem right, I put them
in and purposely keep it a little bit vague,
even to me; so they are not illustration,
where everything is understandable. I want
to have the possibility of going deeper-I prefer not to know exactly what they signify.”
Ode to Ad has this ambiguous layering.
The reference to Pop Art and its exploration
of everyday culture is clear. But the piece is
not really a Pop Art work, it is too painterly,
too much an exhibition of one on a canvas,
not made for replication. The arrangement
of objects suggests an emptiness, symbolized
by the dress, carelessly hung, and displayed
next to a half-empty soda bottle and an STP
can. We are left to question the meaning of
the painting, which prompts us to explore
our own relationship with advertising and
the culture it helps create.
Smith says all his paintings are about
art, and art is in a constant state of flux.
Modernism did away with the old attitudes
and ideas about art, but now Modernism
itself is over. Smith seeks to incorporate
some of the older attitudes about art and
still have his work retain some of the brand
new things Modern Art tried to do, including being a means of “ditching” the old.
Bruce has a strong allegiance to what art
was prior to Modernism, which he believes
is common. What he doesn’t think is common is also having a feeling for Modernism.
He believes it is imperative that art before
Modernism have value today, but that
Modernism have elements of worth as well.
The problem, he says, is to mix those qualities.
The open-endedness of Smith’s works
is certainly a Modernist trait; and conversely,
over the last few years,
Smith has configured many
of his paintings in ways
that harken back to Italian
religious works of the
Renaissance. Those early
multipaneled altarpieces
consist of a principal central
panel with secondary side
and/or top panels, and a
predella.
The predella is a small strip
of paintings which forms the lower edge
of the altarpiece and usually has narrative
scenes from the lives of the Saints who are
represented in the panels above, or a portrait
of the person who commissioned the artwork.
Some of Smith’s recent paintings have
one smaller canvas below the main canvas,
like an individual predella; others have
a large central canvas with smaller ones
above and below. And some are themselves
a series of paintings with another group
below. Whatever the exact configuration,
the allusion to Renaissance art is clear: and,
like the symbols he uses, this reference gives
depth to the artworks. In addition, the very
arrangement and variety of the sections creates added meaning.
Bruce Smith is himself a complex
man and his artworks invite viewers into
that complexity and also stimulate them to
explore and perhaps develop their own complexities, their own responses and ideas.
Bruce H. Smith, Christin in the Predella (1986)
www.slco.org/fi/slcoart/art/67.html
42
Art as a Cultural Critique
Middle Level
OBJECTIVES:
1. Students will become aware that visual culture can impact viewers by influencing
how they think or feel.
2. Students will learn to connect meaning to visual images and will demonstrate that ability
by discussing artworks and magazine ads and by making an artwork with meaning
3. Students will read about a problem in their culture and design a poster to affect viewers’
feelings about that problem.
STATE CORE LINKS:
Making—Objective A: Explore a variety of art media, techniques, and processes
Perceiving—Objective B: Create expressive works of art using the principles of art to organize
the elements
Expressing—Objective A: Create content in works of art
Background Information
In 1997, a national test was given to eigth graders. One of the findings of the test was that
students do not know how to identify or understand the meaning of visual images. Because
we are constantly being bombarded with visual
images, we need this skill not just in relationship to artworks, but also in relationship to
our visual culture. This lesson is designed to
help students develop skills in both identifying
meaning and creating art with meaning.
Materials
Transparency of Ode to Ad
Other transparencies from this packet
Reproductions of other artworks that affect
viewers’ ideas or feelings (see sources)
Lessons
1. Show the class the transparencies of Ode to Ad, Over Three Billion Served, Marilyn, and Cows
of Innocence.. Ask the students to discuss possible meanings of the artworks. Then ask which
artworks provoke new ideas and which provoke feelings. Show the students an assortment
of different artworks and again have the students identify ways the artworks could affect
their ideas or feelings. Ask what other areas of our visual culture make use of visual images
to change our ideas or feelings about a specific subject.
Assign students to find one item of visual culture that is designed to affect their ideas or feel43
ings and bring it to class.
Have the students share the items they brought in small groups and discuss the ways the
visuals affect them or are intended to affect viewers.
Assessment
Assess students’ participation in the class discussion using a checklist. Give them credit for
bringing an item of visual culture to class. Have students save what they grought in case
they want to use or share it in the following section of the lesson.
Sources for artworks and visual culture
Käthe Kollwitz, The Survivors, 1923
www.dhm.de/museen/kollwitz/english/home.htm
Sturm (Storm)
search.famsf.org/4d.acgi$Search?list&=1&=kollwitz&=And&=Yes&=&=&=&=Yes&=Yes&=f
James Christensen, Titania Waked and Loved an Ass
www.lib.byu.edu/online.html
Wayne Kimball, Properly Mounted Texas Longhorn
Wayne Kimball
www.lib.byu.edu/online.html
Properly Mounted Texas Longhorn
Photographs of the last century
www.archives.gov/media_desk/press_kits/picturing_
the_century_kit.html
The “True Colors of Benneton” ad
www.dreamscape.com/tag77/twisted.html
Some old, dishonest ads
www.chickenhead.com/truth/
Some examples are included on the following page.
Materials
Transparency of Ode to Ad
Magazine ads for clothing, soft drinks, and car products
2. Show the class the transparency of Ode to Ad. Ask students to identify possible meanings
of the items depicted in the painting in relationship to ads. You may need to help students
with questions such as the following:
Why might a woman have bought the dress in the painting?
What could the bottle with red liquid be? What reasons do you buy a specific kind of pop?
What does STP oil treatment say it will do for your car?
44
What could the black square stand for? (Smith
says he often includes a symbol that’s unclear
45
so that viewers can decide what it means.)
After you get some responses from the students,
show them some magazine ads and ask students
to examine what the magazine ads are saying
in addition to the factual information about the
product. For example, the soft drink ads may
indicate you’ll have more fun, be popular, if you
drink a specific soft drink. Some ads associate the item being advertised with a person the
target group is likely to admire or care about in
some way such as a sports’ figure or a popular
muscisn. Help the students understand what a
target market is and have them identify the target market of several advertisments. Ask them
to identify the purpose of specific ads such as to
sell expensive clothing or a particular brand of
clothing.
Then have the students look back at the painting
Ode to Ad and ask what additional or different
thoughts they now have about the painting’s
meaning. What is Bruce Smith saying to us
about ads and our responses to them?
Assessment
For assessment, ask students to find an ad you have not talked about in class. Have the
students write a paragraph about the meaning in the ad
and how it relates or does not relate to the painting Ode to Ad..
Create a rubric for evaluating the paragraph. Use the specific guidelines for writing you have
for your class as well as content related to the art lesson such as the following:
For excellent work—
Included new ideas, not just those already mentioned in class.
Made insightful comments about the relationship of the ad to the artwork’s meaning.
Making the Artwork
Materials
paper
a variety of media including pencils, colored pencils, paints, pastels
other media you have or the students collect
After completing the earlier section of the lesson, divide students into small groups and have
them brainstorm ideas for artworks that have meaning attached. Each student should list 10
ideas. As a group and then as individuals, the students should evaluate the ideas for workability and quality. When the students have chosen an idea, they should make at least four
46
sketches of the idea.
After choosing the best idea, students will present a proposal of a sketch and a description of
the artwork including media, to the teacher for approval. Then students will create the artworks.
Assessment–Exhibition and Evaluation
Students should organize and exhibit of the artworks. Students should also help the teacher
establish the criteria for the assignment and critique their own artwork according to those
criteria. Allowing students to help set the criteria increases their involvement and buy in to
the criteria.
3. Students will read about a problem in their culture and design a poster to affect viewers’
feelings about that problem
Materials
transparency of Ode to Ad
Newspapers or news magazines
Examples of posters or ads about social problems
large sheets of paper
markers
Activity
If you have not discussed the possible meanings of Ode to Ad, do so. (see Lesson 1.)
You may want to include the following quote as part of your discussion. “Advertising serves
not so much to advertise products as to promote consumption as a way of life.” - Carl Lash
1978 Ask students whether they agree or disagree and how does the statement relate to Ode
to Ad?
Next, show the class some examples of artwork such as posters that respond in some way to
social problems. You can also show the class examples from the Internet such as those on
http://subvertise.org/theme.php?theme=NIKE
Another site with information about sweatshops—http://www.ipjc.org/publications/
sweatshops.htm
Another site to look at is http://www.eastsidemall.com/employachiid/employ.html
This site is set up like a charitable site with photographs of children at work and information
about the “Program.”
“That is why when you donate money to help a starving child, you don’t just get a ‘thank
you’ note in return. Instead, you recieve a thank you note, along with a steady supply of the
hottest designer
clothing.”
You can also use anti-smoking or anti-drug use posters, posters in support of war or opposed
47
to war, etc.
Have students identify the design features that make a poster successful. Then let them look
through news magazines and papers to choose a cause to support or fight. Students should
identify which segment of the population they want to affect and what feelings they want to
produce in those viewers. Have students
make preliminary sketches and then create the posters using the large paper and
markers.
Assessment
Use the design features students identified
as criteria for evaluating the posters. Be
sure to include whether the poster is likely
to appeal to the target audience. Have students display the posters at the front of the
room and decide which ones best meet the
criteria. Those posters should be displayed
in a public section of the school and the
rest can be displayed in the classroom.
VARIATION
A. Students will choose a magazine ad they
feel has a hidden message or a message not
congruent with the company’s actual philosophy or actions and remake the ad to reflect
the hidden message or agenda. (See” The
Real Colors of Benneton” in Lesson 1.)
www.the-forum.com/posters/warpost3.htm
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ARTIST: Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
TITLE:
Marilyn 1962
MEDIA: silkscreen
SIZE:
36” x 36”
Brigham Young University Museum of Art
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
As the modern art movement
developed in the early decades of
the twentieth century, it allowed artists more liberation. Rather than having to answer to the so-called established authorities on art known as the
Academy, artists were free to experiment with abstraction and personal
expression. Before long, however, certain groups of modern artists became a
type of Academy themselves. In their
view, art was not created for the average person to understand but only for
an elite group capable of comprehending the deepest of artistic thoughts. In
fact the only people deemed worthy of
membership in this group were mostly
the artists themselves.
By the 1950s some modern artists
began to rebel against the exclusivity of this view of art. They contended
that art should be accessible and communicate to everyone, not just artists.
Photograph by Greg Gorman
Andy Warhol, a commercial artist born
www.macdirectory.com/ntrvu/GGorman/
in Pittsburg, headed what came to
be known as the Pop Art movement.
Warhol and his cohorts believed that art
ble to the public that he not only silkscreened
should be widely distributed and marketed
his works, but called his studio the Factory
to the public and that its meaning should be
and ran it like a mass-production industrial
easily accessed. For his primary technique,
firm.
Warhol developed silkscreening, which
Making prints available to people was
involved transferring a photograph to a
not enough to make art truly accessible;
silk screen and inking it from the back. This
meaning also had to be easily communicated.
revolutionary method allowed artists to sell
Rather than participating in the vocabulary
hundreds of prints rather than just one origiof the elite, Warhol and other Pop artists
nal and permitted Warhol to use the bright
started to borrow easily recognized objects
colors that typify his works. Warhol was so
from mass-media culture. Images from comic
committed to the idea of making art accessistrips, easily identified brands or products,
49
and images of Hollywood personalities were
among those Warhol borrowed in order to
make ordinary people aware of the intimate
connection between art and daily life. For
him, commercial illustration was art that
mixed intimately with everydaylife and
presented its message clearly, just as fine art
should. He said, “If you want to know about
Andy Warhol, just look at the surface: of my
paintings and films and me, and there I am.
There’s nothing behind it.” In other words,
the meaning is the surface and nobody need
read deeper than that.
TAt the same time, it is difficult not
to read into Warhol’s images. By presenting a large image of a 1960s sex symbol in
flattened planes and vibrant colors, Warhol
almost begs the viewer to interpret what he
sees as a glorified goddess, society’s definition of the perfect woman.
Bibliography
50
Clark, William. “Pop Art and Consumer
Culture: American Super Market,”
The
Journal of American History, 79 no. 4
(1682-1683).
“Depth of the Surface, or, What Rolf Dieter
Brinkmann Learned from Andy
Warhol,”
The German Quarterly, 63
no. 3 (235-251).
McConkie, Judith. “Icons and the
Importance of Warhol’s Marilyn
Series,”
Provo: BYU Museum of
Art, 1999.
Tansey, Richard G. and Fred S. Kleiner.
Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, 10th ed.,
Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1996.
Film in Visual Culture and its Effects on Art and Life
Film and 3-D Animation, Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol
OBJECTIVES
AH–Art History, A–Aesthetics, C–Criticism, P–Production
Students will be able to:
• examine a new artist, Andy Warhol, and his style of painting, AH
• analyze a film based strictly on the cinematography, P
• define the aesthetic experience and discover its place in everyday life, A
• discover how film has had effect on art movements throughout this century, AH
• create a 3-D model using the same steps as would be used in a 3-D animating computer
program, P
• express opinions of movie clips through basic criticism models. C
STATE CORE LINKS
Based on Foundations 1 (6th grade)
Standard 1—Explore a variety of art media,
techniques, and processes.
Objective 1–-Simplify the beginning of a
work of art, using start-up skills: e.g.
blocking-in, gesture drawing, stick figures.
Objective 2–Preplan the steps or tasks to
achieve a desired image.
Objective 3–Handle art material in a safe
and responsible manner.
Standard 2
Objective 2–Create the illusion of common
patterns and textures by the repetition of
dots, lines, shapes, tones, colors, and value
contrasts.
Improve accuracy of proportion.
Standard 3
Objective 1–Determine the context by
examining the subject matter, themes, symbols,
ideas, and meanings in significant works of
art.
Objective 2–Explore video, film, CD –ROM, and computers as art tools and artworks.
Describe and explore available technologies.
Generate artworks and ways of learning about art or artist through these technologies.
Standard 4
Objective 1–Describe what the artist’s intentions may have been at the time the art was
created.
Objective 2–Create a work of art that reflects a positive part of past or present American
culture.
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Materials
• Andy Warhol’s and Bill Viola’s biographical information
• Andy Warhol’s painting Marilyn Monroe
• An example of one of Bill Viola’s video installations
• Various different movie clips to compare cinematography
• Example of a movie critique, preferably of a 3-D animated or computer altered film
• Construction Paper
• Pipe cleaners
• Magazines
Activity
Definitions:
Aesthetic Experience–Having an experience which is distanced from the ordinary world.
Someone sees something ordinary in a new light. Deals with the beautiful.
Genre painting–A painting that shows normal people doing typical day-to-day activities.
Installation–Works of art installed in a space so viewers can walk around or inside them. Not
sculpture and usually very conceptual in thought rather than just visual. These are often sitespecific works.
Introduce the Andy Warhol artwork and discuss his painting style and subject matter.
In his painting Marilyn Monroe, Warhol has shown one effect that film has had on society.
Warhol chose to do a print of this famous actress
Bill Viola The Crossing (detail), 1996
because she was such an American icon. Warhol
Video/sound installation
also wanted to show how this image is repeated like
Collection of Pamela and Richard
a print all through society because Marilyn Monroe
Kramlich, Photo: Kira Perov
was so widely known and influential in American
www.psu.edu/dept/palmermuse
culture. It’s icons like these that have made media
um/past/viola/viola.ht
and film so popular through the years. Ask students
what role movies play in their own lives. How many
movies have they seen in just the last month? Do these movies change the way they think or
react to life around them?
Discuss the idea of Visual Culture with the students and how images around us can affect the
way we think or react in certain situations. Discuss the possibility of film being a large contributor to Visual Culture. How has film changed since times like seen in Frank Huff’s painting of a drive-in? Are actors better or worse? Have special effects taken over the importance
of just plain good acting? Is a movie less successful if it doesn’t use 3-D animation for special
effects?
Art History–Discuss how film in our visual culture has affected art in the past century. Use
Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe as a starting point. Since many artists paint Genre Scenes,
activities from everyday life, our visual culture is often depicted in painting. Like the exam52
ple of Marilyn Monroe, how has film, as an area of visual culture, found its way into art? An
example is the works of Bill Viola, the video installation artist. Explain what an installation is
to the students, and then show a few examples of Viola’s installations. Discuss the influence
of film on his work. The fact that he uses the actual medium of film for his installations is a
good starting point. If an artist is using film to communicate certain ideas in his work, then
the artist must believe the visual imagery in film is powerful. Discuss with students why film
is so powerful and has such a big effect on people and society.
Art Criticism–Use a basic criticism model to critique Andy Warhol’s work (Description,
Analysis, Interpretation, and Judgement). Have students read various film critic reviews
of some recent films, preferably a film which uses 3-D animation. Compare the styles of
criticism between art and film. How are these two styles alike or different? Does a film
critic touch upon the same points as an art critic? Try looking at some professional art critic
reviews as well and compare again. Watch a short clip from a 3-D animated film and have
students use the same pattern of critiquing in art to critique the film clip that was just seen.
Aesthetics–Discuss the area of Aesthetics, the Aesthetic Experience. Describe what it means
to have an Aesthetic Experience and have students share different times they believe they
have had an experience like this. Many artists want the audience of their work to have an
Aesthetic Experience while viewing the artwork. Ask students if perhaps filmmakers seek
they same response through cinematography as the art form. Using the same movie clip used
for criticism have students describe the clip through a poem. Turn the sound off so just the
images are viewed. Encourage students to move beyond subject matter, remove themselves
from the storyline of the clip and pay attention specifically to the cinematography and how
they feel or what they are reminded of by the color, the motion, and artistic qualities of the
movie clip. Can beauty be found in the movie clip, if so what makes it beautiful?
Production–Present to the class the process of creating 3-D animation. This can be done with
company demos usually available upon request from a local computer graphic company. For
a more enriched experience ask a local 3-D animator to come and demo the process used to
create in this field of art. Students will learn that a 3-D animator uses special computer programs to build its characters or objects. First, a wire like image is manipulated to create a base
or skeleton of the image. Second, the artist will cover the wire image like skin. Third, the
artist uses photos as texture maps to wrap around the images to create the final details. For
example, a picture of a famous snowboarder will be manipulated and wrapped around the
3-D image to create a look-alike model of the snowboarder for a snowboarding video game.
Have students use the same process to create 3-D models in the classroom without computers. For the skeleton pipe cleaners can be used. Have students place the cleaners in such a
way that their character is in an action pose. Next have students thicken the wire by covering
them with rolled-up construction paper acting as the skin layer. Lastly, have students skim
through magazines to find images they would like to use as their texture maps. These should
be cut out then wrapped around the 3-D models and the final details.
Assessment
• After discussion of film’s effects on Visual Culture, have each student write down two
ways the student believes film is a strong part of our visual culture. This statement can be
used as an informal assessment.
53
• The Aesthetics can also be used as an informal assessment.
• Formal Assessment- After the students have finished their 3-D models, have them switch
with their neighbors, and on a separate sheet of paper have them write a film critique
using the same outline as an art critique. Grade the critique and artwork together. Grade
this critique/3-d model on a 1-3 rubric based on, creativity, completion of all three steps of
a 3-d model, and thoroughly following all the steps for critiquing (describing, analyzing,
interpreting, judging).
• Artworks can be added to portfolios and graded on an analytic rubric rating scale of 1-5.
• The artworks and critiques can also be combined into one rubric as well.
Sources for additional reading:
Past evening for educator packets
Barret, Terry. Criticizing Art. Mountain View. Mayfield Publishing Company. 1994.
Townsend, Dabney. An Introduction to Aesthetics. Massachusetts. Blackwell Pub. 1997.
Day, Michael & Al Hurwitz. Children and Their Art: Methods for the Elementary
School. Texas. Harcourt Brace College Publishers. 1958.
Beattie, Donna Kay. Assessment in Art Education. Massachusetts. Davis Pub. Inc.1997.
VARIATIONS
This lesson is based on an elementary skill level. Various areas can be altered to accommodate a secondary level learner. Since secondary students have most likely used a basic criticism model for the majority of their art education, they can use a more advanced and specific
theory model to explore criticism through different directions and philosophies. A deeper
exploration of film critic reviews can lead to a better comparison of the similarities of the criteria used in film and art. Secondary students could also explore the Aesthetic experience on
a higher plane. Have the students study Bill Viola and a few other artists who use video in
their installations. Students can then discuss the Aesthetic experience received from videos
that were intended to be art rather than a narrative or entertainment for the masses.
EXTENSION
To extend the production activity, students could use the 3-D models made to produce an
actual film with a storyline. Have students use a video camera to capture the models in
movement complete with background images and secondary props. This can be done in
small groups and when finished, the class can watch all the films together like a miniature
film festival. Discuss the importance of a film festival and why film makers want to be
included. Have students be critics of each others’ films and judge them on an entertainment
and artistic level.
Uptown Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri, summer of 1943.
www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2000/00.06.07.htm
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From Pipe Cleaner FIlms
http://www.aberle.com/pcp/
http://www.aberle.com/pcp/
wfth/index.htm
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